"Based on anecdotes I feel like this doesn't tell the full story" Not even remotely. Within a compact area, the three major poles (SF, Oakland/Berkeley nd San

"Based on anecdotes I feel like this doesn't tell the full story" Not even remotely. Within a compact area, the three major poles (SF, Oakland/Berkeley nd San Jose) have different histories, and narrative threads that lead to different spaces between. Even by age, you'll see widely divergent attitudes about what constitutes "home" (SF is the most insular and aloof in general, and not always in a derogatory way), San Jose the most maligned (sometimes legitimately, sometimes very much not) and Oakland (until recently) treated as a crucial but often 'a part, yet apart' microcosm unto itself, with Berkeley its neighboring city-state. People in different stages of life have often moved around and between the three, for varying reasons. Many who are from here and certainly many who have moved TO here, move "around" the area more than truly exodus out.