>> I wouldn't call these people success stories.

https://static.pinboard.in/xoxo_talk_thoreau.htm

> Thoreau said about his two years at Walden:

> I learned this, at least, by my experiment; that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours

> Thoreau wrote this never having tasted any of traditional forms of success. He was thinking of a different, more fundamental kind of success, one that I wish for myself, and earnestly wish for all of you.

The problem here is that you are mistaking your preferences for universal preferences. I wouldn't want to live like this either, and probably most wouldn't. But bully on these people for doing so, if they want to.

You underestimate the number of people who view such living as a laudable goal. Frugal living is quite satisfying. Read Walden for starters, then something like Five Acres and Independence, or Foxfire. It's a major paradigm shift.