Thank you for your comment, Purbita. I agree 100% with you, moving or remote working may not be feasible for many people. All the same, I think it's still helpful to consider the possibility, because it is possible to design a career around remote work, as long as one isn't tied down (yet) to geography or family commitments.

About the $40,000 per year, I was thinking of two people with no dependents. Of course, even with dependents, it is entirely possible to live on $40,000 per year - just not in the United States. I'm Malaysian, and just about every family I know lives comfortably on less than $40,000 a year.