Offshoring has been around for decades, and if it produced the desired results at the desired price then employers would replace every expensive employee with a cheaper one (where possible). As it stands, offshoring is commonly used by large body shops, and a non-zero amount of work is done offshore, yet the cost for tech talent has increased (at least on average, the last year or two has seen somewhat of a correction).
There are definitely highly talented individuals in low cost areas, but they quickly realise they can earn a Big Tech wage, and are willing to relocate (often relocation is a bonus; as much as we complain sometimes, quality of life in a HCOL area is comparably quite nice compared to many LCOL areas).
The threat of hiring a bunch of cheap offshore labour is a bogeyman; companies would already have done this if it were feasible.
I'm not even talking about offshoring, the difference in cost of living even within the US can be massive, especially if you take off the commute and associated expenses. Quality of life is subjective of course, but in many respects is inversely correlated with the availability of high-paying jobs.
> There are definitely highly talented individuals in low cost areas, but they quickly realise they can earn a Big Tech wage, and are willing to relocate
There are definitely highly talented individuals in low cost areas, but they quickly realise they can earn a Big Tech wage, and are willing to relocate (often relocation is a bonus; as much as we complain sometimes, quality of life in a HCOL area is comparably quite nice compared to many LCOL areas).
The threat of hiring a bunch of cheap offshore labour is a bogeyman; companies would already have done this if it were feasible.