That's simply not solving the problem. Yes, you get the money, but you're not getting all of the benefits of living in a major hub. You're missing the times you meet a valuable contact on the train, or at a house party, the free or cheap events and seminars, the chances to see someone important in your field and ask them questions directly. And that's not including all the non-business benefits of living in a socioeconomic hub: good places to eat, public art, etc.
Certainly it might be worthwhile to trade all that for lower rent, but don't think you're getting the same thing for less money. You aren't.
Conversely, by working remotely you can live where you want to. You can own forty acres adjacent to prime public lands. You can keep horses. You can take a lunch break and hike up the mountain in your back yard and look out over the vast empty prairie.
I'd go back to working at Wal-Mart before I move back into a city.
I do the remote-thing from Louisville, KY. There has never been a moment that I feel like I'm missing out on the non-business benefits. I've gone to more concerts, plays, excellent restaurants, operas here than I've ever gone when I was living in one of the trendy coastal cities. This is directly related to having more disposable income.
Networking opportunities are less, certainly. There are plenty seminars, workshops, and what have you to keep up technically, but there are no big name companies or famous practitioners around. Few SW engineering companies, but decent amount of industries requiring developers.
There is undoubtedly a trade-off, but I am not wholly convinced that choosing the high cost/high opportunity trade-off is necessarily the best one. Personally, I felt like I drank the kool-aid a little too much when living in Sodosopa.
Do you miss interacting with your coworkers in person? That is one thing I feel like I would miss, and I am talking about both people that I work with directly and those that I don't.
Yes, I do. I go work on site a few times a year, for a couple of weeks each time. That helps rekindling contacts. Frequent webcam and an open chatbox help too.
