[smeej]

Granting that I only lived in the Midwest for 8 years, my experience was that those who "moved away to a city" still had most of their family support system in the place they left, not the one they moved too. Yes, they certainly made friends in the city, but their family and "oldest friends," the ones they grew up with, were still at home in flyover country.

These people should not be confused, though, with those who could not wait to get away from home and were beyond glad for an excuse to move to the city. Their motives and relationships are completely different.

I'm only talking here about the ones who "had to" move to a city to get started--the folks middle-American companies depend on for the long haul after they cut their teeth on the coasts.