If we assume that I am "an ordinary Plugh coder", and that it's essential I work in that specific discipline, we go where the jobs are easiest to find and retain.

If, however, we hold a higher self opinion (or as menolly said, we are from Lake Woebegone, where all the children are above average), competition doesn't matter.

I, for one, would want to live in Guilder -- if only to avoid the corrupt government of Prince Humperdinck. If I can get a job in Guilder writing apps in Plugh, that's great. If not, I'll run a help desk, or manage an operations team, or flip burgers.

In the words of Robert A. Heinlein, "Specialization is for insects."