Similarly, Bruno was a successful businessman in Germany before he got fed up with the rat race, and moved to Belize to live in a tent.

BBC: The kingdom of the crystal skull

"There's a desire to step out of the rat race, and in America, that goes very deep in the national psyche, " says Nick Rosen, author of "Off the Grid: Inside the Movement for More Space, Less Government, and True Independence in Modern America" and editor of www.off-grid.net.

CNN: 5 great spots for dropping off the grid

They also aspire to a higher place in society's pecking order, but in so doing force others in the rat race to run faster to keep up.

ECONOMIST: Affluence