So the radio mesh range depends on a couple factors but the short answer is “yes, easily.”

The long answer is that the world record for longest meshtastic/LoRa message is 90km, but you can easily get 1/10th that with some buildings and whatnot blocking the way. Getting really good antennas and sticking a node way up high like in your attic, on your roof, or in a tree and using a personal device closer to the ground that bounces off of it is the most “ideal” scenario for a home setup. I currently talk with people three cities over regularly.

Because there are no cellphone towers, you’re kind of responsible for getting your node high up if nobody else has set up a ROUTER node on a nearby mountain (by the way the router role is not the same as your home router, its supposed to be like a cellphone tower but way up on a mountain, not a rooftop of a tall building).

And if you’re the first person in your area, Heltec often sells their chipsets in 2 pack bundles with cases and batteries. Give one to a friend and ask them to pay it forward if they like it!