If you are going to play this game you also need to adjust for taxes. I lived a few years in Montreal, then a few years in Toronto and after that I moved to US. During this years my perception of income taxes went from “they are pretty high” in Montreal to “Wow, they are much lower” in Toronto to “how are public services funded? Taxes are almost 0” in the states..
Then you’re paying higher consumption taxes and property taxes, and higher prices on business costs passed on to you. Do I even have to explain this? Just because you can’t see the ball anymore doesn’t mean it stopped existing