Exhausted from years of big-city hustle, I moved to an idyllic mountain town in Colorado. It wasn't so idyllic for me.

After years of living in the mountains, I realized it wasn't the paradise I had hoped it would be. Courtesy of Allison Snyder After years of growing my career in New York City, I moved to a small mountain town in Colorado . I loved being surrounded by nature, but I struggled to put down roots and missed parts of city life. Spending time away from this town helped me realize I needed to leave. A few years later, I did. At 34, after years of climbing the ranks of a Wall Street law firm, I was burned out and deeply disconnected from the natural world. Unsure of where I wanted to live, after leaving my job, I spent a year camping in the American Wes t.