Two places I have lived that you might want to consider: Oak Ridge, TN and Blacksburg VA. Both are small towns with full-fledged rural areas a short drive away

Two places I have lived that you might want to consider: Oak Ridge, TN and Blacksburg VA. Both are small towns with full-fledged rural areas a short drive away, but both also have tech anchors. For Oak Ridge, it is ORNL and for Blacksburg it is Virginia Tech. There is also Inland Motor corporation in nearby Radford, and maybe a few others (it has been decades since I lived there).