It’s not a question of objectivity. It’s a question of fact. There are very few places in the US where kids are given the level of freedom that they have in the rest of the world. NJ comes pretty close, with local (decentralized) schools and a high foreign population (less paranoia due to being brainwashed by the American media from birth). There’s also a lot of old money that’s down-to-earth rather than being flashy and in your face like in CA (or even NYC).

Little of the Californian BS about schools, either. If you move into a well-run town, you’ll have good schools, and you can generally rent something OK for cheaper than in San Diego. It doesn’t matter where you live in town — there’s generally one high school and one district only, though grade schools might be different.

Foreign immigration to the East Coast is still pretty big as well. So people do come there as well as the West Coast to remake themselves. If anything, a mixture of different nationalities is more interesting than Midwestern transplants. (And yes, I know that California has a lot of diversity, but at this point, I’m taking the piss.)

There’s plenty of low-class to go around on the West Coast as well. Come to think of it, your home base of Vegas seems to have thrived on lack of class and turned it into a profit center.

Don’t get me wrong: I love both coasts. But I can understand the people who are happiest near where they grew up and don’t want to end up in some Rust Belt rathole for years on end.