On the other hand...I'm a southern California native that moved to New York 7 years ago for undergrad...and I will be staying here to attend Columbia in the fall.
I know Illinois does not equal New York City, but I have loved having seasons and while I have struggled with the weather at points, it makes visiting home that much more enjoyable. I can always head back west after getting the PhD, but for the time being I'm really enjoying the east coast life.
I will grant you that NYC is a major exception as it offers a similar quality of life to Los Angeles - minus the great weather. Another easterly destination that works for CA natives is South Florida (Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, etc.) so long as you can bare the ungodly summer humidity. But by and large it's been a pretty tough experience for my friends in PhD programs across the country.
Here's an excerpt from a facebook conversation I literally had a a few hours ago. I mean, I JUST had this conversation:
ME: Hey buddy how have you been?
Friend: I've been better
ME: What's wrong?
Friend: Just finished grading like 20 essays. Now I will be up until at least 2.
ME: Did you weep for the future of our country after reading your student's work?
Friend: Just a bit. 2-3 are good.
ME: u mean typing lik thiz on twitter isnt gooooood 4 lerning writeing skillllz?
ME: How's the PhD coming along? How much longer until you're finished?
Friend: Maybe never? I was just looking at how many units I have actually and they just listed classes for next semester. I only need 1 more class but then there is the comprehensive exam and dissertation. So that's at least 3 years after this semester.
ME: What kind of comprehensive exam can they give you for a humanities PhD?
Friend: They give you a list of 200 books and 9 months to study and then they ask you questions (orally) for an hour and a half.
ME: Sounds awesome
Friend: That will be the next year of my life if I even stay
ME: IF you stay? Why wouldn't you?
Friend: A job sounds nice right about now?
ME: Yeah but all that work for nothing? 2 masters degrees and time already in the PhD?
Friend; I eat ramen noodles the last week of every month! And I'm in IOWA.
Friend: I O W A
ME: You're going to be a doctor man. PhD. It's worth it.
Friend: It would be OK
Friend: I guess
Friend: How are things with you?
ME: It can't be as bad as MIT/Boston. I promise you that.
Friend: maybe not, but it's not good.
ME: I get it. Are you at least learning stuff and growing in your field?
Friend: sort of. You can't control what you want to learn in your classes but it's supposed to get better.
ME: Do you have to be in residence for your dissertation?
Friend: No - but if I leave then I have to get a job. Which are competitive as hell.
ME: Well at least you'd be out of Iowa.
ME: Just get past the comprehensive exam and then you can decide if it's worth it to come home.
ME: I'm really sad to hear you're struggling. You have so much potential
ME: I'm eager to see you realize it
Friend: I also feel like I could get crushed by a falling bookshelf and die alone in the library in this craphole and people would never know
Friend: For like
Friend: two weeks
Friend: but see this is how it screws with your head
Friend: the phd program
ME: you know you are loved and cared for and respected right? I just saw X last weekend and Y on Friday and you came up in both conversations. People think about you and miss you man
Friend: thanks, I appreciate it. Things are just weird here.
ME: What do you mean weird?
Friend: just like the social culture, I guess. And the church social culture, too.
Friend: That make it much harder to want to stay.
ME: Examples?
Friend: the people here at church go to a country bar to go line dancing at least twice a week
ME: pass.
ME: Time to find a new church. I'd rather take a drill to my temple than go line dancing twice a week.
Friend: yeah. I've been thinking about that.
ME: Finding a new church or taking a drill to your temple?
Friend: ha
Friend: I've been to a couple other churches.
ME: Look, if the culture of your place of worship isn't a good fit go to a place that is.
Friend: There aren't any.
ME: What about outside of church?
Friend: 60,000 people here. Not exactly a bastion of diversity
ME: Have you thought about finding some young coed from class and starting an inapropriate relationship? That's always fun and who knows, if you're lucky you might wind up getting expelled. Then you wouldn't have to debate whether or not you want to quit anymore. You'd have no choice.
ME: So, win-win.
Friend: ha
ME: Think of it this way. In Iowa , being a white guy from CA actually makes you exotic. Not very many places where you're ever going to get to play that card my friend. You should bask in it.
Friend: Yeah I guess.
ME: Or ... how about you can tell everyone you know Aston Kutcher and you hang out with Snoop Dog and make up amusing anecdotes to all those other stupid questions people from the midwest ACTUALLY ask us. It would at least give you something to do.
ME: Do you ever watch big bang theory?
Friend: I've only seen a few episodes but they were all very funny
ME: You could totally Wallowitz me once you graduate
ME: This will be you to me once you graduate!
ME: .
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-c4iS454WA.
ME: Z does it to me all the time and ABC does and she barely started her program.
ME: So, if anything, it's worth sticking it out just to bag on me
Friend: Thanks for talking - but I've got to get back to my writing.
Friend: hope things are well with you
ME: The artist hard at work.
ME: Hang in there buddy. I promise you it's worth it.
ME: Let me know if I can do anything to help out in the meantime.
___
My friend totally comes off sounding depressed, right? I can't even get him to joke around with me. He's like a shadow of his former self. I went through the same thing during my time on the east coast so I know exactly what he's going through. I mean, the east coast was bad, but I have to imagine Iowa and the rest of the midwest would be even worse.