Our first mortgage in 1979 was 12%. When I was evaluating job offers 25 years ago I knew I was going to divorce husband number 2 so COL was very important to me. I didn’t apply for jobs in California. Reno was the most expensive but very affordable then. Because of the tech companies moving here, being able to work from home and all the Californians retiring here our COL has skyrocketed. I couldn’t afford to rent here.