As i said in my post, i don't mind having upwork's program send 6 screenshots an hour from my work machine while i'm working, because it keeps me from being hassled by nontechnical clients who're otherwise fine people to work with.
So i guess the only thing keeping me from making things even better than they already are is finding technical clients with Perl work that pay on the level of ~100$/h.
But, I lived in these conditions the past. One day I said to myself, I don't want this anymore, and quit.
What is preventing you to change your life for the better? :)