I didn't mean it to be insulting or to imply that there are not talented people in the Midwest. What I mean is that if you look to places like Louisville, KY for just one example, or Dayton, OH and look at the type of pay that is being offered there, it is vastly below the coasts. Even adjusted for cost of living and other expenses, many cities across the midwest pay below what is a reasonable market value, and naturally they only get people who will accept those below-market rates.

When I said 'the midwest' in my original post I didn't mean places like Chicago, St.Louis, or Indianapolis that pay industry standards adjusted for cost-of-living. It isn't out of the realm of possibility though for someone to get 10+ years experience in a place like Lexington and have them still not know basic things EVEN after having been trained.

Again this is just my anecdotal experience, I don't mean to insult anyone from these places. This is about brain-drain and salaries, not about anything intrinsic about a place or their people.