My condolences to everyone dealing with Long Covid, which includes both the actual disease and the social consequences. It is already exhausting, but even more so when you need to convince people it's real, struggle to deal with skeptical or poorly informed doctors, and politely deal with the continuous unprompted medical advice from well-meaning friends, family, and internet strangers.

I would personally say that most people strive for meaning (as in, living a meaningful life) even if they think they are striving for "happiness", which to me comes off as a very shallow and hedonistic aim.

Land is bought and sold on an open market. Everyone can decide for themselves what is most important to them and what they can afford. One factor behind living in a major city is certainly easy access to in-person employment. But there are a ton of other factors (restaurants, culture, sporting events, community, etc.). If you are willing to pay a lot of money to be close to those things even if you don't use all of them, that's your choice and it's perfectly ethical.