(MONEY Magazine) – November's ''From Urban Stress to Rural Struggles'' touched me personally. Congratulations to Dorrie and David Hipschman for following through on their dream and discarding a life in San Francisco for a new one in Whitefish, Mont. And congratulations to MONEY for helping my family make our own dramatic move six years ago.

In 1987, after 36 years in Michigan, my wife and I decided to sell our home and move to Hawaii. This had been a dream of ours since we were married 12 years earlier. We were able to fulfill it after five years of reading MONEY and following your advice on investing, insurance, buying and selling a house, and other financial matters. You gave us information that enabled us to plan our move correctly, including setting aside enough cash to cover six months of unemployment while we looked for jobs in our new location. Today my wife is a teacher, I 'm a producer-director in television, our son is in ninth grade, our daughter is about to graduate from high school. And MONEY continues to provide the financial and investment information I need to plan my retirement in Hawaii. Oops! I 'm already here! Mahalo (thank you). Gerard J. Kaman Honolulu

I read your story on the Hipschmans ' lifestyle change with great interest because my husband and I are attempting to do the same. Both of us are in our thirties, and we have been working to make our dream real for about three years now. Once we decided where we wanted to live, we carefully had to determine what job skills would be marketable in our new ''nirvana,'' obtain the necessary training for them and save up a cash reserve. I am pleased to report that we are in the final phase. As soon as our house sells, we are on our way. Since we have not yet disclosed all our plans to people here, please don't identify me. Name withheld Kentucky