…Then what is this discussion about? The title of the thread is "Ask HN: Cheap places to live with a good intellectual atmosphere".
I might be misinterpreting your point, but it seems like you're taking the position that it doesn't matter that Sweden is outrageously expensive in many regards, because money has no impact on quality of life anyway. If that is indeed the position you're taking, well, it's a trite and nonsensical one.
Your final sentence makes me believe I've misinterpreted you, so apologies in advance if that's the case.
There was no point to misinterpret, it was just an observation. You claimed that quality of life for a tech worker is relatively garbage. I was simply providing context as to why — tech workers make lots of money (comparatively) but it’s hard to spend that money to improve your quality of life.
Relative to Sweden, I believe there are other European countries where the equivalent job would net you far more disposable income. By quality of life, I understand we're talking strictly about material things (since they cost money, and we're discussing money).
If you're a tech worker in Poland, you will feel far wealthier living in Poland than if you're a tech worker living and working in Sweden. You will be able to live in a nicer home, eat out at restaurants more often, and generally have more money to do stuff with.
Buying things (clothes, gadgets) is a different story, because they can't import the stuff any cheaper than Sweden does, but I don't think the difference there is enough to counteract the general difference in QoL and buying power between living in the two countries.
Edit: Also, to clarify, I did not say that quality of life for a tech worker is garbage. It's actually generally great, as I think everyone here knows. My point is that if you want to reap the financial benefits of being a tech worker, Sweden is not the place to do it.
I might be misinterpreting your point, but it seems like you're taking the position that it doesn't matter that Sweden is outrageously expensive in many regards, because money has no impact on quality of life anyway. If that is indeed the position you're taking, well, it's a trite and nonsensical one.
Your final sentence makes me believe I've misinterpreted you, so apologies in advance if that's the case.