Northern New England will have to get its heroin problem under control before it will be appealing to the “remote programmer moving to rural area for peace and quiet and lower cost of living.”
Right and the massive homeless/drug problem in California is preventing folks from moving to SF.
There are a lot of reasons why I won't move to a lot of places. Mainly, they're money-related, but it's a big world, and it often pays to be somewhat selective regarding the location issues that concern you most.