Introverts more likely to move to somewhere they "like"?

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blackomen
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23 Jul 2019, 1:19 am

I went to high school in Michigan and hated both the climate there and the relative blandness of the place overall (since it doesn't have mountains and the beaches are pretty bland.) I chose to go to college in California, but most of my classmates envied me because I had no problems simply leaving behind my family and friends to start a new life somewhere far away with much better weather, mountains, beaches, etc.

Fast forward 16 years later, I moved from California to Texas (since the cost of living in CA has gotten ridiculous) and it seems that a lot of people in Texas and many of the surrounding states complain about the weather in Texas (esp the heat) as well as the lack of very exciting geographies like mountains. I ask them if they don't like these things then why don't they move. And they say that they can't leave behind their families, their friends, their church, etc. Although California isn't much of an introvert or aspie paradise, it seems like social life matters a lot more for Texans.

From what I've gathered, at least when reading online discussions of people moving to places, introverts (not necessarily aspies) seem more willing to relocate to places where mountains and outdoor activities are plentiful and the weather is generally pleasant like Colorado, Oregon, Washington, etc. while extroverts and NTs tend to think something like "Yeah, it'll be great if I can relocate to X but I really can't leave my friends behind. It sucks, but leaving my friends will suck even more."

Assuming the stats here are correct ( https://www.yudkin.com/introvert-geography.htm ), it seems like the states with the best natural features like mountains, beaches, etc. tend to score the lowest on extroversion. Could it be that extroverts are less likely to pack their bags and leave because their locale looks "boring" compared to introverts?



shortfatbalduglyman
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23 Jul 2019, 7:16 am

It could be

It could be a lot of different things

But is the difference statistically significant?



BTDT
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23 Jul 2019, 8:12 am

I think the biggest factor is job opportunities or the lack of them. I have a really good job that allowed me easily buy and pay off a house before I was 50. Nothing like that where I grew up. At least in my skill set. But plenty of jobs in my skill set where I now live.

The second is affordable housing. Lots of young people move because they can't find anything that isn't ridiculously expensive. Or unobtainable, like rent controlled housing.



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23 Jul 2019, 8:51 am

When I was 28 I left Massachusetts and moved to Vermont and lived there for 12 years.


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martianprincess
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24 Jul 2019, 1:11 pm

I live smackdab in the middle of the United States, in a city that has (some) job opportunities and a decent cost of living. I spent a good portion of my life about an hour from here and had no qualms about moving away from there.

I'd love to live on the west coast, since there are more job opportunities in my field and it's beautiful there. However, I'd be much poorer even if I was making the same salary or slightly more. The cost of living is insane and I shouldn't complain about my multi-bedroom house that I rent for $1,200 a month (but I still do since to me that feels really expensive) that has a big yard and is in a good school district, and located in a relatively convenient part of town.

If I were to move to Portland, OR (where I imagine I'll have to end up at some point) I'd be paying at least double rent for less bedrooms and further from the city itself. With worse traffic.

I think the smarter thing to do if you're Midwestern is stay where you're at if you have a decent career trajectory. Otherwise there's no super good reason unless you can afford to not care about money or you get an insanely good job somewhere.

Plus in my state's defense, the Flint hills are gorgeous and Kansas has a lot of hidden treasures even if all I've heard from outsiders is how "flat" and "desolate" it is. ;P


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Benjamin the Donkey
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25 Jul 2019, 9:06 pm

Yes, but not only for outdoor activities or geographical features. I'd guess that you'd find more "loners" in very desirable (for one reason or another) places like NYC, Hawaii, Paris, Berlin, Tokyo, the Greek islands, etc. You'd also see a larger percentage of ambitious people for whom personal achievement or satisfaction is a higher priority than a particular social group or family.


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Tim_Tex
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26 Jul 2019, 7:06 pm

I am hoping to move to Seattle, because I heard there is a huge animated sitcom fan base there.


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