Not saying it can't be fun, but you can live in a country town almost anywhere, if I just want a permanent base hours from any airport, and they all tend to be a lot cheaper than living in the "big smoke".
Because going abroad at a different place than your regular country, and staying at a place for months or even a year or so, is also travelling. Travelling as in "I'm abroad, experiencing a different place and culture", not as in "I actively move from country to country every second week". And a "rural village in Spain" is quite compelling, both as a work base and as a lifestyle to many.
In which case, why would it matter if it's "hours from any airport" or not? Who said you'll be just using it as a jump base for airport travel? It can just be a place to work from and soak the local environment and surrounding areas. Not to mention in Spain you can't be a few hours from the nearest airport anywhere anyway. It's not some vast wasteland.
If you're running into those new age types all the time it's because you keep going to the places they congregate. There's usually only a few in each country.
I think folks from the US tend to underestimate the difference in proximity and services available in rural Spain vs rural US.
I emigrated to a tiny rural village in a far-flung corner of Spain, and I have an excellent highway 10 minutes away, the airport is 45 minutes (basically the same amount of time it took me from downtown Seattle to the airport), a decent city is also 45 minutes away. There are less than 1,000 folks in the entire district, but we have gigabit fibre to every house, a healthcare centre covered by national healthcare, dental clinic, two supermarkets, 6 cafes...
When I miss city life I move to a city again. Often the most memorable times on my travels were in rural areas.