Severance question

Hi, so I think New York City is definitely a symbol for smth in this book but I'm not sure what lol. Exoduses keep showing up (e.g. Brigham Young to Utah, Moses to Egypt, Candace to the facility, her parents to the U.S. etc.) and it seems like NYC is both a starting point and a destination so I'm wondering if that means smth. Also, I think it's interesting how everyone has their own take on the city -- this is the only place we really see Candace refer to as "home" and yet for someone like Johnathan, it's a terrible place that's mundane and monotonous. Any thoughts?