Remote work lets many people keep a big-city paycheck and live where that paycheck goes further. If that's your plan, our income tool shows what your salary is worth in a smaller place.
But a small town only works for remote work if the basics work: a fast, steady internet connection, a good place to do your job, and a plan for the days you have to show up in person. Here's how to check each one before you sign anything.
Check the internet at the exact address
Service can change from one road to the next, so check the actual address rather than the town as a whole.
Start with the FCC's National Broadband Map. Type in an address and you'll see the internet providers that say they can serve that location, the type of service and the speeds offered. Providers report this to the Federal Communications Commission twice a year, as of June 30 and December 31 (FCC, 2026). If the map lists a provider that doesn't actually serve the house, you can file a challenge right from the map.
How fast is fast enough? The FCC's benchmark for home broadband is at least 100 megabits per second down and 20 up, written 100/20 Mbps (Federal Communications Commission, 2026). Pay attention to the upload number if you spend your day on video calls or sending large files.
Then confirm it with people:
- Call the provider with the exact address and ask whether service is available there today, at what speed and what price.
- Ask the seller or current renter for a recent internet bill, and run a speed test on your phone when you visit.
- Ask the neighbors what they use and how it holds up in bad weather.
Don't close on a house until you know which service you'll have.
Have a backup plan
Even good service goes down. A backup keeps one outage from turning into a missed deadline.
- A phone hotspot or cellular router. Check the signal at the house itself. The FCC's mobile coverage maps show where you should get service outdoors or in a vehicle; they don't cover service indoors (FCC, 2026).
- Satellite internet. The FCC says that with satellite included, broadband is available almost everywhere. It also notes that obstructions in the line of sight, heavy demand and network congestion can mean slower speeds and higher latency in remote areas (Federal Communications Commission, 2026).
- A second wired provider, if the map shows one at the address.
- A battery backup for your modem and router, so a short power blip doesn't drop your call.
- A place to go, like the library or a café with reliable Wi-Fi, for the day everything at home is down.
Find a place to work
In the book's experience, a small-town house often comes with room to spare: everyone gets a bedroom, and the game room you always wanted becomes possible. That can mean a real office with a door instead of a corner of the kitchen table.
Away from home, look at:
- The public library. Ask about Wi-Fi, quiet rooms and hours.
- Coworking space in the nearest bigger town. Ask about day passes, which work well if you're already making a weekly trip.
- The book's weekly city trip. For amenities you can't get locally, the book suggests one organized trip to the city each week. Add a work session or a client lunch, and the trip does double duty.
Plan for office days
If your job calls for days in the office, drive the commute before you choose a town, at the hour you'd actually make it. The book's advice is to be honest about distance and speed: an interstate at 70 miles per hour is a very different trip from a farm road at 45.
For comparison, the average American worker's trip to work takes about 26 minutes (U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2020 to 2024). An hour or more each way is far easier to live with once a week than every day. Frank Rolfe has written about the "super-commuters" who make that trade; read more in small town, suburb or exurb.
The book has practical ideas for making a long drive pleasant: audiobooks and podcasts, a language course, your favorite music, healthy snacks and no speeding. It suggests catching up on phone calls in speaker mode only on the open highway, never in heavy traffic.
Mind the time zone
A move can change your workday without changing your job. If your team is in New York and you move to a town on Mountain time, a 9 a.m. Eastern meeting starts at 7 a.m. for you. Moving west means earlier mornings; moving east means later evenings.
Before you choose a state, ask your employer two questions: Are there states where you can't employ remote workers? Will my pay change if I move? A move to a new state can also change your income taxes, so talk with an accountant before you go.
Career ideas from the book
The book makes the case that a small town is a good place to rethink your work as well as where you do it.
- Stay close. The book's rule of thumb is that in most cities you can get past the sprawl about 30 miles from downtown, so you can keep your job and still get small-town benefits.
- Transfer. The book points out that many employers allow transfers within the company and many people don't want them, so there may be openings.
- Use the lower costs as a cushion. In Frank's town, the book says, the difference in property taxes and private school tuition alone came to about $30,000 a year. Savings like that make a career change less scary.
- Try one income. The book calls small towns the last bastion of the one-income household, and a good place to experiment if a spouse wants to stop working.
- Add a side business. In small towns, the book says, everyone has two or three jobs; in Frank's town even the mayor has a full-time job and two side businesses.
- Go back to school. In a college town, night classes or a new degree are close at hand.
- Fill a gap. If the town is missing something, the book suggests building a small business around it.
Our guide to work and commuting covers jobs, commutes and remote work in more depth.
Frank and Dave's free book has a chapter on career changes and another on the fine art of commuting. Get your copy here.