I grew up rural and live in a smallish rural town / small city (With some basic amenities and good internet) after having lived in a major city for a few years. With so much entertainment now being piped directly to our houses, the only thing I really miss is that we have no affordable public racquetball courts. A 5 minute commute to work and being able to live like a king in a low CoL area definitely make up for that.

Sometimes I miss the city, but if I’m honest with myself, I’m too busy to engage in most of those things you mention more than a few times per year, during which time I’ll just go vacation or visit a large city. Same complaint from my family members who currently live in a large city: all kinds of offerings available, but no time or money to attend them. That being said, I’d love to retire to a big city when I actually have time and excess money to take advantage of what they have to offer.

The biggest drawbacks to living in the area are that you can get yourself in a lot of trouble with services if you leave the town. Got locked out of my car in a tiny nearby village and nearly had to smash a window in because there was literally no one available to open it for me.