I've started a new job twice in the last 6 years working remotely from North Carolina (after already having been established here in NC), and not in one of the tech-heavy areas (RTP / Charlotte).

In the first remote job I worked nearly 3 years at a Santa Clara, CA startup. I've been almost 3 years at a large 10K-plus employee Mountain View, CA company now ... first non-startup in 20+ years. It helped that both jobs came through my network.

Why? I see lots of jobs listing ads for remote positions.

No it's not. I mean... what are you even talking about? There are hundreds of remote-only or remote-first companies that hire new remote hires.