Well, you're discussing basically a subset of the rural poor, who maybe are more okay with/intentional about that lifestyle than we give them credit for. Howev

Well, you're discussing basically a subset of the rural poor, who maybe are more okay with/intentional about that lifestyle than we give them credit for. However, there's the class of bloggers who advocate for being middle-class frugal, saving up as much money as you want, and doing whatever you want with the rest of your life. Maybe some of them are full of crap but I believe many of them actually are practicing what they preach. And there have been countless middle class professionals who've done basically the same thing without writing blogs about it -- they've just quietly lived their lives. That lifestyle appeals to me. It just seems so much simpler and more efficient.