Life 2.0

Book excerpt: Would you be happier if you lived somewhere else? A place where the quality of life is greater than the cost of living? Such places do exist--you just have to look a little harder to find them. The answer probably doesn't lie in the big coastal cities: the cost-of-living gap between those urban areas adn the heartland is an immense chasm. And yet the "sophistication gap" between these regions is steadily shrinking--cable TV, computers, fax machines, cell phones, and broadband Internet access are making it possible to work almost anywhere. Forbes publisher Rich Karlgaard wanted to explore the new appeal of "flyover" country, and he decided to sky-hop around America in a single-engine Cessna, talking to people--those with a nose for entrepreneurship, a faith in technology, and the willingness to take a chance--who found their bliss in places like Green Bay, Wisconsin; Des Moines, Iowa; Boseman, Montana. America offers up scores of these gems--cities towns with a winning combination of low cost of living and high quality of life--and Karlgaard provides an in-depth look at the country's 150 cheapest (and greatest) places to live. Life 2.0 is the story of those who are living larger lives in smaller places, and a road map for thos who want to follow their lead.