That is exactly it, some places of the coutry there are no other jobs. My father lives on a family farm, been in the family for over 200 years, he has to drive 1 hour and 15 minutes each way up and down steep curvy mountain roads for a job because the local business have all closed. I might make a higher salery, but I have a small house where I can reach out and touch my neighbors. I think we both envy each other. Everything you do has risk, you just have to decide what risks you are willing to take to live the lifestyle you want. While the miners risk a cave in so they can live in the country, we risk stress induced heart attacks caused by corporate America and road rage on the overcrowded highways. Who is to say weather we or the miners are better off?