&gt; They like to have yards. They like spacious homes. They like to see the sky and the mountain vistas and the water.<p>People flock to the Bay Area to have a yard and a spacious home? The lack of those things is the reason I <i>left</i>!<p>Maybe the very wealthy have yards and large houses in the Bay Area, but most everybody else is living in Manhattan-sized apartments without the benefits of living in a high density area like Manhattan (more walkability, public transit, etc).