From my vantage (not an author, know a lot of authors), the great thing about fiction writing is you can live *anywhere*. Which means you can find a place with low cost of living and high quality of life, and make just as much money there as anywhere else. (So two good friends got to move *to* Minnesota, but three have since moved *away*, so it's a net loss for me, grump.)

You'll just get fewer editorial lunches, since you'll visit your editor a lot less often. But with email, and telephones, the in-person visit isn't that common anyway. And besides not all publishers are in New York (see for example Baen Books, a major player in the SF/fantasy market).