The different costs of housing and living in different areas is of course a valid factor when it comes to comparing incomes. I disagree with your second sentence though.
> Most of the finance guys I know in New York make what I would consider great money... but their lifestyle is such that they save almost none of it.
I don't know, is how well you're doing really based on how much money is left after you choose to spend a bunch of it? If I make $2m/year but have several expensive mortgages to pay and therefore I don't save very much, that means I'm doing "just OK"?
> Most of the finance guys I know in New York make what I would consider great money... but their lifestyle is such that they save almost none of it.
I don't know, is how well you're doing really based on how much money is left after you choose to spend a bunch of it? If I make $2m/year but have several expensive mortgages to pay and therefore I don't save very much, that means I'm doing "just OK"?