SOMEONE please give me some input on this

I have been killing myself in the rat race, trying to keep my head above water in a ridiculously expensive sector of the US, and I am really missing my rural roots. I would like to downshift and live in a much less populated and expensive area, realizing all that I will be losing in the process. I've considered the ins and outs and still feel I'm ready for a move.

I don't know much of the rest of the country, as I have not travelled much, so I don't know where to go. What I'm looking for are the following (if they can all be found in one place):

1.) very rural or woodsy - relatively unpopulated (far from "amenities" is not only ok, but desireable)
2.) not overly churchy/fundamentalist :-)
3.) not a growing area that is filling up with other yups trying to escape urban hell and get back in touch with nature
4.) isn't particularly family-friendly (for obvious reasons!)
5.) a place where I could either buy a house (doesn't need to be big or pretty) for under $50k, or rent a small house/cabin for under $500/mo

If you have any ideas of places in the US that might fit this bill, and can also refer me to websites that might have good info about home sales/rentals, I'd really appreciate it.

Thanks, my CF sistren and brethren.

If you don't mind cold weather, Vermont and Maine fit that description, but I don't know what you would do for money if you don't want to work in the tourist or lumber industries.

I thought about doing the same thing, but right now I need the job with benefits...

St. Lawrence County New York State. It's close to Watertown, NY and better yet, 50 miles from Ottawa, Ont. Canada.

You might want to check out Northeastern/Central Pennsylvania. There are loads of rural towns, and if you look, you can find cheap homes and reasonable rental rates. It's not a yuppified area of the country for the most part. There's some religious people in rural PA, but they don't shove it down your throat. Stay away from the Pocono Mountain area if you want to find cheap housing and get away from ex-urban yuppies, as a lot of well-to-do people from NYC are moving there. Mountain Top, Bear Creek, and Dallas (yes, there is a Dallas, PA) are sort of yuppie-ish, too.

A drawback is that wages aren't normally great, but perhaps you might find a decent job. There are a certain amount of working-class jobs such as truck driving, factories, and the like. If you have degrees/experience in the medical profession, whether it's nursing or as some type of technician, you may find a decent amount of open positions. There may even be some office-type positions open, in addition to a reasonable amount of call center/customer service work. PA can be hit or miss with jobs, depending on where you are.

New England - ME, VT, NH would fit the bill. Also, northeast PA - where I am from. Central PA also.

If you pick Maine, stay away from Lewiston, that whole area has been infiltrated with breeding welfare scum from Somali and I've read it's a total shithole now.