I moved to central CA and then Iowa for husband's job. In CA, I missed distinct seasons, but being able to swim all year round was rad. CoL was similar to Boston suburbs at the time. In Iowa, everything sucked except cost of living. We rented a newly renovated apartment, 3br for $1k/mo. I missed my friends and family and diversity of food offerings. Also missed having things relatively close. You could drive for the same amount of time as in Boston and pass zero decent food joints. Also there was nothing to do in Iowa except drink and listen to drug addicts & racists.

The only reason why any of this worked out is because I worked remotely and still had Boston salary the whole time. Rent went up by $600 in the 4 years that we were gone and that's been a bit rough to adjust back to. But I wouldn't trade proximity to friends and family again.