[andyjdavis]

That is certainly the norm but it is not universal. There are certainly individuals that do not follow this pattern but, unfortunately, you are unlikely to ever meet them if you have a more conventional existence.

For example, I am a computer programmer, mid 30s, I have a wife and child and I work 20 hours a week, 25 absolute max. I've been working reduced hours for almost three years. I also work remotely so we spend most of our time in places like Thailand and Malaysia (warm, good food, low cost of living) although we will shortly be heading over to spend a few months in Europe.

And we are not the only ones. Most of our social circle is composed of similar people. If you go places like Chiang Mai in Thailand it is crawling with westerners carving out an existence that involves a high quality of life and personal control over how much and when they perform income generating activities.

Unfortunately if you are in the 9-5 routine yourself you will never meet any of us.