I’m thinking about leaving the Los Angeles area. It’s not the first time I’ve flirted with the idea of moving away, however it is the first time I’ve considered locations outside of the standard major metropolitan areas. Don’t get me wrong. I love my little, overpriced apartment, as well as the neighbors packed in around me. However, I find it completely foolish not to take full advantage of working remotely and finally shed the shackles of city living.

I have touched upon the freedom to travel being a great perk of remote work. You may wonder, isn’t visiting other places enough to satisfy? Why move away from the city completely? Well, allow me to break down some of the reasons for taking remote work to more remote areas.

I didn’t hear anything

We live on top of each other in a city. With such a high population density, quiet is often confused with the ability to tune out the sounds of neighbors, the constant road and pedestrian traffic, planes and helicopters and emergency sirens. Nearly 30 years of city living has left me longing for some peace and quiet. Genuine silence – yum.

More bang for your buck

Of the many wonderful things Southern California has to offer, spacious living at an affordable price is not one of them. It’s a common case you’ll find in major cities around the world, which is why small towns and country living has captured my attention. The notion of having legitimate office space (currently, my ‘office’ is an oversized closet that still maintains it’s primary purpose of storing coats and whatnot), a large yard for my dogs and plentiful parking all for less than what I’m currently paying for my apartment is mind blowing. Plus – brace yourself – with the cut in cost of living, I’d actually be able to make significant contributions to retirement savings, all while continuing with lofty travel plans.

The technology, stupid

Once upon a time, moving away from the city meant you were moving away from community, culture and entertainment. Now, the advances in technology have completely changed the game. Anyone with a computer or mobile device has easy access to every movie ever made, every book ever written, every album ever recorded, in addition to live streaming of numerous events from all over. With unlimited access to community, culture and entertainment from any location, there really isn’t any reason to remain bound to a major metropolitan area.

In a nutshell, any tradeoffs made in moving to a more remote area are far less stark than they used to be. There is still much research to be done to find the best fitting location to move to, but I am definitely on the lookout.