There's a youtuber I've seen who I think is mostly legit who spent not much money on land in the middle of nowhere and built himself a one-room cabin and an outhouse on it. He's up-front that he isn't actually living off the grid or even in the cabin full-time, but his point is that if you live a very modest life and are handy, you can live on just a side hustle. Like you said, you're unlikely to meet people like this in the (sub) urban tech bubble.