I think I get the idea that was imposed on the people. You pay to live on the land protected by the kings soldiers, right?
Okay, so what was holding you down?
Today, we are way to comfortable being attached to plumbing and electricity, but neither of those things were holding you down back then. And if you had friends, why wouldn't your friends move as well? Surely you could just do what was done before you to get you to where you currently live right?
You might be interested in this recent thread with answers from u/PhiloSpo, u/spiteful_god1 and several others
The short answer is that technically you could but then you would be living outside the law (which is where the term outlaw originates) and would therefore have no legal protections. See my much more in depth answer on the other thread already linked.