Some of it is a copout. I am a progressive from a small, rural area who now lives in a city. When people ask me why I didn't stay in my nice rural hometown, I just shrug and point out that it's been in massive economic decline since the 1990s. They all know is true and it doesn't offend them and the reality is that every person in my HS graduating class of 50 who went to college and didn't become a teacher or a nurse has left and not returned (some of the teachers and nurses did, because, hey, jobs!)

Now, I have many other reasons for not wanting to return, but the 'jobs' answer is the easiest and simplest one that won't offend the people who will definitely be offended if I told them i didn't want to live in a hick Republican shithole. That doesn't mean I don't feel that way about it, but it's a diplomatic answer. I'm sure I'm not the only one.