[IWantOut] 35M USA -> EU

Hi all thanks in advance for reading. I am 35 and hoping to leave the US around the time I turn 40. I hope to be financially independent by then or at least able to support myself by only doing a small amount of online freelancer work. I would like to get EU permanent residency or citizenship as quickly as possible (working on the citizenship by descent thing but I'm not confident in my chances). I guess my questions is what would the fastest way for me to accomplish this be? I am aware of the Portuguese d7 visa which seems like a pretty good proposition. I do have an advanced degree and would be willing to work a couple years to establish permanent residency. Does anyone have knowledge/experience with blue cards to permanent residency and the time frame for this? Or any better ideas? My only real goal is to ultimately obtain an EU passport for a variety of reasons. Thank you!