I think you&#x27;re talking about extremes here, but that&#x27;s not necessary.<p>&gt; but a lot of people in rural areas&#x2F;small towns aren&#x27;t upper middle class programmers who live off the grid with &quot;sustainable homesteads&quot;.<p>Just moving out of a big city with a similar job gives you a lot of extra cash for saving &#x2F; planning. It gives you extra time, because you don&#x27;t need to commute and the one shop is just down the street. You get calmer, more relaxing life.<p>You don&#x27;t need to live completely off the grid or fully sustainable. But the extra savings gives you ability to invest in some solar energy&#x2F;heating. And a tiny garden requires next to no effort and can give you a lot of food once you get a hang of it.<p>And actually yes, there are a few remotely working tech people in my village of ~2k.