I was going to reply to that but then I realized that the comment is probably coming from someone who doesn't know the area and to get into it will be to get into a pissing contest. I just came back from SF 3 days ago and I'll hold my comments and opinions. I'll just extend an offer for anyone that doesn't know the area and is in town and wants to link up to reach out.

Uninspiring landscapes, lack of diverse or superlative outdoor activities, climate.

There is a reason those places I named are tourist destinations to a much larger degree than Detroit / SE Michigan

Thanks for clarifying your reasoning. I would agree that the landscapes and climate along the west coast are fabulous for tourist destinations and nice to have otherwise, but they don't seem to be as strong of metrics for daily quality of life, at least from speaking to my family members who have lived in multiple areas that you mentioned. There are a lot of resort towns (including in CA, among other states/countries) that excel at these but are otherwise poor areas to live in.

Then again, some of the family I was referring to are moving back to the west coast, so I completely understand that we can value different things.