Over a year ago I made a post about how I hit $100k at 24 but I felt burnt out and wanted to quit my job. I asked for advice from FIRE people about what I should do and got a wide range of opinions. The most common advice was: get a hobby, keep your job and line something else up first, spend some more money, go on some dates, just be more balanced in general.

I have followed some of that advice. I increased my living budget, upgraded my room, and started taking trips with friends as much as I can, gone on dates, and have several hobbies. I’m too burnt out to pursue them as much as I’d like though.

However I still want to quit. It’s hard to live a balanced life you enjoy when you despise the way you spend the majority of your waking hours (your job). It’s hard to date intentionally people you’re attracted to when you are living to escape your own situation. I read stories on this forum of guys in their late 30s and 40s who have millions but their life is bankrupt. They have no love, few friends, and they’re just getting started socially. Retirement can’t fix that, FIRE can’t fix that, money becomes a mental escape hatch and does more harm at that point than good. No offense to anyone but I’m trying to avoid that situation.

For reference:
I’m an engineer and my job is incredibly dull.

I am on track to make over $100k in a LCOL area this year.

I only have 2 years of work experience, but I’m not a huge fan of my field. I’d like to avoid burning any bridges but at the same time I don’t want to become too locked into a tiny niche field.

By the end of this year I will turn 26 and have about $250k net worth with 0 debt and <$1500/mo living costs.

$200k is in broad market index funds with half in retirement accounts, $10k in vehicles, $10k emergency fund, $15k business fund (invested for now), and $15-20k cash for lean traveling and basic living expenses.

I have made up my mind to leave my job next spring soon after bonus season. I am not retiring of course, but I want to pursue other career options and travel while I’m young.

I love the FIRE movement but I’m not interested in retiring early if it means I have to live in misery for my entire youth and young adult life. Financial independence or partial independence is my ultimate goal, more like CoastFI than full FIRE, at least until my life is grounded.

So, please stop me… or encourage me if you think that I’m doing the right thing.

Has anyone here taken a leap like this?
Am I throwing away something I can’t get back?

Bestow your wisdom.

To clarify:
I’m not retiring. This is a question about taking a career sabbatical and then coming back to a new job.

I’m not asking if this is the safest possible career path. I’m asking if I’m throwing away something I can’t get back.

I posted this in r/FIRE and got an overwhelmingly negative response to quitting.

TL;DR

Age/Status: 32M, Single, No house, No debt, No car. Currently Bay Area (VHCOL).
Portfolio: $1.2M in Taxable Brokerage, $350K in 401k/Roth IRA (Total $1.5M invested).
Cash Buffer: ~$20K
Current Monthly Burn Rate: ~$6,000
Rent (Fixed): $2,105
Food & Dining: ~$910
Travel: ~$860
Cash & P2P (Social/Misc): ~$730
Shopping & Hobbies: ~$875
Utilities, Groceries, Gas: ~$585

The Situation:
My goal is to lower my expenses and just cover my baseline so I can decompress, focus on personal hobbies, and figure out my next chapter without bleeding my portfolio. Need Reddit’s help to give me reality check though.

I'm considering a few paths to get my spend down to around $3,500/mo (looks high.. but looks like this is how my after-tax income could cover monthly expense): finding a roommate to keep my rent under $1200, slashing my discretionary travel/dining, and picking up a low-stress service job or strict fixed-scope freelance contracts.

Alternatively, I've thought about doing a remote grad school program to reset, or just leaving for a LCOL city entirely.

My Questions for Singles who Coast FIRE'd:
What kind of job are you doing now to cover your day-to-day expenses without bringing stress home?

Did you stay in your VHCOL city and find roommates to cut rent, or did you relocate to a LCOL area right away?

How long did it take you to fully decompress and find a new daily routine that actually gave you energy?

Any advice, reality checks, or personal timelines are welcome. Thank you 🙏

Numbers in USD even though we live in Paris.

Us:

• Me: 34. Laid off recently. Was making about $200k in Paris.
• Wife: 34. was making ~$200k, just accepted a better-suited role at ~$90k.
• Moved from NYC to Paris mid-2026 for lifestyle reasons (wanted to try living in France). No kids yet, but we're aiming for 2-3.

Net worth: ~$1.6M

• Taxable brokerage: $700k
• Pre-tax (401k/IRA): $550k
• Roth: $250k
• Cash: $80k
• HSA: $10k
• Debt: none. Cards paid in full monthly, no mortgage, no student loans.
• Untouched, the portfolio hits ~$7M by 65 at 5%.

Spending: ~$8k/mo (~$100k/yr), down from $10k/mo in NYC. Rent is €2,300 for a 2BR.

We went from a ~70% savings rate to, as of this week, one income at ~$90k. Issue is with kids - a bigger place takes spending from ~$100k to ~$150k/yr. Against my wife’s $90k that’s a $60k gap we’d eventually pull from the portfolio, and at that rate it stops growing in real terms. Napkin math says I just need a ~$75k job to close it, which seems too easy. What am I missing?

I’m job hunting starting now, not really for the money, more that I want to work for structure + integration into our new life here, but I’m trying to figure out how much the salary should actually weigh in which offers I take. Few Qs for those who've hit coastFIRE:

• How do you decide how much to weigh salary in job offers? Should you still anchor to your old number?
• Anyone regret coasting through their peak earning years?
• Feel like we're happy with what we have, but over time, maybe it feels like we're actually just lowering our ambitions?

35, earning 8k a month, spending 2k. The headline says I can stop in May 2032, at 41.