I would rather be a freeman among slaves than a slave among freemen.

A choice is being set between real freedom in poor surroundings and comfortable subjection in fine ones, and the preference goes to freedom. It is a claim about what is actually worth having: the substance of deciding your own actions rather than the appearance of belonging among people who can. Servitude is not softened by the quality of the company. What the line takes seriously is liberty itself, and that part holds.

Look at where you have traded some genuine independence for the comfort of good surroundings. Ask what it would take to hold both, and where you cannot, be clear about which one you are choosing.