Most people don’t dream of living in Sunnyvale. They are there because of the job. Any small city would be a fine substitution for many people.

"You can't force people to want"?

What are you trying to say? That sentence does not parse for me.

Of course you can convince people to happily move elsewhere: "Look, you can keep your current job, work remote, and instead of crammed into a 1-bedroom flat in a high-density block of multiple loud families, you can raise your kids here in Sleepyville, in a 3-bedroom house with a garage, a garden and an attic/basement for your hobbies."

People aren't stupid. The majority of them work to live, not live to work, and the substantial increase in quality of life afforded by large spaces let them live more than work.

The QoL increase in having an attic/basement for hobbies/workshop/kids/entertainment/whatever alone would get people to move. Then you add in things like usable private yard, much nicer room sizes, etc and for many people it's a no-brainer.

> people actually like to go places, socialize, go out to eat, see cultural events, etc.

You can, and many do, all of this just fine in all small towns and cities. You should, ironically, get out more.