I’ve written before about the many challenges involved with getting Millennials (the generation born after 1980 and sometimes referred to as Generation Y) engaged and involved in the workplace. It’s not an easy task, especially since the baby boomer generation seems a lot less inclined to leave the workforce get out of the way for them.

Millennials also get a bad rap for being difficult, but as I’ve pointed out all the ones I deal with reflect what you would find in society as a whole—some are good, some average, some clueless. To my mind, that is no different from any other group in the workplace.

That’s why I was intrigued by an issue that Mary Kramer, the publisher of Crain’s Detroit Business (a sister publication of Workforce Management) blogged about this week: “Which comes first in the job hunt of a young college graduate? Find the dream job or the dream place to live?”

She writes about a conference of C-level executives she recently attended that was sponsored by Deloitte and the Michigan Economic Development Corp. Michigan in general, and Detroit in particular, have a huge “brain drain” problem because the best and brightest young workers don’t want to stay there given the terrible job market (9.7 percent unemployment in Detroit) and lack of what they consider to be “cool” jobs (attractive careers in attractive industries).

One expert argued that Michigan (and a lot of other places in America, I would think) not only needs more knowledge-based companies with higher-paying jobs, but also needs to present a more attractive lifestyle to young talent so they aren’t lured off to places like Chicago, Portland, Boston or Minneapolis. Another expert countered with the notion that talent will go where the jobs are and Michigan’s biggest problem is its high cost of doing business. He felt the state needs lower taxes and other costs of doing business so companies will grow and attract young talent to the increase in jobs and opportunity.

Kramer’s take is that places like Michigan can have it both ways because these two notions of what attracts Millennials are not mutually exclusive. “But,” she added, “the real epiphany [is] this: My guess is that the more technically trained a young college graduate is, the more likely he or she will move to the job they really want. Liberal arts grads, meanwhile, without a specific niche or job training, will gravitate to seek the PLACE they want to live before they actually look for the job.”

As the father of three Millennials and as a part-time college professor who deals with a classroom full of them each semester, my view is a little skewed. What I keep hearing is that new grads and young workers just want solid jobs that pay decently. But that view may be skewed since I’m in Southern California and lifestyle isn’t the issue here that it may be in places like Michigan.

What do you think? Are Millennials overly focused on lifestyle instead of the job, or do you see something else going on? Either way, I’d love to get your view either with a comment here or an e-mail me at jhollon@workforce.com.