Yeah, but some of us don't actually want to struggle through several years of frugality in SF for the sake of buying a $400k home in Texas in cash. Why not have a much better quality of life in Texas, take out a mortgage on the $400k home, and consider the relatively reasonable interest rate as a payment towards positive aspects of life such as "reasonable commute times" and "not worrying about the kids stepping on needles on the sidewalk".