the amenities will be better but it comes down to if you want to be working later in life to afford that area. anecodtally in terms of places that are actually worthwhile to me, it's basically LA and nothing else, everywhere else is negligible to me compared to where Im from. and I don't plan on making 300k in the next few years, and even when I do, I don't want it all going on a house. so that rules out LA. so I bought a house where im from

it's up to you to decide which places are materially better than your starting point, and if the additional and longer term financial strain are worth it

btw you aren't gonna get good answers here, most likely. they will be from ppl that moved somewhere expensive recently for the benefits, so they still prioritize those benefits over longer term $tability and it's worth it. or people that bought longer ago, and their house has tripled in value since they bought it. you're making this decision with a different set of variables, since you probably won't care about the amenities in 15 or so years, but also you won't see appreciation in the next 15 years that we've seen in the last 15 or so