Personally, I'd rather live somewhere that inspires my creativity than somewhere that has a lot of shops that sell quilting supplies. With global commerce & easy internet access, it is easy to get supplies shipped almost anywhere. Having to travel to find inspiration would be much harder for me.
My desire to live somewhere that inspires my quilting is part of the reason I'm moving back to Chicago. I am moving to a community of artists (not specifically quilters, but still...) and live across the street from a large park & one of the oldest conservatories in the country. Just looking out the window there gives me more ideas than I will likely ever be able to translate into fabric.
But the wonderful thing about art is that different people are inspired by different things. Some are inspired by the fabrics, threads & materials themselves. Others are inspired by incredible teachers. And yet others find inspiration in their own unique ways. It's what makes our craft so interesting & diverse.
