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A lot of this rings true. But I also can’t help but think (I’m not FAANG), given the kind of pay at these companies couldn’t or shouldn’t one treat these gigs like 3-4 year tour of duty, and have enough to go away and refresh for a couple of years (with a ton socked away for nest egg/ retirement?)

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My hunch is that people often live at their means and its less often the case that someone earning 250-400k is living at 100k means, especially in expensive cities. So those people can build lifestyles that basically mandate having a high paying job.

The problem is that it's easy for people to get addicted to the money. Human psychology is frequently such that it's harder for someone making well into the 6 figures annually to take a pay cut to low 6 figures than it is easier for them to look at their not insignificant savings and realize they can still live comfortably with less income.

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