TL;DR: 35M 33F with a 3yo. Hit $2 million but burned out and anxious every waking moment. Where on earth can we pull the plug and live off this portfolio? Any ideas are appreciated.
We 35M 33F hit $2 million this year. This is a number I was dreaming about just 5 years ago but now all I feel is burned out and despair. Ever since I moved to big tech I've totally changed. From someone who passionately love the tech scene and growth oriented, to a miserable, anxious, and stressed out salaryman who hates waking up every morning. Big tech sucked the joy of tech out of me and I dread every waking moment thinking about work. It not only has affected my mental health but also started adding tensions in our marriage. I just want to end it and get out of the race.
Asset
- Brokerage: $1.6M (VTI, VXUS)
- 401k: $250k
- Cash: $150k in HYSA
- Total: $2M
- Income: ~600k, senior for a typical big tech, demanding and stressful
Expenses
We both subscribe to minimalism and therefore live a basic lifestyle. Renting. No mortgage or property. Paid off car. We cook everyday, eat out 1-2 times a week. Our biggest expenses currently are rent and kid daycare in a VHCOL which totals ~8k/month. Our second biggest spend is family holiday, ~15-20k/year total for 1 international + 1-2 domestic trips. We are migrants to the US and our families are half way around the world. Seeing them and letting them spend time with our toddler is a top priority for us.
We know $2M cannot sustain our current annual expense at 3-4% wdr. But we're willing to explore options to make it work. Based on my research, people in my shoes have these paths:
-
Take a sabbatical to reset then return and grind again
-
Change job. Find a lower stress lower pay job and coast til FIRE
-
FIRE to a cheaper country to stretch dollar value
1 and 2 are both out for me. The thought of working gives me chill. I actually think I'm not fit (mentally) to actually start a new job. And given my position and the current job market, there's almost zero chance I can do a sabbatical and still return to my high paying job.
I've been thinking about 3 a lot. Open to relocating to another LCOL, another country, another continent. Given our residencies we can live in US, NZ/AU, or SEA without visa issue. Preferably the laters since that would cut down our yearly family traveling cost significantly. As a backup plan, I'm open to working again in a reduced capacity, 2-3 days a week though I think I'll need 6-12 months break to really reset my mind and work on my anxiety.
Questions to you all
- what other paths am I missing?
- what SEA countries out there can we FIRE to with this portfolio?
- advice, tips, what would you do?
Thank you and much appreciated...
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