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 concer

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.