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

It's the opposite where I am: landlords raising rates to capture more of those sweet student loan dollars. The policy of making access to credit cheap and ubiquitous for students has led to drastic growth in rents (in addition to a large expansion in college amenities and administration). That's what's pricing out locals: students paying for housing with borrowed money.

I see, but I don't find a problem with that either though.

Seems no different than crime stoppers, it's usually just a reward for information leading to an arrest, it's not an actual bounty. It's not excluding that, but he's most likely hoping someone who knows the person who stole it will rat for the money.

And I think you'll have to provide examples of the "terrible outcomes caused by private vigilanteism".

And build one unit of transit next to them, it doesn't matter if the road or rail is connected.

It definitely exists, but there are so many small towns across the country, we could not possibly list them all. You need to narrow it down - do some road trips, explore regions and states, and pick a target area. Maybe choose a big city you might want to be within a few hours of. Then get a realtor from that city to educate you on the towns in the area and help you narrow down to a few actual potential locations. Then you can start looking at homes.

After living in Austin for 24 years and working at Samsung Austin Semiconductor for a decade, I decided that I wanted to work remotely. I learned new skillsets and started working for smaller startups where remote work was a possibility. This was pre-COVID.

I researched every town and county between Brenham and Junction for about 18 months, studying publicly available data as well as traveling to the towns to see them for myself. I tried to introduce myself to the locals, asking them about the town and their businesses. Sometimes I would call the sheriff's office or school district to ask them questions about the community. I would walk into rural hospitals and start talking to staff about their facility and services they offered.

I moved to San Saba in 2018 and then bought a second house in Lampasas in 2021. These towns are northwest of Austin, at the northern tip of what's known as the Texas Hill Country.

San Saba is more remote, more pristine. The population density is three people per square mile and there are two traffic lights in the entire county. The downtown has been revitalized over the past decade and the local ISP is very forward-thinking, offering gigabit fiber.

Lampasas is closer to Austin (an hour away), has a hospital and definitely has bit more bustle than San Saba, but nothing like the congestion one experiences in Austin.

The people out here are incredibly neighborly and hospitable, with a live-and-let-live ethos. They do not like to be preached at or lectured by outsiders, so respecting their way of doing things is of paramount importance. I've been very successful by attending city council meetings, joining volunteer organizations, teaching classes myself in the library on weekends, things like that. Figuring out how things work and contributing as best I can without being too loud about it. People will appreciate you if you can do that.

It's important that one be fairly self-sufficient when moving to an area like where I live. For example, I had to tear my house apart in San Saba to fix some structural issues caused by water penetration leading to rotten wood in the structure. Working with the contractors was definitely a learning experience and something I never want to do again. But you have to be able to figure out things like that if you live out here.

The peace and quiet, the pristine environment, the quality of life, the low crime and great community, these are all things I wouldn't trade for a spotted hog. It's not for everyone, but after living in Austin for 24 years, I much prefer it here now.