If you're not tied by an employer, then you can be way more flexible about how you spend your housing budget
Yes, it is cheaper to live where fewer people want to live.
But, usually, there are reasons fewer people want to live there.
It’s hard to explain how good life is when you live within walking distance of friends and can spontaneously decide to go to the cafe for breakfast rather than having to schedule an event days in advance so people can transport in.
Moved to the city and some of my friends live here while the others have very easy public transport to the city from their houses so now I meet up with friends several times a week. Often they don't have to travel at all and just walk from the office to my place after work.
For me it's been life changing.
Some of the types of people we desire to be around aren’t going to be in those areas. If you’re into tech but live around a bunch of troglodytes - you’re not likely to make many friends around tech subjects. If that’s your passion and you want friends who share that passion - gotta move.
Some people have incredibly low standards (anyone will do) for friends and lovers. Some have high standards (very few will fit). If you live in niche small towns/villages with little in common - it’s gonna be rough to be someone with high standards.
Yes, one is that a lot of people want to live there. That one's inevitable though. Some places are more desirable to live than others. I don't want to live in a small town with nothing to do.
The other factor is when a city refuses to build sufficient housing. This one is not inevitable. It usually comes about due to entrenched interest in the value of existing housing. For instance, north San Jose has built no new housing in a decade, despite a well known housing crisis.