high salary

My future plan to reap the best benefit possible is to move from Florida (ridiculous pay) to New Hamp or Rhode Island and commute into Boston to work. I know NH and RH are not "cheap", but there are good areas with great schools that are comparable in home prices to where I am now in Florida (yet the nursing pay in Boston is MUCH higher) so I think I will def. come out ahead.

Cost of living is important. BUT, if one makes a higher wage, SSI pays higher when you retire and if the employer contributes to a 401, a percentage of a higher salary/wage is higher. The retiree can chose to move somewhere with a cheaper COL once retired. Sooo in the long run I think the average person may be better off with a higher wage unless one is living in NYC when one factors in the above two pension variables.