Of course the cost of living is very high and the good quality of life is only accessible to the executives and a layer or two of management immediately below. I feel for the people on the lower rungs of the ladder who will have to move there plus a bad job market, they won’t be able to get much for relocation.
I worked for NGC’s competitor and the reason I don’t work for them anymore was being ordered to relocate to the Northern Virginia area or being shown to the door, same pay of course. I looked at houses there and a basic townhouse without a garage, something like around 1500 to 2000 sqr ft was around $300,000. I refused to move there, lost my job.
On the relo package, enough money to rent my own moving truck, no money for realtor fees and management strongly wanted me to sell my house. I would have lost money on it since the housing market was tanking.
You’re right. It’s a high cost of living and the pace is extreme. Some people are smart to turn it down and let it go.