"Today, the West is not the federal economic colony it once was. Nor is it the uncrowded rural paradise of lore. In fact, it has long been the most urbanized part of the country. This transformation has enticed a new brand of fortune-seeker, from the telecommuting migrants in mountain enclaves to the influx of people into metropolitan “boomburgs” where they are employed in the same jobs as people in the rest of the country."
"Today, the West is not the federal economic colony it once was. Nor is it the uncrowded rural paradise of lore. In fact, it has long been the most urbanized part of the country. This transformation has enticed a new brand of fortune-seeker, from the telecommuting migrants in mountain enclaves to the influx of people into metropolitan “boomburgs” where they are employed in the same jobs as people in the rest of the country."
The New York Times, A Western State of Mind, by Katherine Roberts, September 13, 2008