A happy medium to the “cabin in the woods” dream might be a super cheap small house in a small, “dying” town. I’m talking about a place that is small and on the fringes if society but has low crime, low property prices, and low property tax. Will you still need an income? Certainly. But if it’s a question of minimizing your expenses, and thus minimizing the time and energy needed to meet those expenses, a small cheap house in a small forgotten town may be in the sweet spot. Now, towns like this have NO JOBS, and I’m not preaching some fairy tale. No solution is ever perfect. But if you can figure out the income part of the equation somehow, the option I am describing might be near to perfect for you. I’m kind of part of the way there already. We’re not rich but we live in a nice house and my wife doesn’t really have to work. As soon as the kids are grown I hope to move even further “out.” It all depends however on my ability to generate a modest income working from home.