OP lives in Austin. If you have $1M net worth, you can probably buy a house there and live there. If you don't go do that, I think you're just punishing yourself.

Yes - there are insanely great houses all over Texas. $400K gets you incredible houses, depending on the area, and $1M would get you mansions beyond your (or at least my) wildest dreams.

Meanwhile, if you live in the Bay Area, I can totally see "$1M net worth but not really able to buy a house".

Where you choose to live in really does matter a lot. Not to say there aren't issues with property costs, but... come on.