Hi @indigoocean. Long time no see... :) I had stumbled across the Zen Proverb, "The obstacle is the path" a few weeks ago and had been reflecting on it some. Then I lost the internet and took it as a long needed blessing in disguise, given I haven't gone more than 24 hours without the net in over 7 years and this amount of time for a good 2 decades or so.
Anyway, because I too feel a strong desire to get a nice place far from "civilization", when I first read this post I could totally relate to how you felt. Still the bottom line is, as your friends helped point out, a paved road will certainly bring with it many benefits for such a off-beaten retreat and given it leads to the hot springs, they will have easier access to the hot springs as well. To me a retreat near some hot springs sounds like the perfect retreat.
RE: With a Little Help from my Friends