system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
[Battlestar Galactica] If the fleet is largely self-sufficient in terms of resources, why burn up so much fuel looking for a new earth? Why not just bookmark the locations of planets with key resources and build a floating space paradise for a few generations while the Cylon threat simmers down?
gpt
There's a problem with your premise. There was no reason to believe the Cylon threat would just "simmer down." The Colonial fleet had to get away from Cylon space as quickly as possible. Rotating between several different locations to gather resources is basically asking for the Cylons to catch on and lay a trap. Additionally, for most refugees it would be the equivalent of being stuck on a 747 for the rest of your life, as space travel isn't particularly novel to Colonial society. 

Tom Zarek rightfully points out that they do require labor to continue as a society, but don't have a proper economy to provide incentive for people to actually work. People *wanted* something like their normal lives back, and they needed a habitable planet for that.  It's also important to keep in mind that Adama literally pulled the goal of finding Earth out of his ass while rallying the troops. Once he uttered those words, there was no going back.