We have a guy that drives from Gainesboro to Nashville every day, and another guy that drives from Manchester. I have no idea how they do it.
As truck drivers, we drive all day anyway, so I guess they look at it as little more than a few extra miles. Plus, I doubt they'll find a driving job that pays $20/hour and gives 3-5 weeks of paid vacation anywhere close to their homes. I guess it's a tradeoff. You have to figure out what's most important and go from there.
I tried living in Cookeville several years ago, but there was no money to be made around there, not doing what I do anyway. I struggled for a couple of years until I got tired of being broke. And unless I wanted to live in a dump of a mobile home, the cost of living wasn't really that much cheaper than living in Hendersonville. I moved back to Hendersonville and never looked back.