Craft Computing did a few videos on this subject. If you’re trying to virtualize multiple systems, you might find this video useful.

Maybe setup a live USB and mount it from a live environment to see what it comes up with?

I’m in then! Sign me up for that quiet life.

Can I get the quiet and peaceful but be able to actually afford a house somewhere with reasonable transit and walkability without having to work more than 40 hours per week?

You do realize it’s entirely possible to hold more than one disparate emotions at once, right? If I knew the world was ending tomorrow, I’d definitely be excited that I wouldn’t have to scrub any fucking toilets at work, even if I would be sad/scared/etc that I couldn’t further accomplish or experience things I wanted to before I died.