A related anecdote: I lived in very small rural village in Nebraska for about 1.5 years . I worked at a small, sleepy, company that made radio broadcast software. I lived across the street from my office parking lot. The supermarket, gas station, library, and Post Office were all within 3-6 blocks.

Although some opportunities weren't available. The ability to spend essentially 0% of my time commuting for any errands made my life very simple and enjoyable.

I love in Boston now and work for a startup, so there's been quite a stark contrast between my lifestyle in the past year. Luckily I work completely remote now because I told myself then, I would never work or live anywhere that requires me to spend a dozen hours a week driving and doing errand.