I live in flyover country. Minot, ND. Pop about 45k, which make it a major metro - LOL!
My wife is a Para who works with the special needs kids in the school system (Autism, Down syndrome, ect) There’s at least a dozen teachers who left much higher paying positions in the big cities to come out here to the country and teach, and it’s always the same story. Less pay, but far less stress, and so much happier, and the cheaper cost of living makes up for less pay. You can actually buy a house. No gang activity, few unruly students, farm families that actually care and are involved in their kids education, Principals who will call parents in and let them know exactly what’s going to happen if something doesn’t change.
You get the idea. A much smaller school system, more parental involvement, more personal relationships. Happier teachers/staff.
I suspect another element that makes it more attractive can be boiled down to the VALUES system of the community where you are. It is probably less likely that the teachers are forced into teaching far-left ideology from preschool through high school.