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Explorers do not become explorers from a wish for "easily living a very fulfilling life". There was nothing guaranteed about the quality of life offered by the great women and men who traveled the seas in ages past, and indeed many of them perished.

No, colonizing a new continent was not "easy". It, too, was a constant struggle for survival. New pests, new climate, new soil, new flora and fauna, communication (or battle) with natives, etc.

At least it had air, though.

> being on the surface of the moon would be a constant struggle

With today's technology, yes.

And as others pointed out, life on a new continent wasn't all roses, either.

You could live a very fulfilling life next to Sydney Harbor, or Melbourne's Port Phillip Bay, or... well, anywhere that people have lived in Australia for the past 50,000+ years.

Yes, I realize there are people happily living in Australia, that was the joke :(