Three years ago I had a hybrid job based on Silicon Valley; it was fully remote during COVID but switched to in office once per week when restrictions were lift

Three years ago I had a hybrid job based on Silicon Valley; it was fully remote during COVID but switched to in office once per week when restrictions were lifted (this switch did not come as a surprise; we knew throughout the pandemic that full remote was a temporary situation). I wanted to buy a home in Santa Cruz County, but I kept getting outbid beyond my (admittedly small) budget of about $525,000. I then considered rural areas; I even drove to an open house near Lake San Antonio about 30 minutes northwest of Paso Robles to see a brand new house that sat on a one-acre lot. The home was around $450,000, and it was located in Starlink’s service zone. After some consideration, however, I ruled out living so far away from town. One significant factor was access to health care. Specialty doctors could be hard to find, and if I’m in an emergency, it’s a long trip to either King City or Paso Robles. Another major concern, though this is not a universal problem, is the exploding cost of home and fire insurance, especially in fire-prone zones like many of California’s less-populated areas near hills and mountains. I like the peacefulness and beauty of less-populated areas, but I rely on city services, and so I prefer to live in or near a city.