The salaries are not that much lower, and the cost of living is so significantly lower that you'd net more in Pittsburgh. I live in Pittsburgh and have had sev

The salaries are not that much lower, and the cost of living is so significantly lower that you'd net more in Pittsburgh. I live in Pittsburgh and have had several jobs that pay over $100k. You can rent an apartment in the nicest hippest area here for $800/month (or less). You can own a home in a reasonable area for under $100k. I speak from experience as sure my paycheck was larger when I lived in DC, but I could never afford to own a single family home. Now I own what would be the equivalent of a mansion in DC for less then what my suburban Maryland townhouse went for.