I don't understand...Why NYC?

If the mother was from the Midwest and felt that was a better place to raise her family (like she said early on in the documentary), I just don't understand why she did not return to the Midwest to raise her family? They did not trust NYC, so why didn't she just move with her family to a Midwest area where the father could get a job and "the boys could play outside". There are jobs outside NYC. Living in NYC has a higher cost of living than most cities, so not sure why they picked there to live in the first place. I am a city girl, but if you are not, then move to where you feel it is safe for your family. She stated several times that she wanted to feel safe, like she did in the Midwest, so not quite sure why she went to NY if it felt like such an unsafe environment for her family. There seems to be more issues here with the mother than we are being told. However, I have to say that I am impressed with the boys resiliency!