I was chatting with a good friend the other day about how he had taken the leap from living in one of the most expensive cities in the U.S. and opting for a quiet laid back lifestyle in one of the Cheapest Places to Live in America – rural Tennessee.

It was a great conversation. One of those deep one where time seems to stand still. We laughed and almost cried but most importantly we reflected on how far we had come has husbands, as fathers and men. Both of us had spent far too long comparing ourselves to others and thinking that the goal was to have it all – all the toys and of course to live in only the best places. Fortunately we slowly woke up over the past couple of decades while our buddies were falling a sleep! Most of the guys we went to school with opted for plan ‘A’ and really it;s not even a sleep – it’s the drug. The drug of greed. The drug of money – not that money is a bad thing but many of our buddies went off the deep end. I’m talking the ‘love of money’ – more is better and much more is even better still. Sure they live in some of the best cities one could live in. Drive some of the best cars one could drive and owned pretty much every awesome toy a guy could want. Well, so we thought. Of course it was all on borrowed time - borrowed money. So when the bottom fell out we discovered who really did own all those things. But as I said fortunately my good friend and I woke up from hat deep sleep before it was too late.

I chose to escape the rat race by moving to another country where the love of money and things was secondary to the love of family and friendships. My friend decided rural America was still where it was at and a semi reclusive lifestyle in the Tennessee countryside does it for him. Yes, when you start looking at the cheapest places to live you realize that many times the only thing you’ll miss is the frenetic pace and the desire to want more, more, more. And for that you can call me cheap any time you like!