I have seen many an occupied barn in rural America.

This kind of situation is usually a medical condition and the land inherited from grandpa. The piece of land and shanty structures on it are all they have. Which is actually a whole lot given the value of land these days.

But for the most part they’ll stubbornly die on the bit of land they grew up on. If they have kids who left, they sell afterwards. If there’s kids that don’t leave, they perpetuate the cycle another generation.