Comparing a home to a private jet is not valid. Of course life in HCOL areas is 'better', that is one reason why they are so expensive, but to compare someone who cannot afford a home in the city they work in with a millionaire ($500K/year is kind of ridiculous, I think $100 - 300K is more realistic) is not fair. Please open your mind a bit more and consider that treating people without sympathy tends to get you no sympathy in return, and I would wager mid-westerner's could use some as well.