Not long ago I lived in Morehead, Kentucky while my wife finished up nursing school. We lived in a cute 2bd house walking distance from downtown for $425/mo. Our grocery bills were $120/week and included meat/fish, fresh veggies, and wine for every meal. We did a lot of hiking and rock climbing. I learned to play the banjo.

It's not a booming economy but they have the same minimum wage jobs that they have everywhere else. If you are content with that (and I say this without judgement - many people get their life's meaning outside of work) then there are plenty of places in the US where you can have a comfortable life. Just not expensive cities.