I think @ddd994 summed up my answer for the most part so I won't repeat it. But I do believe that eco and cottage living goes hand and hand. Depends on what your playstyle is of course they combine really well. Eco definitely brought more nitty gritty stuff like flies and roaches and dumpster diving. I love that. The pollution system I use everywhere. The cottage core astehitic is not my taste but I was able to utilize things in it that fit well with my playstyle. The animals are great of course but there is only so much you can do with them. Love the world but not into open country style. So it all depends. I choose Eco
