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Ask HN: How to find a small town to relocate for remote work?

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Re: Ask HN: How to find a small town to relocate for remote work?

#281

Post by le-mark »

newshorts wrote: post #146
tacitusarc wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m sure you didn’t intend it this way, but this comment comes across as incredibly arrogant and unfeeling.

Was going to say something similar. Having grown up in a small idyllic town, there was beauty in the slow struggle to live there. OP would do well to try and learn the culture before seeking to change it. There’s value beyond “cheaper houses” and “craft beer” in these places.

As someone from a small town in a rural area, can you expand on what values you have in mind? What I saw was grinding poverty, bad schools, bottom tier education, and rampant drug abuse.

Coincidentally the novel/film Winter’s Bone author portrayed this area, north Arkansas and southern Missouri.

Re: Ask HN: How to find a small town to relocate for remote work?

#282

Post by Eupraxias »

notatoad wrote: post #108
neilv wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> a few dozen like-minded nerds will gentrify a small town How does one do this in such a way that it's welcomed by people who already make their home there? (I can imagine a lot of ways this could go work out badly, but don't immediately know a good approach.)

Give them money. Directly or not. If you're a rich person moving into a poor town, the only way to not piss off the locals is to make them richer. If you can make the whole town richer, you'll be welcomed. Whatever portion of the locals that you don't make richer will hate you. If you don't want to piss off the locals, and you don't want to employ the locals, this is a very expensive plan.

Why do you think they won't take your money and still hate you out of town? That's what I have seen.

Re: Ask HN: How to find a small town to relocate for remote work?

#283

Post by NickSingh »

College towns I found have been great for this - things to do, access to airports and good schools, top-notch hospitals usually in the middle of "nowhere". Look into Charlottesville, Virginia - went to UVA and loved the town. Have also heard good things about Ithaca NY, Champaign IL, and Ann Arbor MI.

Re: Ask HN: How to find a small town to relocate for remote work?

#284

Post by mbg721 »

tallanvor wrote: post #215
grapeskin wrote: post #179

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The first year, yeah. After that, people start moving out. I don’t know anybody who lived in a dorm from the third year onward. But yeah, what poor college students trying to get a start on life and grad students making pocket change really need is some 400k/year tech workers to flood into their town, say “wow! Only 2500 a month!” and make it impossible to live anywhere. Also, dorms are insanely expensive. And wantin…

Residence halls are generally competitively priced, and is often cheaper than comparable housing off campus. Residence halls are more expensive than they used to be, but a lot of that is due to the type of housing that students are demanding. University-owned housing isn't a profit center, it's only priced to cover the costs of providing it.

Is that really true in college towns? My experience (at an urban university campus that required a year in the dorms) was that the dorms and meal plans were staggeringly expensive, but the cheaper off-campus housing tended to be in older homes that had seen some very hard use as students came and went. So maybe the dorm price would be comparable with a brand-new high-rise apartment, but students didn't really need that.

Re: Ask HN: How to find a small town to relocate for remote work?

#285

Post by jason-phillips »

subpixel wrote: post #279

We recently did the same, though in our case opportunity drove our decision and not careful consideration. We got quite lucky under the circumstances. My observation, fwiw, is that the American small town, self-sufficient and independent from a neighboring city, is a dying breed. Not all small towns will die the same way or on the same schedule. But here are some things to think about. - Is there a tourist draw? Do s…

> My observation, fwiw, is that the American small town, self-sufficient and independent from a neighboring city, is a dying breed.

Some are, some aren't. I'm more than willing to share my story but I did my research before I left Austin for the Hill Country and couldn't be happier.

Re: Ask HN: How to find a small town to relocate for remote work?

#286

Post by ulfw »

2Gkashmiri wrote: post #133
throwaway787544 wrote: post #119

I live in the outskirts of a poor rural town in NY. We have 2 bars, some restaurants, a coffee shop, a fast food chain, some dollar stores, a grocery store, hardware store, antiques, gas stations, etc, Library and a little theater, farmers market on weekends. River runs nearby with a put-in for kayaks and fishing. Biggest town/city nearby with big box stores is about 45 minutes. They have fiber internet here but it's…

I'm curious, how do you people deal with medical emergencies? I live in a city and I have 3 24x7 hospitals within walking distance. I have gone dozens of times on foot at 3 in the morning to get medicine.

Why would someone go DOZENS of times on foot at 3am to get medicine?

And if so, why not get it from a pharmacy?

Re: Ask HN: How to find a small town to relocate for remote work?

#287

Post by JKCalhoun »

rswerve wrote: post #4

College towns. Pick some states, and go visit towns with colleges in them. They'll have restaurants and groceries, and those faculty kids have to go to school somewhere. Internet should be passable, too. They won't be the cheapest small town option, but houses should come in well below a million bucks. The one town you mention, Lancaster, PA, is a model of the type.

Agree. Still in love with Lawrence, KS (University of Kansas). If you can deal with the weather. :-(

College towns often have plenty of live music coming through with regularity, art, people with more open minds? (I don't mean to start a debate with the last point, just my preference perhaps.)

Lawrence works too because you're 30 or 45 minutes from a big city (Kansas City) so you can get your REI or IKEA on if you need to.

Lincoln, Nebraska is another near me (although I have not lived there) that is within 45 minutes of Omaha.

Had lunch in Iowa City and it looked comparable. An afternoon in Columbia, Missouri and it looked appealing as well.

Re: Ask HN: How to find a small town to relocate for remote work?

#288

Post by rlawson »

Let me give you the scoop on the Carolina's. I'm a developer living in the upstate of SC. I am an agnostic liberal which makes me a rarity but I was born here so I can go under the radar thanks to my deep melodious southern accent.

Pros

  - Great climate 10 out of 12 months
  - Friendly people
  - Lots of outdoor activities
  - Beautiful beaches (Fripp Island and Kiawah especially)
  - Low cost housing (altho going up rapidly)
  - Greenville and Charleston are very nice
Cons

  - Heart of MAGA land (this may be a pro depending on your politics)
  - First question is about what church you go to
  - Can still be shockingly racist at times (altho getting much better)
  - Weak zoning so sprawling construction and walkable areas limited
  - Food choices can be limited for vegans/vegetarians
  - July/August - the heat and humidity are rough

Re: Ask HN: How to find a small town to relocate for remote work?

#289

Post by JKCalhoun »

davidw wrote: post #46
cortesoft wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It really depends on the atmosphere you want. College towns are great in many ways, with lots of interesting things to do and a lot of cultural events. However, a lot of people move to college towns and don't realize/remember what college kids are like... they will be noisy at night, sometimes destroy property, throw parties, do stupid pranks... it isn't for everybody

Most of that kind of thing is often limited to a fairly limited area. Worth learning where those areas are, though.

Yeah, the student ghetto. Regular folks live in the college-town-burbs.

Re: Ask HN: How to find a small town to relocate for remote work?

#290

Post by pepy »

pontifier wrote: post #39

My method sure hasn't worked very well... or has it? I was looking for cheap warehouse space to start a business in, and did a nation-wide search for the largest, cheapest building in the entire continental US. I found one that seemed too good to be true. a 220,000 sqft metal warehouse and office complex on 17 acres. I thought the price was a typo at $375k.The agent assured me that the price was correct, and I flew o…

Congrats on doubling down on a bad decision. I'd suggest to list em all for sale, happily accept 60% of listed price and pray that the buyer doesnt bump into this discussion.
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