Make $100K, meet basic expectations for standard of living with $20K to spare = feel comfortably well-off
Make $100K, do not meet basic standard of living expectations = feels poor.
Have enough money to blow a few million investing in startups just for the learning experience = rich.
The catch is that living near people making more is likely to raise your standard of living expectations (but does not have to). Also, the cost of a particular standard of living is determined (roughly) by the market rather than its worth to you. For example living in Cambridge, MA costs more than living in Hudson, MA, whether you actually value that or not.
I argue that living in Cambridge indicates that you value living in Cambridge, or at least moreso than you would living in Hudson, give or take the cost of moving.
Cost of moving can be very significant, in many ways (not just financially) and often people are reluctant to do it. That means you often have to make a guess as to what you're going to value a year or five (or ten) from now. And often, you have to make that decision under pressure, or make lots of tradeoffs and wind up paying for things you don't value in order to have the things you do. In other words you might have chosen a location in Cambridge because that was the only place that had the amenities you wanted, and its proximity to Harvard and MIT is coincidental.
And not only do your values change, but the environment changes too. The place you choose to live now may change significantly.
Make $100K, meet basic expectations for standard of living with $20K to spare = feel comfortably well-off
Make $100K, do not meet basic standard of living expectations = feels poor.
Have enough money to blow a few million investing in startups just for the learning experience = rich.
The catch is that living near people making more is likely to raise your standard of living expectations (but does not have to). Also, the cost of a particular standard of living is determined (roughly) by the market rather than its worth to you. For example living in Cambridge, MA costs more than living in Hudson, MA, whether you actually value that or not.