Hi Hopper, I can share my experience from 2010. I was working 80-100 hour weeks in Northern Virginia and very much burned out. No exercise, too much drinking, not enough time spent on my relationships, and totally stressed out. It was all work, all the time, and no matter how much effort I put into the job, I was never "done."
My division had been for sale for seven years, and as part of middle management, I was involved in some of the talks with potential suitors. One in particular was very interested in us, but felt the asking price was too high. A financial crisis hit the company, and with a big bond payment due and a major contract cancellation hitting in the same month, the company opted to have a fire sale and unload my division. It would take about a year for the sale to close, and during this time I had the opportunity to look for a "safety valve" job in case things didn't work out with our new corporate overlords.
I ended up finding a role back in my hometown, which was lower COL, for 20% more money. Mrs Axe was anxious about moving back close to family, but now five years later, things have worked out extremely well for us. I'm in a much more balanced job, making about twice what I was making in 2010. Having family around is a mixed blessing: we do have more family interaction, there are some people around who can petsit or check in on the house when we're away, but they're always in your business and in our case, they constantly have their hands in our pockets. But, I think we are getting control of the situation.
It was a tremendously positive experience for our daughter who had a much better high school experience in rural upstate NY than she would have in hypercompetitive urban Northern Virginia. She also had a same-age cousin to grow up with, whom she's very close to today. Since you have kids, consider the positive impact that an extended family might have on their upbringing. It's been largely lost in our modern society, and can be variable depending on your situation, but was a big factor in our decision and turned out to be the biggest win for us.