W&L places mostly in the southeast which is substantially less expensive than New England or NYC.
$80,000 per year in Charlotte, North Carolina is nearly economically identical to $130,000 in New York City. When it is all said and done, you will be able to save virtually exactly the same amount of money every month for the future and to pay off loans.
Don't let inflated cost of living fool you--the ONLY cities that pay $125,000 starting are New York City, parts of downtown Los Angeles & San Fran., D.C. and downtown Chicago--and there's a reason: It's EXPENSIVE TO LIVE THERE.
Even Atlanta doesn't start any higher than $100,000 per year. It's all relative to cost of living. You shouldn't have to take an economics class to realize this.