Don't knock it if you haven't tried it. There's a former estate about 40 minutes from me that was left to the Sisters of Mercy (Roman Catholic nuns) when the owner died a number of years ago. The sisters didn't get enough support from the church to make a go of it, so they reinvented themselves and the place as a retreat and conference center. It's right on the water, in a small town, so the setting is very serene. I have been there numerous times for spiritual conferences and I found it to be very uplifting. They also have (or had -- I haven't checked recently) a program under which individuals could come for a weekend or a week of silent meditation. For that, you get a single room (small and Spartan, but livable) and three meals a day -- and nobody asks you to speak while you're there. I haven't done one of those, but I have on occasion thought that it might be a useful way to jump-start the creative process. A retreat is a retreat. I don't think it matters how far from home it is physically, as long as it's different from home.
A former significant other retired to Montana. I have discovered that in some hills to the south of Cascade, Montana, there is a wooded area with a lot of off-grid houses that are affordable (if you can handle living off-grid). At my age, I don't think it's viable.
my worry is staying close enough to home and running into people i know/people who know me. i want to escape
That can be a problem, especially when you have a job that involves interacting with a large part of the local population. People recognize you even when you don't have a clue who they are or where you met them.
I go back and forth from wanting to live in a big city like New York to an isolated cabin in the woods. I like the appeal of the bustle, culture, and sensory diversity of a big city but also the isolation and exposure to nature of more rural independent living. I know that feeling. I moved independently away for a year and I loved it, not knowing or seeing anyone from the past. I wouldn't want to live there forever, but I think Jerome, Arizona would be the perfect place to hole up for a season or two and write a novel.
