I think you are misrepresenting in the other direction (ie posting salaries that are unrepresentative in the low direction).
Just out of a job hunt and had two offers in Atlanta, one in person with a TC of $180k and one fully remote with a TC of $235k. This is with 2 YoE
The costs you post also seem really high. Atlanta United tickets are $35 for the cheapest, food/drink is around $25 total. I generally would take transit or uber into games but I see parking for $10-20 within a half mile. I'm not as familiar with housing costs but a few quick searches show 3 bed/2 bath in decent neighborhoods for around $500k, and to be within an hour of Atlanta is definitely doable for less.
I think Atlanta is fairly high CoL for the Southeast and still find the expenses to be less than you're claiming
I'm in Nashville. Our salaries seem to be the same or lower than ATL and our cost of living is for sure higher. I think we are getting a bad deal here compared to ATL.
It's possible that I am hilariously underpaid and need a new job.
> It's possible that I am hilariously underpaid and need a new job.
If you're willing to work remotely, then absolutely. :) There are plenty of fully remote jobs in the US paying $180k+. I interviewed at all sorts of random companies last year (all remote), and the lowest offer I got was $150k (plus equity). For reference, most of them were senior frontend engineer positions, but there were some generalist gigs in there as well.
Just out of a job hunt and had two offers in Atlanta, one in person with a TC of $180k and one fully remote with a TC of $235k. This is with 2 YoE
The costs you post also seem really high. Atlanta United tickets are $35 for the cheapest, food/drink is around $25 total. I generally would take transit or uber into games but I see parking for $10-20 within a half mile. I'm not as familiar with housing costs but a few quick searches show 3 bed/2 bath in decent neighborhoods for around $500k, and to be within an hour of Atlanta is definitely doable for less.
I think Atlanta is fairly high CoL for the Southeast and still find the expenses to be less than you're claiming