SO and I are in engineering fields and the bumfuck midwest was a commonality in job opportunities for both our areas of study (ChemE and EE). We bought a decently sized house and 10+ acres several years ago (thank jebus... definitely couldn't afford it now) that's about 30 minutes away from the "major" town where both our companies have an office/plant, but since COVID everything is semi-work from home now... that is, until management decides they need to lay people off and force everyone back into the office.

I'll be honest, we probably aren't going to stick around here for much longer... had a kid and the daycare options are terrible and I really don't want them growing up with the regressive politics that have gotten out of control. We'll gladly take our high earning jobs and associated state income taxes somewhere else rather than subsidize the bullshit... but its been nice being to amass a sizeable savings/investments and pay off all debt before the next move.