He and his lady (later wife) lived in what was basically a shack. He has a degree in social sciences and hers was some sort of art degree (I'm not sure of the specifics, but she painted some and did sculpture). In Montana, they had a flock of sheep; she spun the wool, dyed it & wove rugs. He built her a kiln and a treadle wheel and she taught herself pottery. After they moved into the dome, she graduated to a huge programmable loom for her weaving that had the capacity to make rugs 4 feet wide. She sold her rugs & pottery online and in a small roadside store for a while but is pretty much retired from it now, and just putzes around for fun. If you can't tell, I find them to be amazing people. But I'm biased...Was Montana a hippy hang out, I always pictured Cali as the hippie destination.
As for location - he's like me. California is way the hell too crowded.