So some elaboration for JakeinChina and Explanade.
-- Yes I live in a small town in Germany. Less than fifteen minutes by train from Frankfurt airport, forty-five minutes by car. We're in a distant commuter suburb of Frankfurt. Many people here commute; I wouldn't. Too far. The town is medieval. A tourist attraction quite crowded much of the year. My rent for a 2500 square foot house, twenty years old very high-end by American standards (radiant floors, excellent insulation, high ceilings, etc) is €1200 monthly. It took some finding. I have a small pond for gold fish, a large unfenced yard, and can have plenty of space, which I needed as I had a lot of possessions left over from when I was a worker. One car garage. I have a bike path to my city center (6 kilometers away) although when I buy bread or groceries I bike through the countryside to the nearest bakery (1.4 kilometers away) or the nearest supermarket next to the bakery. I spend fifty to a hundred euros a week on groceries, mostly organic or very good quality. (I also grow what seems to be TONS of tomatoes and pick a lot of fruit in my area, rich in apples and pear trees, in season.) I make some conscious choices. Gas here is expensive. Very expensive. But in my professional life I was always in cars or vehicles and I like to bike. (and now I have time). Electricity very expensive. Ditto for water. And garbage. Probably €250, say €300 a month to be safe. Internet not so bad. Phone is expensive, about €60 monthly because it includes an iPhone and I have friends and family in different countries. Beer and wine are much cheaper than in the U.S., and no comparison. A good bottle of wine here is under €5; beer runs the gamut but is better and cheaper than in most other countries unless I am looking for one of those odd new designer beers favored in American microbreweries. But I have uncomplicated tastes. I have Netflix for visual entertainment and Amazon.de for books. I read a lot and the prices, well higher than in the U.S., are not so horrible that I can't afford them. You can look on Amazon.de for English language books and see that the costs aren't outrageous. There is nothing I can't get by mail. Delivery usually takes one to five days. I reckon I spend about €3200 a month to live in a way that I would consider quite upper middle class in the U.S. I also have to figure in travel but I watch the discounters, like the Hopper App. I flew to Porto, in Portugal, earlier this year for I think €75 roundtrip. Then I airbnb-ed while there. It was a cheap vacation. Within five hours by car of where I live I have Berlin in one direction, Prague in another, Luxembourg, Amsterdam, almost Paris, Switzerland, etc, in other directions. So the limiting factor is the cost of hotels and (much higher) food and restaurant prices when I arrive. My last job in the U.S. was in San Diego so I can compare. I was considering Borrego Springs but housing there was expensive and frankly it was too far from what I like to do, which is more biking in diverse areas, museums, art galleries, and the like. I agree that it's an apt comparison to say where I live is a bit like the Central Valley of California in price terms, but the difference for a Californian is that distances are so much shorter in Europe. So I live "in the sticks" but these "sticks" are very close to urban areas in every direction. The other day my daughter was visiting and we went for the day to Cologne with its marvelous urban life and cathedral for the Christmas Markets. Germany has a spa culture which I enjoy during the long dreary winter months. (The spas are basically very nice public swimming pools with saunas and the like.) Regarding eating out, if I go for a rustic "meat-and-potatoes" type place, it's around €15 including a beer or two per head; if I go to white table cloth sort of place with gourmet pretensions, it will set me back up to €50 a head (although the sky can be the limit once when goes to the high end of the wine list). Still, generally a drinkable bottle of wine in a restaurant will set you back €15 at the lower end of acceptable.
Regarding France (explanade's comment). I have quite a few friends and family in the Gers, in Southwest France. I first started spending summers in the South of France in the late nineteen seventies and I don't like the traditional South of France in the east part of France anymore. It's been overdeveloped, too many cars, it's too close to Geneva (which has driven up housing prices) and there are too many Hollywood types there now. But in my opinion the South of France of my youth can still be found in the Gers (although the weather is admittedly a bit colder in the winter). The Gers is eminently affordable. One can find a really nice house with land for €300,000 with some looking. Traditional French culture survives there very well. It's more expensive than Germany (which is why I am not living there now) but I really like that area. It is also close to Toulouse Airport, which while not as good as Frankfurt in terms of connections is pretty good nonetheless. I have a daughter working in the French aerospace industry. I am waiting for a few years and will relocate closer to her when the time comes.
Finally, if you know France, this is not a bad website for sussing out what is available
www.green-acres.fr although
www.pap.fr is also good if you know precise regions.
www.pap.fr is only in French but the other one is in English. (There's a button to switch to English at the upper right hand corner of the screen.)