I am semi-retired and despite the fact that I now live in Vietnam, the internet (now spelled with a small "i" I think), is THE only way I could possibly live outside of one of the great centers of learning in the world. I can (kinda) keep up with my previous field (3D computer graphics), my hobbies (3D printing, scuba diving, technology) and my new field (BioTech, Genetics).
It is not perfect, it is not easy to meet people without traveling great distances (a company where I am a board member on required me to travel literally halfway around the world to Baltimore for a meeting). Still, it makes living in a developing country possible for someone like me because I have fiber to my apartment! Sure beats paying an insane amount for rent in somewhere like NYC or silicon valley and I avoid the colossal rip-off in America they call the healthcare industry (if you live more than half the year outside the country you are exempt from the rules). 17.9% of GDP on medical expenses? More than twice the cost of the next closest country? Americans really are stupid sheep, (and I am one!).
Finally, and I should admit this, it allows me to live somewhere where I am much better off than the average (financially). Many studies have shown that it isn't absolute wealth that makes you feel better, it's RELATIVE. Hence the Japanese fable:
A genie came and told a farmer that he could have anything he wanted; with the condition that his neighbors would get twice as much.
The (supposedly wise) farmer replied: "Destroy half of my crops"
I'm not proud of this but I am (a) "wise babo". (Bonus points if you know what "babo" means)