I'd be curious to know how the stay vs. go stats compare to other places.  My three siblings and I all left our native Missouri after school. We had great childhoods there, but various adventures pulled the boys west to Colorado and Oregon, then California and Alaska. Only I married someone from my destination state (she came back after college Outside); my brother's spouses began their wandering in Oklahoma and Idaho. My sister went east to New York, then really east to the Middle East. Her spouse was born and raised in Russia. We're all where we want to spend the rest of our lives, but only one will end where she started.

Through Facebook I know that some of my school friends stayed near home, while others similarly dispersed. For us, economic opportunity took a back seat to adventure and new experiences.

I smile when my daughter says she always wants to live in Alaska, but I won't hold her to it. I chased my dream here, but she may take a different path.