a few complications

So, sounds like an easy solution right? I obviously just need to go buy something really big and expensive that I can really get into for another day, week, or maybe even month of distraction from the life that allows me to buy big expensive things.... Wait a minute?

Ok, so really, I should just get a new job closer to home and bingo - problems solved.
Well, not really. First of all I work in a pretty specialized industry (which I wont mention), and unfortunately there are no companies in this particular industry anywhere close to where I live.

Then of course the next obvious move would be to move closer to my work, spend less time commuting and more time with the family! Well again, not so simple. Yes the commute would be gone, but we would be living in another suburban jungle where the only entertainment could be derived from shopping malls or getting the hell away whenever we could. Add to this the fact that we would then have no family or friends around for support, and would trade the relative safety and freedom of rural living for the dirty and crime infested life that is big city suburbia.... Hmm, this is getting complicated.

We've been thinking for the past year of that storybook country home with acres of land, maybe a barn or really big shed, and tons of room for more big expensive toys (hopefully one a bit closer to work), but the reality of it is that we would just end up trapped in another consumerist nightmare, just this time in isolation (I'll rant a little more about my growing hatred of consumerism later).

So, what I think we need, and so far J agrees with me, is some kind of utopian, urban setting with both easy access to work and an environment that encourages entertainment not solely built around the exchange of money for goods and services. I'm thinking beaches, parks, forests with trails, camping, walks through poky neighborhoods with funky shops instead of strip malls and big box plazas, local produce and crafts, and similarly minded individuals; any ideas?