Ask HN: Do you have the courage to abandon your high paying job?

I'm an advocate of change. However, you are not a free man. No one forced this situation on you but that is another story.

Here is what I'll do to regain my freedom.

- Figure out the cheapest/best (aka best quality/price) location in your country. There is certainly a place with low taxes, low cost of living, good schools and cheap housing.

- Figure out the dollar amount to survive on that location without you working a single hour. (ie: $50k)

- Figure out how much you can make, passively, on investments in the stock market or otherwise. (ie: 15% of your capital)

- Figure out how much capital you need. Put 1/1.5 years costs ahead.

Have the capital? Move and never look back. Life is short, don't waste it chasing expensive doors and meter squares. If you are spending your hours doing a job you don't like to overspend on a hot real estate market; then you can do better.

You have a family. You got the social part figured out already.

Maybe you could articulate what you dislike so much about your current job?

It sounds like you're seeking an outlet for creativity and the current job is not giving you that. I personally don't see $500k/yr as an important factor as for the majority of people there is no real difference after $150k/yr. The burgers taste the same, great schools are available, same nice holiday destinations. Anywhere outside of the US is cheap and your standard of living would be high. Unless you have a weakness for luxury watches, high maintenance women and overpriced champagne. I admit I do enjoy the odd bottle of bollinger.

You're also thinking about starting a business completely the wrong way, you never use your own money. This is what investors are for and you need to spend time finding the right investors. The world of ICO's has made small investments easier than ever before. For games you can use a kickstarter to get it going. You could also move to a smaller company with a role that takes up less of your personal time and start the company on the side or even become a consultant giving you even more free time to move between paying projects and personal ones. I would also see if you can network and contribute to an existing game company to get a better feel for the business.

I'm earning more than you and work from home and have complete autonomy. I live in the bay area and go kite surfing every afternoon in the summer and work from a rented cabin in tahoe during the winter with my wife and little corgi. I do not associate with the tech crowd outside of work or hob nob with VC's in Palo Alto or the rat race of the peninsula. Keeps life fairly simple and straight forward. I imagine this is something that would be attractive to you.