I have three children with my wife and we decided to teach our kids the hard way how to lower expectations and survive the last year.<p>We quit our jobs and moved to Puerto Rico and moved to a mountain top in the center of the island. Our goal was to show them what life is like in most other parts of the world where people struggle.<p>They run around and play in the forest, help tend the garden, and learn from us, books, and exploration. It&#x27;s been our year of &quot;disconnecting&quot; from the rat race and learning how to thrive as a family of 5 on under $1200 a month.<p>We&#x27;re packing up and moving to Ithaca, NY at the end of the summer but I hope none of us go straight back to a consumer-based lifestyle even though we&#x27;ll have the income to do it.<p>When regular employment dries up and all they have is self-sufficiency, maybe they&#x27;ll now have the tools to be content.