Purple retired at 30 and spent years traveling. Planning the next move eventually wore her out. Later posts describe settling near family, renewing a lease, and enjoying a routine with her newly retired partner.
People
Inside this selection · reported retirement ages
Under 357
35–4420
45+26
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All 121 matching people, across every page. Updates with your filters. How we count
They stopped waiting and built a smaller way home
Snapshot · 2026Three years of full-time travel brought long stays and control over time. A small condo reduced the cost of returning to Arizona, while distance from family remained the harder tradeoff.
Mr. Money Mustache found satisfaction in building, writing and being a father after leaving his career. A later divorce disrupted that family arrangement. Financial independence helped soften the practical upheaval, but his account did not suggest that it could prevent emotional difficulty.
The Accumulator found freedom in slower days and chosen projects. Five years later, helping loved ones mattered more than completing an ambitious retirement checklist.
Small pleasures made the first weeks rich. Years later, home still competed with adventure.
2020–2026Frogdancer Jones began retirement by rediscovering unhurried gardening, reading and quilting. Later travels took her to Nepal, but the pull of home and family remained strong. The appeal was the ability to enjoy both, without turning either simplicity or adventure into a rule.
Pablo stopped trading and settled in Lisbon. A partner and daughter changed what he wanted from an independent life.
He missed his team after selling a business. New product work restored enjoyment, but intense launches tested the time he wanted to protect for family.
Jake and his wife sold their Pennsylvania home and began a smaller, more mobile life. Long road trips and visits with family broadened their world, while the six-year reflection returned to the uncertainty of leaving.
A large startup exit did not end u/h2m3m’s work habit. He started another company, burned out again and finally stepped away. Later updates trace the harder separation: losing the old professional identity and finding satisfaction in woodworking, teaching, golf and time with his children. By the third-year update, even his LinkedIn profile was gone.
u/AutomaticSquirrel32’s early retirement began with travel, reading, gaming and a modest budget. Three years later, repairs, healthcare, growing children and an expensive new hobby had pushed costs upward. The author remained content and chose a substantial cash buffer, accepting slower gains to make a return to work feel less likely.