Reading your other posts makes me realize I might be headed in this direction. I'm going to be making silly amounts of money soon enough (at least what I consider to be silly), meaning I could retire in 10 years if I wanted to. I do enjoy the work I am doing, but this means I could go in whatever direction I want. One challenge would be to establish proper collaborations, because working with other people feels very pleasant and rewarding to me.

You're right, collaboration could be difficult. I'm hoping to identify some other likeminded people in my field who I could collaborate with online at the very least.