I agree. There is always a choice, although the shift may be difficult or unsettling, and some people will feel freer to make a change than others. I think one huge component of this is location.<p>A little while back, I moved with my family from the city to the countryside (the foothills of central Portugal), where there is a growing community of migrants from western cities, living around and alongside the local villagers, who are mostly small-scale subsistence farmers. People call us the Neo Rurals.<p>Land and living costs are way less than where we came from, which means I can afford to work three days a week, rather than the 5 out of 7 days I was working before. I am fortunate to be able to work remotely (I&#x27;m a freelance JavaScript programmer)  and to have come from an existing network (the wonderful Brighton, UK). Somehow projects arrive when I just need them (get in touch if you&#x27;re looking for someone). But people here to do all sorts of work, and often grow food and generate their electricity to lower the base costs.<p>The door is open. Neighbours&#x27; children come by because they want to play. Many people home-educate &#x2F; unschool.  And we do pretty well as a community amusing ourselves, learning from and helping each other.<p>Uprooting is difficult, but I have never looked back. And it does come with some &quot;hardships&quot;, but most of those are really joys.