Leaving the midwest and great plains states

Which states are losing people, and which are gaining? The Atlantic posts this map of the 2000s, showing that the midwestern and great plains states are losing the most people. This has been true for a long time, certainly my whole lifetime. Orange counties are losing the most people and purple counties gaining the most.

Here is another map that shows where people ages 15 - 29 years old have migrated to during the 2000s.

I am one of those who left the midwest in the late 1950s. It is not that the people there are bad. On the contrary, they are some of the best people I have ever been around. The weather is not that great. The views do not compare to what I see here in Colorado every day, or to the ones I saw in New Mexico recently.

If we don't have negative feelings about those places, then why did so many of us leave, and why are so many young people continuing to leave?

Thanks to Blazing Cat Fur for linking to the Atlantic article.