My brain drain story: I got a nice engineering degree in the South, even had a phd project supported by the local chemical plant. Why I left: 1. GF/now wife ha

My brain drain story: I got a nice engineering degree in the South, even had a phd project supported by the local chemical plant. Why I left: 1. GF/now wife had advanced degrees, and there were no advanced opportunities for her in my area. She'd also have to leave the great opportunity she had in her big northern city. 2. The industry was randomly down when I graduated, so it didn't even make much sense to stay even without my wife's situation. I found a job in my wife's city where we're producing lots of tax income for one of the big gainers on this map. I think a key lesson from my case is to not have the local economy dependent on one industry. The Gulf Coast is married to oil/chemicals, the Midwest was in heavy manufacturing, WV in coal. A more diverse local economy means all the married, educated couples can have an easier time finding careers for themselves without one side having to sacrifice and feel like they've wasted their huge educational investments.