I made this decision myself in 2007 :) I was self-employed with 3 offices around the Twin Cities (MN) and living right outside the Twin Cities. I made good money, but was away from my kids alot - I had to, there were alot of expenses associated with living that close to the city. In 2007, I just decided, out of the clear blue (really!), to move to Southern MN. I was sick of my kids being around the whole "keeping up with the Jones" thing! Every kid on our block over the age of 5 had their own cell phone (not knocking that, just wasn't my speed), and the high school kids drove to school in Lexus and Beemers (not kidding!). Median home prices where I was living was approached $500,000 - median home prices where I moved to about $75,000. I knew it would be tough, but somehow I knew I was making the right decision. I drove down here and looked at 4 homes (none of them over $50k), picked one, wrote a check for the entire thing and went back to the cities and told everyone that I was moving. I waited almost a year to make the actual move - I purchased the house in October and had one kid graduating that spring and wanted all the kids to finish out the school year where we were. Plus, I needed time to close down my offices and I did some renovations to the home before moving in.
Moving here was the best decision I ever made! I work from home now (I didn't plan that, I was able to keep 3 clients) and I walk my kids to and from school every day. We live in a town of 3500 people, but we have nearly everything I could want within walking distance - pool, post office, grocery store, Wal-Mart (very tiny one), pharmacy (even open on Sundays), tanning, hair salons, schools, hardware store, etc. I am ALWAYS here when my kids leave for and come home from school. It is tight some months, but I own my home free and clear and have no credit card debt now. I was most worried about the level of services my 2 special needs kids would get in such a small town - surprisingly, it is outstanding! We do have two larger towns, both just under an hour away, but honestly get most of what we need done right here in town and on-line shopping is only a click away for what isn't available. My kids participate in just about every sport under the sun and only occasionally have to drive to one of the bigger towns to play (home field is here but towns are more spread out so we have to sometimes travel for games). In addition to me being home all the time with the kids, we live in a place where the kids can come home when the street lights come on :)
You need to do what is best for you and your family, but I just wanted to share with you that it is possible :)
Good luck!