But in that case, it's not the same work, no? You can simply pay more for exceptional talent regardless of location, just as how org (theoretically, at least) already differentiate pay based on skill level within the same location.
I agree, I was just putting in plaintext what I've heard others say over the years when I complained about living in a state where I was paid nearly a third of what people doing my same job in SF made. I think those kinds of comments and attitudes that got us here need to be preserved, especially for how combative some of those folk were.
I can't answer for GitLab, but widely, people often believe that San Francisco has an "exceptional" talent pool and that companies pay a premium for that because of competition.