>> this makes zero sense to me, the value you add most likely doesn’t change because of where you live
Salaries were/are so high because of the limited supply of qualified labour. If they now accept workers from everywhere the supply side constraint just got blown wide open.
This is because top tech talent is defined by the people who work in those cities ;)
In other words, I would be very surprised if you were correct, as not everyone has the capability (or desire) to move to large and expensive cities, and the likelihood is that there are lots of very very good people working in the rest of the country due to family situations/age/personal choice.
Salaries were/are so high because of the limited supply of qualified labour. If they now accept workers from everywhere the supply side constraint just got blown wide open.