So very much this. I don't want to be disconnected from the world, I just want my location to be disconnected from my employment. I don't want to be forced into one of only 2 or 3 hyper-inflated housing market cities because that's where all the decent paying gigs have decided to focus their headquarters. I can and do make friends and socialize anywhere I go, but most of the places I like are nothing like New York or San Francisco, and most of them have a hell of a lot better cost of living.