Peace and quiet.

This is something I will never understand. You want all of the trappings of civilization without being part of it? You want your cake and to eat it too.

I have been working for many years to find the right balance for me.
Currently, by day I am a software engineer, but in my off time I am basically a recreational farmer — as in keeper of animals, not gardening. Though, plants are often involved in service of the animals.
I live in suburbia and am pretty ideally located as far as local resources and infrastructure. So I brought a little bit of the wilderness to me. Currently spending a bunch of time on my koi pond.

The thing that I hate even more about all this, I could afford to do this. But you are not legally allowed to live on your own land in the UK without planning permission. I think it is vaguely comparable to zoning in the US.
- Thats what i love about Canada, you can buy land in unorganized townships and can do whatever you want there. The interesting wildlife is just the icing on the cake.
- We still have parts where you can disappear into the woods and just sort of fuck off forever. Alaska has the Remote Recreational Cabin Site program as a replacement for the Homestead Act and there's parts of the state so remote you could essentially do whatever you want and nobody would ever know. Provided "whatever you want" involves freezing in the dark wilderness.
  I'm sure some of our other low-density states have similar things going on, and zoning laws vary wildly.

If you weren't rich you couldn't benefit much from "most advanced civilization" at the time. most of the them were really poor and desperate and gave everything just for ticket across the Atlantic with the hope for a better life.

40 old me looking at a screen with SSMS and Azure: Instead of an engineer like my father I should have been a tailor like my mom... Or a carpenter...
- It's never too late to enter carpentry. I know quite a few programmers who do carpentry as their main hobby. Something about the math and the amount of careful planning is highly transferrable, I guess.
  
  Whenever I try building something with wood, I get so frustrated that it's not version controlled. In software, I can fearlessly try dumb stuff because I can just roll it back if it didn't work.
  
  Assuming you can afford all the stuff to do it.
  
  Nah fuck carpentry. You’ll just end up destroying your body to make shit money.
- At 35 I'm beginning to realize it's good I don't have an office job. Finnaly found a good employer and happy driving through the country.
  
  Honestly I am thankful all the time that people are able to find jobs that suit them best. I am a graphic designer by trade, and working from home has basically been the greatest creative boon I've ever had in my life, lol. The routine, access to nature, and just general lack of distractions has been incredible.
  
  After traveling all over for work, having freedom to somewhat set my own schedule as long as I meet deadlines, I know I would lose my mind in a traditional office.
  There's not much I hate more work-wise than sitting around after the work is done so you can get your hours, because someone on the crew thinks that's more moral than leaving and they're a snitch.
- Don't be a carpenter. Splinters.

They forgot the whole genocide thing which is kinda necessary for this to work out
- I mean if it would've been empty land it could've worked likes this. I don't think genocide is a necessary part of it
- Also homesteads weren't exactly a great place to be. No infrastructure and tornado heaven. People lived there because it was their only choice.
- Also the whole industrialization, privatization, and rise of capitalism thing in Europe that led to successive waves of emigrants leaving or being coerced from their homelands. I think in general people don’t leave their communities and families without some kind of direct or indirect violence.
- This is why we colonise space, at least the planets without aliens living there.
  
  A planet where no conservatives are allowed. We put them on rockets to the Conservatives only planet.
  
  Almost every colony ever: gets oppressed and exploited, fights for independence, gains sovereignty, becomes either a tense ally or a hostile rival to their former empire
  Earthlings: "maybe we should colonize space"
  
  Have fun up there i guess

And this is why you have car-centric infrastructure and suburbia.
- Pretty sure that's a post 1900 invention. Trains were the hot stuff in the 1800s

I would love to move to some US state with lots of forested country and go build a cute little homestead. Work part time to buy things I need.
Mmm...my dream. Also BTW I'm in my early 20's.
- Someone owns the forest and you owe them rent
  
  Yes and no. Lot of cheap land out there, very little in taxes.
  The bigger problem is someone owns the supplies you need to survive, and there's not a lot of jobs out there to make ends meet.
- Canada has huge tracts of land in the Canadian wilderness.
  get a gun though. the neighbors can be a real bear.
  
  I need to move to Central or South America. I would love to live like that but I can't stand the cold. This past winter just about did me in mentally.
  It's just a dream though. Got family that I love tying me down here.
- hope you find the right partner, and a good water source

Unfortunately we’re living in a world that no longer has much unowned/unsettled land. Everything has been bought and hoarded by the ultra wealthy.
- that was already true in 1492.
  the land wasn’t "unsettled" before the colonizers arrived.
  
  Well yes, but obviously there was some point in history where that wasn’t true. You just need to look back further than modern history.

If thats what you think happened, then you dont get it. readsettlers.org

Its always a good idea to consult your local fat checker to verify these claims.
- my fat is prettyy high, sadly, although these lads had higher fats
- Me, Local Fact Checker (who is also very tired and lazy): "seems fine"