Poll: What number would make you say "I am financially independent"?

Oh yes, you can live on it. The question is if you can be satisfied with it.

Well, you can live on it assuming that unexpected issues do not arise, plunge you into medical debt and render you unable to receive the best care you might otherwise be able to afford. That can cut short your "living on 35k a year" plan... A sad story many of those 35k/year Americans can likely talk about.

Given the option of retiring now and living off of 35k/year for the rest of my life, or continuing to work for several more years, I am going to continue working.

Standard savings accounts usually give 0.5-0.85% for the first 200k or so. More than that, you should look at other investment strategies than standard savings accounts.

Ah, F-You money. A nice house in the Bay Area is going to be expensive - either in mortgage payments or the opportunity cost of having $1m+ capital tied up in a house. Plus property taxes. And really, $1m is that much, especially when you consider good school districts.

If you're willing to relocate someplace cheaper, the number is going to be a lot lower.

It's really very similar to retirement planning. A 5% withdrawal rate should be sufficient to preserve principal, so that's a good starting point for the necessary math.

I would say this depends on what your aspirations are as a consumer and member of the economy (and apologies if this is a tangent, feel free to ignore).

The explicit assumption in the OP is that you achieve this freedom though some form of large payoff. But how about achieving this freedom through a ratio, rather than a lump sum.

For me, this is the ratio of how many days I need to work to earn a month's rent (currently 0.5 days for 1 months rent). This figure embodies both my earning power, and how much I need the money.

I could become 'freer' (from work) by downgrading my living standards, or I could find a way to earn more per day. But, importantly, working more will not change this ratio.

Of course, if learning to fly an airplane is your thing, then you could substitute rent for flying lessons.

A 5% withdrawal rate is a lot more comfortable, as it allows for some capital appreciation to handle inflation, and gives you more runway to weather market downturns. A quote about the efficient market hypothesis is relevant here - markets may be rational in the long term, but they can remane irrational longer than you can remain solvent.