Attending college near friends vs. OOS opportunity

Looking for other opinions so that I’m not just giving my perspective to S19. He has been told it’s totally his decision, I’ve just been mentioning things to keep in mind. He will be fine at either school so feel free to tell me it doesn’t matter.

He was WL for a favorite OOS which would put him driving distance but not close. The main choices are a state flagship or far away OOS opportunity. He is thinking he might stay in state because he doesn’t want to leave his friend group. They will be at the same school or 2 different schools within 45 minutes. All great kids. He has a scholarship and will be in honors instate, plus it’s the least expensive so no issues there. My concern is that he had decided he liked smaller private schools and is picking the complete opposite for his friends, not because he wants to attend that school. He was originally against it and only applied at my request.

We live in an area where many kids do grow up and stay in the area with lots of extended family. We aren’t from here and planning to move closer to family. We had a talk last night where I gently let him know things won’t stay exactly the same with his friends. At the same time, there’s a good chance most may stay around after college so I don’t want to assume they will drift either.

I guess I just want him to consider his options based on the school’s merits, not his close buddies. Before this, he was very focused on getting into CS with an AI focus. Advice, experiences, any issues that he should consider? Thanks in advance!