My fiance and I left Chicago (and $1700&#x2F;mo) in July for this kind of middle ground. I cross-referenced national fiber optic rollout with low population&#x2F;rural areas and we found a few acres with 1gbps FTTH in the Lake of the Ozarks area. Our place came with an existing 2 bedroom home with existing private well and electric, all-in we bought for under 2 years worth of Chicago rent.<p>Our home is&#x2F;was a bit of a fixer-upper, and it&#x27;s harder to get help with labor here (it exists, but it&#x27;s expensive). But one thing I&#x27;ve noticed is that learning plumbing&#x2F;construction&#x2F;mechanics has been way easier than learning software. You definitely sweat more though.<p>Turn-key housing here exists too, it just comes at more of a premium. Also, your social life is obviously impacted. You&#x27;re probably well-advised to already have a family or s&#x2F;o (or just are comfortable being alone).<p>All told, I think this is a great option if you&#x27;re feeling trapped in your career but have stockpiled some cash. It probably doesn&#x27;t require near as much money as you might think to make the jump.<p>For us it&#x27;s exactly what we needed to focus on our startups without going the traditional VC route. We&#x27;d love to see more people going this route. Let me know if I can help.