That's great to hear but it's a lifestyle choice unsuitable to most of the population. Nothing has to be an either/or situation...what's wrong with working a farm and investing in gold? It's the old adage....Don't put all your eggs in 1 basket. When Europe was predominately rural (london's population in the mediaeval ages was 10,000 - 15,000 or there abouts) but the whole continent was decimated by famine on a regular basis and nobody suffered more than farmers; not so for those lucky enough to have gold to barter for food