The concept of relocation, popularized by authors such as Paolo Ermani, begins with a critical reflection on the current economic model. We live in a society where work consumes most of our time and energy, often at the expense of health, relationships, and inner well-being. But are we really obligated to follow this path?

Relocating means questioning one's priorities, reducing dependence on money, and seeking alternative ways to meet one’s needs. It doesn't necessarily mean abandoning all forms of work, but finding a balance between what one does to live and what makes one feel alive.

The challenges of relocation

Transitioning from a structured existence around wage labor to a more autonomous life is not easy. Among the main difficulties are:

The need for an alternative income: without a traditional salary, how does one sustain oneself? Some solutions include reducing expenses, self-production, and small independent jobs.
Managing fear: economic insecurity, judgment from others, and fear of failure can be difficult psychological obstacles to overcome.
Learning new skills: growing one's own food, building, repairing, and managing resources efficiently are essential skills for those who wish to free themselves from the system.

Is it possible to relocate?

There is no one answer. Some manage to create a satisfying life with less money and more free time, while others struggle to find a balance. The key may be a gradual transition, made up of small steps and experiments.

What is certain is that the desire for freedom is a choice that requires courage, creativity, and determination.

Have you ever thought about relocating? What are your biggest concerns or motivations?

What if you could live without working 8 hours a day?

For many, this question sounds like a utopia. Work is often seen as an inescapable obligation, the only way to secure safety and dignity. But is that really the case? Or are there alternatives that allow us to live with more freedom, less stress, and greater awareness?

Work as a cage (or as a choice)

Many of us work to pay bills, rents, and often unnecessary expenses, trapped in a cycle that seems impossible to break. The dominant model teaches us that success is measured in salaries and ownership, but at what cost? Stress, anxiety, lives dictated by rigid schedules, and minimal free time. Are we really free in this system?

Paolo Ermani has dedicated years to exploring the concept of "relocation": a conscious exit from the mechanisms of traditional work, allowing us to embrace a more autonomous, sustainable, and liberating lifestyle.

Relocation: a deep change

But relocating doesn't simply mean leaving a job. It is a profound transformation of our way of thinking and living. It involves reducing dependence on money and consumerism, rediscovering self-production, mutual aid, sharing resources, and developing practical skills that allow us to live with less but with more awareness.

Relocating is an opportunity to rethink our lives. It means asking ourselves: "How much do I really need?" and "How can I break down the barriers between me and an existence that doesn’t depend on a traditional job?" It also means freeing oneself from the cage of work that does not reflect our true desires.

Downshifting: a return to meaning

Similarly, another concept that is gaining traction is "downshifting." It involves slowing down one’s life, choosing to earn less to live better, giving up the frantic race for success to rediscover the value of simple things. Modern society has conditioned us to believe that happiness depends on material possessions, consumption, and the constant pursuit of improvement. But what would happen if we stopped chasing the “more” and took a moment to reflect on what is truly important?

Downshifting invites us to question the dominant vision, suggesting an alternative that aims for the rediscovery of slowness, simplicity, human contact, and a more authentic life. It is not an exit from society but a rediscovery of the most essential values, a return to meaning and awareness of what truly matters.

The anxieties of modern life

Today more than ever, we find ourselves in a constant anxiety to earn to spend, to appear to be appreciated, to meet social expectations. This way of living exposes us to continuous psychophysical stress that distracts us from our true essence. Downshifting, like relocating, offers an alternative that allows us to reassess our priorities and live a life that truly belongs to us, filled with authentic relationships and a more humane pace.

The phenomenon of the “Great Resignation”

In the United States, the phenomenon of the “Great Resignation” has seen millions of people leave their jobs in search of a more balanced existence. This phenomenon has also echoed in Europe and, more recently, in Italy, where the number of resignations by employees has significantly increased. This is not just a crisis in the labor market but a change in how we see work and our place in the world. People no longer want to sacrifice their lives for a model that does not satisfy them.

Who has done it and how

In Italy and around the world, more and more people are experimenting with alternative ways of living, such as Gianluca Pagella and Devis Bonanni, who have chosen radically different paths. Gianluca, for example, left his job in the automotive industry to take on small repairs with a cargo bike.

Devis chose to live in the mountains of Friuli, cultivating the land instead of working in an office. These examples show us how it is possible to make courageous choices, aimed at sustainability and quality of life.

Where to start?

If you are wondering how to take the first step, the advice is to start with curiosity. The first step is to gather information, to understand that another model of life exists and that it can work. Then, experiment: reduce your expenses, learn new skills, build support networks. There is no need to quit everything overnight, but to start questioning habits and beliefs.

Reclaiming the center: the cathedral within us

It is interesting to read, in some articles commenting on the data on voluntary resignations, that “the problem is that more than a change of occupation, the phenomenon of the increase in resignations by employees does not seem to correspond to a transition to another occupation, but rather a permanent withdrawal from the labor market”.
But what exactly is the problem?

That thousands of people are choosing to become the protagonists of their own lives?
That they have decided to try, instead of postponing?
That they are asking themselves what it really means to "live"?

Perhaps this is not a problem but an evolutionary change.
Perhaps some companies are no longer suitable for the time we are living in.
Perhaps those same people who are leaving everything are building their inner cathedral — like in the story of the two workers: one is stacking bricks, the other is building a cathedral.

Relocating is not just about leaving a job.
It is making space for a deep inner revision.
It is stopping changing only the “outside” and starting to change from within.

A simple (and powerful) exercise

Take paper and pen and answer this question:

If you had only one hour left to live, what would you do in the next 60 minutes?

Now look at your answer.
How many of those things have you done in the last 24 hours?

Are you going where your dreams want to take you?

What do you need?
What is holding you back?
What are your blocks, your fears made of?
Where do they come from?

The good news is that you are not alone on this journey… there are those who have done it before you!

There are stories of those who have changed their lives by choice or after a failure, turning that breaking point into a beginning. People who, by choosing their own truth, have created something that holds value for others as well. On the Eutopia YouTube channel, you will find many stories like these.

And you, which cathedral do you want to build?

Your own? One that speaks of you, your talents, your vision of the world?

Then start building it today, even one brick at a time is a start!

At Eutopia, we do not just tell stories of those who chose to change: we offer you tools to actually do it. Courses with change experts, such as the one on relocation by Paolo Ermani, funding opportunities and calls, a rich map of information on ecovillages, parallel realities, and places of change around the world, a lively and supportive community, real stories and examples to learn from.

Subscribe if you also want to move from theory to practice.
We do not promise you shortcuts. But a road, that we do!