Ah the human (or maybe mammalian?) concept of social status. In the animal world there probably are life and death reasons (getting food, physical security, et

Ah the human (or maybe mammalian?) concept of social status. In the animal world there probably are life and death reasons (getting food, physical security, etc.) for fitting in a social status/hierarchy. You have skills and income that eliminate that from being something you need to be concerned with in modern human society. You state you've been freelancing for 10 years and make 2x more than devs that are local. I'd say that is pretty successful and there are probably others that are envious of your position. Put yourself into a doctor or lawyers shoes and think of all the societal and career forces pushing on them. For example a doctor may have to perform their job in certain ways they do not like because of how health insurance works. They may dislike the very system they work in because at times the system hurts patients financially. If you get into a deep conversation with a doctor, find out how much freedom they have in their work and how many hours they put in. They may be envious of you because you are freelance and remote and you could just become a digital nomad for a month and have nothing forcing you to be somewhere.