Yes and it was the best decision I’ve ever made.

My wife and I grew up on dairy farms outside of a town of about 1000. We reconnected 20 years after we graduated and when we got married she was already living in a city of 250k and thought it was great. The moment she got pregnant the countdown began to move to a smaller town. By the time our kid started school we wanted to be the hell out of that city. We moved 30 minutes away, to a different county, and our 1200 sq ft house on 0.19 acres of land had property taxes that were double what we are paying on 2 acres of land and a 3000sq ft house with an attached two car heated garage and a 5 car unattached heated garage plus a 20 ft by 20 ft shed.

Now when we hear gunfire it lines up with a hunting season as opposed to wondering if it was a domestic situation, a drive by, or a drug deal gone wrong. My wife only knew neighbors on each side of us and across the street and despite owning her own brick and mortar business wasn’t connected at all. Since moving she has become the VP of the library board, helped organize a local business association, and has gotten a weekly farmers market off the ground along with a spring and fall wine walk. She has gotten more connected and feels more valued here than she ever did in the 20 years in her previous location.

The biggest adjustment was that trips to a Costco or big box home improvement store need to be planned out just a bit better but that’s small potatoes compared to the benefits. However, you go to a Home Depot or Menards and you interact with idiots who don’t know what you are looking for or need. We have a real good hardware store in town where everyone there knows exactly where things are located and understand what you are looking for.