I think that Hawaii should be added to this migration map as I know several people that still migrate back and forth.

One of those Portland moves was by an ex who decided to empty our bank account to fund his trip (hope he stays there).

I live in Bozeman now and I'm not even remotely surprised anymore when I meet people who've moved here from Minnesota.

Helena, Mont. not quite Bozeman, but actually affordable.

Brooklyn, NY and San Fran, CA come to mind- at least my friends who left in the mid 80s. A couple others left the US entirely. The irony is that most of my friends in other cities bemoan the cliqueishness of their current local arts/music scene and refer to Duluth as the place where "real" people create stuff.

This reminds me of some graffiti I saw in San Francisco in the early 1990s that stated "Welcome to San Francisco, now fuck off and go back to Minnesota."

Mevdev, I am going to Portland just to go, pretty much. I'm not quite ready to go back to school, and that's a city that would make it easier to live the lifestyle I'd want to live until I do... I'm not worried too much about the unemployment though, honestly. I mean come on, I'm from Duluth! I'm used to a struggling economy.

When I opened an account in Bozeman (I'm actually in Yellowstone) the bank guy even told me there were a lot of people from Minnesota there.

... and was actually going to move out to Bozeman after wintering in Minneapolis.

Obviously that didn't happen, cus I'm still here.

So, doesn't this mean I'm doing this all in reverse?

Last summer I gave away nearly all my possessions, intent on moving to Oregon.  I spent a month in Oregon EWNSouth seeking a place to call home.  I had a few criteria--place had to have at least what Duluth has:: 1)esthetically beautiful;2) affordable; 3) home to college(s) and young thinking; 4)nature/outdoor centered 5)able to get away from freeway noise. 6)climate I could live with. 

I could never find all 6 of these, no matter where I went.  Astoria came the closest: It looks like Duluth, is outdoor centered, no freeway noise but a tiny college and rain 7 months of the year. (I figure I can shovel snow, but rain....what can you do with rain?).

In the midst of my frustration about not finding a place a friend who was in tune to my quest called me from the shore of Lake Superior.  "Listen to the waves," he said.  "Now listen to the campfire."  

I have traveled to all 50 states but in that moment I realized nothing will compare to Duluth.  So I stopped looking, came back "home" and that's the end of that.   Like a Kate Wolf song, "Sometimes what you're looking for is what you left behind."

This thread got dumb.

Remember when all of my friends had pipe dreams of moving to all those places on the list? That was dumb, too. I want all my friends back, but please don't take my job.

¿Where'd comments go?

What are you talking about? I'm a total dick.

Shhhh.