Out-of-state rehab or close to home? Everyone has an opinion.

We faced this exact fork. What decided it for us: aftercare lives where you live. Distance can genuinely help someone break gravity for 30–60 days — but recovery is mostly what happens in month 3 and month 9, and that happens at home, with the outpatient program, the counselor, the meetings, and yes, the family sessions. So we chose close-ish (90 minutes — far enough to leave the daily orbit, close enough for weekly family program), and I'd choose it again. The exception people talk about is real too: if home is actively unsafe or saturated with using contacts, distance becomes the point. It's less 'which is better' and more 'which problem is bigger.'