I've lived in San Francisco, with a whole world of things to do. You know what the locals do? Same thing the locals in Nebraska do. Go to the mall, go to dinner, go to movies, go grocery shopping. You know what the locals don't do? Go to the beach. Walk the Golden Gate Bridge. Go to Alcatraz or Fisherman's Wharf. Very few go to sporting events. Why? Because they don't want to deal with tourists.
So, sure, there are more things to do in L.A. or Chicago or San Francisco, but the locals don't do those things. They live lives almost identical to those of us in the Midwest. They have more options, but those options aren't what's keeping them from going to their version of FNL or football games on Saturdays.