Remote worker returns to hometown and keeps big-city job
After living in Sioux Falls for two decades, Ashley O’Dell traded the traffic to work from home when she moved to her hometown of Murdo. Now she has time to be a foster parent, attend her nieces and nephews’ activities, and more.
“Living in a small town is helpful for many different reasons,” Ashley says. “It’s been great for my mental health to have a slower pace, and everyone in the community is here to help each other out. I missed the community, and remote work allows me to be near family and the people I grew up with.”
Opportunity in her community
Ashley returned to Murdo in 2021, the same year she started working remotely full time. She works as an operations analyst, ensuring back-end processes operate as intended, for Illinois-based company Horace Mann, which provides insurance for educators nationwide.
Opportunities for work are available everywhere with the internet. Instead of being tied to a specific location, she lives where she wants and does not miss out on spending time with loved ones. Ashley says she gets to have her big-city job while keeping the small-town feeling she missed.
“I can balance time with my kids and my family who live in Murdo, while also helping out in the community and getting to know new residents better,” Ashley says. “Now I help with post-prom at the high school, our community celebration, rodeos, and whatever works with my flexible schedule.”
Ashley jokes that when she moved back to Murdo, her mother “voluntold” her to get involved in the community. She found volunteering rewarding and loves supporting the place she calls home with the people she cares about most.
Wi-Fi and app work wonders
Jones County benefits from fiber-optic internet from Golden West. Ashley’s service connects her to her daily work online, and she has not experienced any issues. Her favorite part of the service is the My Golden West Wi-Fi app.
“The app is a great tool for me. It makes it easy to set boundaries with the kids since I can turn it off at night,” Ashley says. “I’ve had the app since April 2025, and I don’t have to worry about my teens staying up all night.”
Rural places like Murdo are growing and changing while still offering modern internet options. Ashley looks forward to more people joining her community and believes that thanks in part to high-speed internet access, small-town living does not require sacrificing opportunity.
