Urban Renaissance?

There was an opinion piece in today's Wall Street Journal decrying 'The Ersatz Urban Renaissance'. Since you have to log in to WSJ.com to view the article, I've excerpted text at the bottom of this post.

The basic tenet of the article is that larger cities are becoming so terribly expensive to live in, that it is impossible to find qualified candidates for mid-range jobs. Even while (or because) property values are increasing, businesses & population is fleeing to smaller cities and suburbs because it's hard to find people to work for $40,000/year in a city where the median home price is above $700,000. Ipso facto, most job creation (and therefore population growth) is taking place in lower-cost areas where the "middle class dream" is still within reach.

Because of the dearth of quality mid-range jobs, the folks who live in the largest cities have to either have really kick-ass jobs, or they have to want to be part of the intellectual and cultural percolation that takes place in the larger cities so badly that they're willing to give up many of the comforts they would have if they lived in less expensive locales. This sort of de facto selection process ensures for the most part, the people who live in the world's most expensive cities are exceptional in some way or another - or if not exceptional, at least capable of recognizing and appreciating exceptional people.

I want to be part of the intellectual and cultural percolation taking place larger and more expensive cities, but the difficult decision I'm facing is whether I am willing to give up my very comfortable life surrounded by some truly exceptional people for a less comfortable life surrounded by MANY exceptional people.

It's basically the same question I've been grappling with for months now. I thought i knew what I wanted, but as I see my friends who have moved away to more "fabulous" cities, I see the trials they're experiencing, and I think to myself: "Self, why the hell would you want to do that when you can just go visit on the weekends?" After all, it's not necessarily the day-to-day life that's all that great, it's the recreation that you're really moving for.

Since I have the resources and flexibility to be able to basically commute to fantastic places and visit the best of everywhere, why should I move?

For example, I can go to any of these cities on the weekends for the following:
Multi-cultural melee: London, New York
Dim Sum: San Francisco, Vancouver
Water: Vancouver, Seattle
Homos: San Francisco, London
Beaches: North Carolina, Florida
Pretention: Dallas

You get the point. So I'm asking myself why I would want to commit to one particular city when I can keep sampling the best of them all? It's not like I ever spend any amount of free time at home anyway.

I know it's going to be difficult to beuild any kind of stability as long as I'm jetting off every weekend, but do I really want to commit to a single place? It's sort of like dating: I guess you really have to fall in love with a place, warts and all, to want to build your life there. I haven't found that place yet. For that matter, I haven't found that person yet.