Left the city a year and a half ago. semi retired after I sold my business. Moved to a ski resort town. I am 5 mins walk to a lake and 7 minutes drive to the ski hill. Because the town gets a lot of tourists it has many of the amenities a city has but you do get more traffic than I like during winter and summer months but not unbearable. Many walking trails and greenspace. Most people have dogs and are very friendly, happy to say hello if you see them while taking the dog for a walk. There is a lot money in the town if you want to start a business because many city folks cash in their city real estate and retire here (still expensive for real estate here but you do pay about 30% less for a house than the city).

The only drawback I see so far it while it is a great place for kids to grow up there is not a lot of opportunities for work for young people outside of the service industry or healthcare . There is a local co working space that attracts a lot of young entrepreneurs which is great and I pitched an innovation hub to the mayor and council members for an area open for redevelopment. Sadly, they went with a luxury hotel instead (stupid) but they are working on an idea similar to mine for another location so I am pleased about that. As much as it is an amazing place to retire and vacation, I think it can be an amazing place for kids to grow up and work and stay and raise their own family rather than the current cycle- kids grow up move to the city, city people get old move to the town.

Flagstaff, Arizona