This story is part of an ongoing series of profiles by CNN about economic survival in this time of financial crisis.

Leah Bird and her husband Ed Wright stand in front of their new home: a 1974 Airstream trailer.

(CNN) -- They bid farewell to their beloved trips to the opera and museum, the beach and Buddhist temples. They ate one last time at their favorite restaurants serving Indian curried chicken and warm bowls of Vietnamese pho.

Leah Bird and her husband, Ed Wright, have traded their comfortable two-bedroom apartment and jobs in Beverly Hills, California, for life in a trailer on a five-acre Oregon farm.

No longer do the couple hear roaring fire trucks in the street or chatter from patrons dining at outdoor cafes. On this farm, the dominant silence is occasionally interrupted by the sounds of frogs and crickets.

"It's not necessarily a lifestyle that has ever seemed attractive to me," says 28-year-old Bird, between tending to the farm animals: two sheep, two Nubian goats, miniature horses and geese. "I always saw myself as more of a metropolitan person, but you know, without money, this was our best option."

The couple's drastic lifestyle change -- one they chose -- came last October when Wright, 48, lost his job managing life insurance portfolios for millionaires at a private firm in Beverly Hills. His niche company, which relied heavily on capital flow, had felt the pain of the credit crunch.

Once making over $100,000 a year, Wright soon joined the growing number of Americans facing unemployment in the economic downturn. iReport.com: Tell us how you're surviving

With meager savings, Bird and Wright knew they couldn't maintain their costly Los Angeles lifestyle in an area where, they say, image is everything. Even if they had stayed in Beverly Hills, they would have needed to move into a smaller apartment and rely on Bird's modest salary as a financial manager. Exhausted from the rat race, Wright decided they needed another option.

"I've been in Los Angeles for a long time and I've had to start over before," Wright says. "You spend two or three years getting back on your feet and then what? It's a struggle if you aren't making a lot of money."

Then Wright's parents offered to let the newlywed couple live on their family farm in rural Douglas County in southern Oregon until the couple bounced back.

Wright agreed immediately. He says he wanted to move there to help his elderly parents manage the sprawling property. His wife, however, was more reluctant because she still had her job. But Bird says she soon agreed to move to the farm because it was the fastest way to cut expenses.

"I did it out of immediate necessity," says Bird, who grew up in more of a suburban setting near Tucson, Arizona. "I don't think I was ready to leave L.A."

While Wright wanted to make the move north, he wasn't ready to move in with his parents. At Christmas, the couple purchased a 1974 Airstream trailer, shaped like an oblong silver bullet, from Craigslist for a few thousand dollars. The trailer living quarters are cramped, with about 300 square feet, a major downgrade from the couple's 1,400-square-foot apartment in California. iReport.com: From Beverly Hills to Hillbillies

The couple moved to Oregon in mid-January, after a two-day drive from Los Angeles, hopeful the farm would give them the needed break from city life and a chance to focus on finding new careers.

In Los Angeles, they lived in a neighborhood with about 20,000 people. Now, the closest town has fewer than 20,000 people.

"We're not going to lie to you and say everything is hunky dory," Wright says. "It's hard being out here."

"I feel like a fish out of water," Bird added. "I'm so out of my element."

Their mornings now begin at the crack of dawn. They clean the living
Who was traded their Beverly Hills life? Who is Leah Bird and Ed Wright? What did Bird and Wright buy? Where did Wright used to work? How much did Wright earn a year? What did Leah Bird and Ed Wright trade their Beverly Hills life for? What did Bird say?
Leah Bird and her husband, Ed Wright, have stand in front of their new home: a 1974 Airstream trailer. 1974 Airstream trailer. private firm in Beverly Hills. Once making over $100,000 1974 Airstream trailer. "It's not necessarily a lifestyle that has ever seemed attractive to me,"
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