[ghaff]

That's good advice generally. There are a lot of places that are pretty idyllic in the summer that even I, who like winter activities, would probably find pretty isolating in the winter.

I'd add that country/city isn't a binary thing where you're either living in a major urban core or you're out in the sticks. The Bay Area is something of an exception but there are many major cities where about an hour gets you into much less expensive housing and space to spread out if you want that. But you're still close enough for going into the city for an evening if you want to. (And lot of the time, the tech jobs are already out from the city anyway.)