They would spend less, but presumably also earn less, and it's the arithmetic difference (rather than the ratio) that matters.
That depends. There are ways to work high-salary jobs in low-cost-of-living areas if you're willing to deliberately seek them out. I know when I worked remote for a few months a year and a half ago, my after-housing income on a theoretical annualized salary of $66k/year was larger (arithmetically) than my previous $80k salary minus Bostonian housing expenses.
If you're really trying to pour money into a charitable effort rather than a landlord's coffers, I would suggest running the numbers and seeing what you can do.
Update: The fundraiser has been completed! Details here. The original post follows...
(Cross-posted from MIRI's blog. MIRI maintains Less Wrong, with generous help from Trike Apps, and much of the core content is written by salaried MIRI staff members.)
Thanks to Peter Thiel, every donation made to MIRI between now and January 15th, 2014 will be matched dollar-for-dollar!
Also, gifts from "new large donors" will be matched 3x! That is, if you've given less than $5k to SIAI/MIRI ever, and you now give or pledge $5k or more, Thiel will donate $3 for every dollar you give or pledge.
We don't know whether we'll be able to offer the 3:1 matching ever again, so if you're capable of giving $5k or more, we encourage you to take advantage of the opportunity while you can. Remember that:
Please email malo@intelligence.org if you intend on leveraging corporate matching or would like to pledge 6 months of monthly donations, so that we can properly account for your contributions towards the fundraiser.
Thiel's total match is capped at $250,000. The total amount raised will depend on how many people take advantage of 3:1 matching. We don't anticipate being able to hit the $250k cap without substantial use of 3:1 matching — so if you haven't given $5k thus far, please consider giving/pledging $5k or more during this drive. (If you'd like to know the total amount of your past donations to MIRI, just ask malo@intelligence.org.)
Now is your chance to double or quadruple your impact in funding our research program.
Donate Today
Accomplishments Since Our July 2013 Fundraiser Launched:
How Will Marginal Funds Be Used?
Other projects are still being surveyed for likely cost and impact.
We appreciate your support for our work! Donate now, and seize a better than usual chance to move our work forward. If you have questions about donating, please contact Louie Helm at (510) 717-1477 or louie@intelligence.org. Screenshot Service provided by LinkPeek.com.