I am not OP but I will answer as I have relevant experience. I grew up in Midwestern US suburbs and rural areas and find the problems he/she mentioned to be acc

I am not OP but I will answer as I have relevant experience. I grew up in Midwestern US suburbs and rural areas and find the problems he/she mentioned to be accurate. "Church" is always trotted out by people there as THE community but not everyone is a religious person or finds that arrangement suitable. Transportation is a huge problem regardless as there are no buses or trams or trains in large swaths of the country. Culture, politics, and lifestyles in the bulk of the Midwest, while possibly ideal for you or others, are NOT for equally as many people. My "neighbors" are not nearby, not sociable at all, and not people I would choose to be around anyway for a number of reasons. I have heard your opinion of cities my entire life growing up, and believed them until I lived in one. For me it was life changing and gave me access to people like me and culture I enjoyed and awareness that not everyone had the politics I was told were "correct", and being dragged back here was equally life changing in a negative way.