Ong: the opposite seems to be true.

In the US, we have totally open borders between states. People can just live wherever they want. So you would think that the most prime real-estate is in Southern California. And to some extent, it is, but only for the super wealthy. Everyone else wants to LEAVE. California was recently ranked 50th in quality-of-life.

Just for fun, try and get a price quote on a moving truck going from San Francisco to Dallas. Then get a quote for the same truck going from Dallas to San Francisco. The trip away from San Fran will cost 3x as much.