There is often a free will debate going on somewhere on the net. I think it's interesting, but I believe it cannot be resolved. It's mostly a philosophical debate with no real evidence from either side, and no way to test whether or not it exists. Why this debate can get heated is a mystery to me.
I believe I have free will, and that was an integral part of my recovery. If I don't have it, then my recovery was predetermined and it was pointless for me to do anything about my drinking. I would then be bound by fate to live out the rest of my live in a drunken stupor.
As for changing your environment, I remember an old timer saying, "No matter where you go, there you are," implying you can't get away from yourself, but I think this is only true when one sees a geographical change as a cure. Sometimes such a change can fix a lot, but never everything. You still need to make some changes, but while they are subtle, they are much more powerful, especially if you want to quit drinking, and this pretty much depends on free will, IMO.
I will concede that this is not easy, but that's not the same thing as not having free will. Changing is only hard, but not predetermined. Unless you believe it was predetermined, but that to me is downright depressing.