The system traps you within. Breaking away from it can be a difficult venture and cannot be done completely without some retribution from the system itself. They’ll punish you for it to some degree and people have even been killed over it.

But yes, vanlife (or off-grid living) can liberate you to be potentially happier. At the very least unencumbering oneself from the odious monthly outlay just to live helps a lot. I don’t choose to do this (yet), but have friends that exist this way.