Michael and Christine Pappas
Ages: 29, 39
Old hometown: Malden
New hometown: Fairfield, Iowa
He used to commute 17 miles into Bedford. Now he works for the same company from home, through a telecommuting arrangement.
Christine Pappas says, ''We wanted more of an outside area to raise a child. We really got the best of both worlds because we're living in the country and just bought a house for . . . under $120,000. My husband's salary stayed the same. . . . Now we live in a really small town, and if we want to get someplace, we can walk, we bike to the parks. There are some cultural trade-offs, like for children, the number of museums and music classes. It seemed like things are getting so big (in Massachusetts), getting very congested and the news is just shootings, and people are angry. There's not enough patience for the old lady in the supermarket. People are just irritable, and I think it has to do with the level of stress living there. People are just trying to get by, and we come here to Iowa, and we're in a small town, but our standard of living has gone way up -- and you don't need that money to go way up. When I first moved I was definitely culture-shocked. I thought, 'These people are very friendly; there's something wrong with them.' " 