Everyone should ask themselves, why they live where they live , and how they support themselves. How did they end up living where they live.
These rural areas have bargain priced homes, but many of those areas are economically depressed areas with limited job opportunities. Although that’s changing somewhat with the rise of remote work.
But it’s nothing new to see people in small towns , move to bigger cities for better opportunities Many people in small towns go away to college, and then never return to their hometowns. There’s nothing new about that.
Although I would agree, it seems very trivial to want to live in a place because they have a Starbucks, and reject more rural locations which do not have a Starbucks.
Also places with “affordable” homes tend to be crime-ridden, and nobody wants to live there.