I think the biggest thing is that life can suck in any of the alternatives. Human suffering is universal. People are reluctant to switch if there isn't a well defined value proposition. Life is about trade offs, so there isn't a perfect solution. Even living very minimally is expensive due to things we have little to no choice in like taxes, medical stuff, etc.
Sure, I could go live in a cabin in the woods. That will mean my wife divorces me, I'd still need a job to pay for taxes and medical bills, I would likely end up incarcerated for not being able to pay child support, and loose the cabin/land anyways.
To drill down on your response here, is it that you’re frustrated by not having those options?
I get being frustrated if your dream is to live in a cabin in the woods. But it’s hard to fathom being frustrated if you value the relationship with your wife more than living in said cabin. What are the underlying expectations from your life that you feel shut out from? Based on your earlier post, the only expectation seems to be “not to work in a job I hate” which seems completely attainable.
If I’m prying too much, just feel free to ignore me.
How would you define “a job you like” and how much would you have to make to pay your bills? Are there main drivers for those bills like high cost of living, medical issues, student debt?
At this point, I don't know what job I would like. The biggest part would be a place that actually follows their own policies and doesn't violate them to the detriment of the employees. Sadly I feel that would happen anywhere.
I could work with $80k per year if the healthcare and other benefits are good. It would also be nice to have the ability to advance and make it to a tech lead at $120k.
Obligatory not GP, but fee very similar. To me, “job I like” is a very difficult category for me to explain. Normally, when browsing jobs, I see something I think would be cool to work on. Most things disinterest me, so I maybe will see one of these once every few months, always woefully unqualified. There’s not really a specific domains, industry, etc. tying them together, just me thinking it sounds cool to work on.
Sure, I could go live in a cabin in the woods. That will mean my wife divorces me, I'd still need a job to pay for taxes and medical bills, I would likely end up incarcerated for not being able to pay child support, and loose the cabin/land anyways.