Left the Bay Area and moved to Vegas a little over a year ago. The Bay will always have a place in my heart, and I do miss my family and friends back there, but you couldn't get me to move back. My mortgage payment is cut in half, for a brand new home that's almost 1000 square feet larger. I don't have to sit in traffic just to drive 2 miles. No state tax. Lower property tax. Lower everything.
Mind you, Vegas has it's issues as well (what city doesn't), but the good far outweighs the bad, for us at least.