Residents of New York City and the San Francisco Bay Area have long tolerated eye-watering expenses, cramped apartments and other disadvantages because of the access to more jobs, arts, culture and entertainment. Until the pandemic hit, that is. Now, the experience of being locked down at home and working remotely is driving them to make decisions faster than they otherwise would have, and leave their social and professional circles behind for a better quality of life elsewhere.

Austin -- where podcast host Rogan moved to from California -- gained the most people between April and October this year, followed by Phoenix, Nashville and Tampa, according to data on 47 metropolitan areas analyzed by LinkedIn. At the same time, the San Francisco Bay Area and New York City lost people.

"Moving from a highly dense area to a less dense area allows people to potentially really enjoy some of their hobbies," said Josh Mungavin, a wealth manager at Evensky & Katz. "Now people can chase their passions."