Sounds like a classic cop out. I'd wager that my surroundings aren't terribly much worse than yours, but the difference is you'll have to work for 30 years more than me (if you're average), while I will be free to change my surroundings as often as I feel like. If you optimize for money and focus on long-term goals you can end up with a much higher quality of life overall.

>while I will be free to change my surroundings as often as I feel like.

Except you can't afford to live in high-cost cities if your savings is only 1 mil and you want to retire on that in your thirties.

Yes, I'd have to work longer if I wanted to do that. I don't see any reason to though, I don't much care for large, expensive cities.