Letters to the Editor
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Yes, move there!
As context, I grew up in the Twin Cities, lived in the Bay Area for five years, then lived in Madison for six, and now live in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia. I've also spent significant amounts of time working in Philadelphia, New York, and Chicago. Having experienced all of those places, I'm at the point where I can tell pretty quickly if a new place feels like 'me' or not. The Bay Area never did - I know so many people who love it, and I just never got that. When I moved to Madison, I instantly felt like I'd lived there forever and would never to leave (and I wouldn't have if my job didn't require it).
This is not to say that Madison is 'better' than the Bay Area - I know plenty of people who will vehemently argue that the Bay Area is the best place to live on Earth, and I respect their opinions - but that Madison was better _for me_. It sounds like the writer is having a similar experience after having visited the Midwest - it just feels more right than SoCal.
The next step is to think about why the particular place you visited in the Midwest generated those feelings. Was it size? The people? Affordability? As many other people have already mentioned, the Midwest is far from homogeneous. Places like the Twin Cities and Chicago are sprawling metropolises with lots to do. Madison, Iowa City, and Ann Arbor are small cities with very liberal populations and the sorts of resources/events you'd expect from college towns. And then there are plenty of small towns - some close to cities (e.g. Northfield, MN - ~20 min. from the outer Twin Cities suburbs, but still a small town), some not. The proximity to a city is key - the further you get from one, the more 'traditional' (not necessarily 'conservative,' but more farm- and church-centered) the culture is likely to be, and the bigger your culture shock will be.
Another option is to try the Pacific Northwest (Portland, Seattle, smaller places like Corvallis) - follow the path of many of your CA brethren and move north, to where the values are a bit more grounded, but the culture is still West Coasty.
And if you do move to the Midwest, prepare for a lot of (often-annoying) questions/comments from Coasties about why you'd willingly move inland. Just keep in mind that you're looking for the best place for you - and if that's a small town in Iowa, embrace it!