technically i didnt really quit working. but rather i am free to pursue what i want to do. for example im going to build my own house. and grow and sell organic food. i want to develop technology to improve farming. i enjoy designing and building things in all sorts of mediums. i like working, but i have an entrepreneurial spirit. and in order to feel fulfilled i have to pursue my own ventures.
Ask HN: People who cashed out early and stopped working: What is your life like?
41–50 of 190 posts
Re: Ask HN: People who cashed out early and stopped working: What is your life like?
#42I'm far from retiring, but I always take a break between jobs. It used to be only 2 months, then last time it was 6 months. I'm very happy to be in tech because it allows us for that. I don't decide beforehand how much time I'm taking, instead I just reassess myself "am I still productive? Am I still enjoying doing nothing?" When the answer is no that's when I get back to work. I love DIY so I've used that time to re…
Interesting, thanks for the insight. I've also heard that, your teenage hobbies are another source of where you might find your passion in retirement. What did you do for fun as a teenager, and how does that compare to what you do during your breaks?
Re: Ask HN: People who cashed out early and stopped working: What is your life like?
#43Stepping away allowed me to completely reprioritize what mattered to me and what I wanted out of life. I rekindled old friendships and love interests and eventually met my wife. I realized I'd never actually been truly happy before on a consistent basis, and learned what life is actually all about. That money and career success are simply means to an end of living well and loving others.
I feel for people that are always trapped in survival mode because you get stuck in these ruts that become completely impossible to see out of. You end up so shortsighted and focusing on something that doesn't really matter in the end. But life is just a game that's meant to be played for the enjoyment of it. There's no prize at the end, and your score doesn't matter.
Re: Ask HN: People who cashed out early and stopped working: What is your life like?
#44Earlier quoted context omitted.
Do you know this person? Because I actually love my job, and I feel like if I retired right now it would suck. I would definitely be bored.
This is mind boggling. Bored? You have all your free time to literally do anything you want. You can explore the outdoors. You can learn ANYTHING you want. You could get to know more of the worlds 6 billion people and their cultures. Volunteer, start a new hobby, spend more time with family and friends, work on personal growth, exercise... you have Stockholm syndrome, snap out of it.
> you have Stockholm syndrome, snap out of it
Very rude.
Re: Ask HN: People who cashed out early and stopped working: What is your life like?
#45I didn't have anything planned, which was a huge mistake on my part. Long story [0] short, I was surviving on my earnings from the job for more than 4 years before writing ebooks got me back on track.
I'd say it has been tough going. But even now I can't imagine going back to work.
[0] https://learnbyexample.github.io/my-book-writing-experience/
Re: Ask HN: People who cashed out early and stopped working: What is your life like?
#46It sucks to be frank. It wasn't quite my choice to take an early retirement. Despite what the pundits say, you are your job.
Some people feel that if they were sufficiently rich, they will never work. I think one source of this view are the health effects of the sedentary lifestyle associated with tech, and I respect people who say that. It's all to common for people to be overworked in tech, so I understand people who want to exit for that reason too.
Still others, don't really enjoy work at all and would exit the workforce if given the opportunity. I respect that view too but it's not for me.
Because even if I had unlimited financial; resources I NEED to still work. I believe work, especially the kind that you feel is helping people and results in deep concentration called flow is beneficial for my mental health.
If I stopped working and entered a perma-vacation, I would go out of my mind. There are only so many golf courses, and so many days you can wake up late, before I would be bored out of my mind. When I go on vacation, I enjoy it and need it. But after about a week, I start to get bored and to miss work. I need a challenge.
There is a nice documentary called Born Rich by Jamie Johnson (one of the heirs to the Johnson & Johnson empire's wealth) in which he films the sons and daughters of billionaires (it's on YouTube). What I found fascinating is the happiest ones seemed to be those that applied themselves by working or in one case applying themselves in academia all the way to a PhD.
Even if I stopped my current start-up, I think I would find myself spending a few months catching up on technologies I didn't have the chance to catch up on, and imagine I would just start a new start-up after that.
Re: Ask HN: People who cashed out early and stopped working: What is your life like?
#47Earlier quoted context omitted.
Please don’t listen to this. These are the words of someone who allowed work to destroy the part of themselves that had their own hopes and dreams. Only a shell that could take directions was left.
Do you know this person? Because I actually love my job, and I feel like if I retired right now it would suck. I would definitely be bored.
https://hbr.org/2019/12/what-happens-when-your-career-become...
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/wealth/earn/why-your-id...
https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2021/10/05/career-job-work-i...
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/06/style/work-life-balance-t...
https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2021/09/self-obje...
Re: Ask HN: People who cashed out early and stopped working: What is your life like?
#48I quit tech, moved to a rural area, and bought some farmland at the beginning of the year. got a couple different jobs to learn how to do things. first building polebarns and then framing houses. got to journeyman in framing last month and quit. finishing up my first barn and now i am getting ready to build a greenhouse over the winter. been preparing the soil. will be ready for planting next year. technically i didn…
Re: Ask HN: People who cashed out early and stopped working: What is your life like?
#49I quit tech, moved to a rural area, and bought some farmland at the beginning of the year. got a couple different jobs to learn how to do things. first building polebarns and then framing houses. got to journeyman in framing last month and quit. finishing up my first barn and now i am getting ready to build a greenhouse over the winter. been preparing the soil. will be ready for planting next year. technically i didn…
Makes it easy for people like me to buy your stuff. Anyways, good luck!
Re: Ask HN: People who cashed out early and stopped working: What is your life like?
#50It sucks to be frank. It wasn't quite my choice to take an early retirement. Despite what the pundits say, you are your job.
I have been out of work for a long while, and family uses up lots of time. But I have always suffered with balance, programming entirely consumes me, and I ebb and flow with it. I feel totally disconnected and disenchanted with it and have no money and lots of debt.
And have no job security or fallback. Given a good manager and the right position I could happily amble along and be a useful asset.
But I am very disillusioned with web work and the industry. And I think web programming is a tremendously wasteful brain drain.
However if I had money and time, my perspective would be totally different!