Ok, I think I see the situation then more clearly, the jump you speak of (from 85-90 to 150k) doesn't happen in some other areas as much, from what I can tell in my current location its much more linear and the quality of dev's overall is lower with less supply (thus someone in my shoes could be in higher demand), so perhaps I'm better off staying in a lower cost area until I do have more experience as my purchasing power is substantially higher.