People

Amber left a tech executive career and kept teaching, writing and traveling. More freedom eased family stress, but she still missed colleagues and kept experimenting with meaningful projects.

Mad Fientist made the album he had wanted to record for years and spent more time with his children. Ten years after leaving work, he felt fulfilled and uncomfortable without another long-term goal.

Semi-retired since 2021, with an intervening full-time year · at interview

Working three days a week in municipal projects left four-day weekends and a standing Monday golf game with his father. He felt the balance was finally right after full-time work had repeatedly displaced family occasions.

After leaving work, u/onthewingsofangels tried volunteering and book clubs while spending time with family. By year two, the routine felt more satisfying. Market anxiety, occasional loneliness, and questions about direction remained.

Retiring with four young children made family life the central use of freedom. More than a decade later, school volunteering, shared activities and presence at everyday milestones stood out as the most valued return on leaving work early.

After retiring at 33, u/Burner_123_123_123 returned to India. Marriage, ventures, and travel later filled his days. He valued the freedom while finding that projects could crowd out fitness and time together still needed attention.

u/jgatcomb left federal work at 46. A serious illness soon made the value of that decision painfully concrete: time could go to treatment and family without competing with a job. The next update reported recovery and renewed travel plans, with a sharper sense that the future should not be taken for granted.

u/hows_my_fi remains emphatic about leaving work at 45. The complications came elsewhere: a market slump, a partner’s unexpected job offer, a move and another roof. Across seven years, the relief survives repeated budget shocks. This is retirement with a full life and an uneven expense ledger, rather than a plan that runs untouched.

u/jayybonelie left work at 45 with plenty of interests still ahead. Reading, running, making things and family life gave retirement momentum. The later update turns away from another optimization project: quiet, unplanned time and less social media had become part of the point.

After leaving software engineering at 37, re-ynd made room for his daughter, exercise and personal projects. As she grew more independent, his days changed while his preference for an unhurried life held steady.