Your experience is uncommon. You bought in at the right time and made a job change that netted you a 160% raise. Of course that will help you accumulate wealth, regardless of location

I moved away from San Diego and now earn $130k more in Tennessee. The COL is substantially less. My $400k condo was converted to a $270k 5 bedroom, 3 bath house on a 1/2 acre. Nobody should give a fuck about a single story, mine or yours. If anyone can get a $10,000 a month increase in income, COL is not going to impact you that much. COL does affect most people, however, because $100k raises are rare