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Enthusiast
I’m also 34 and I’m doing exactly THIS but moving to Central America instead of Thailand. I spent 5 years working in that region and loved it. My $1.4M will sustain me for at least 30+ years but I also know that I can pick up a day job if finances become desperate.
Wife wants more liquid...
I try!
You are obviously a very bright guy. Why retire at 34? Who are you, Jim Brown? If you hate the corporate life then get out and go create something worthwhile that you love doing with that big brain of yours. Escapism will only get you so far and may leave you feeling empty and broken -- and possibly alienated from your home country if you end up in Thailand or some far off place.
Look. Buddy. You have endless options to consider and plenty of resources, as you well know. Maybe you do not have that golden idea yet for a start up. Cool. But maybe someone else already does -- an idea that will excite and inspire you to get involved.
Running off to the far East, unless you are Ty Powers in "The Razor's Edge" -- seeking inner peace on a mountaintop in Tibet for a few years -- which may actually be what you need, come to think of it, is not necessarily a permanent fix.
Build something. Here. If you hate corporate life, good. You probably should. It just means you are an individual yearning to break free. You have the means to do so. But go build something -- don't "retire"... that is so basic. Any rich person can do that. Use your newfound wealth, youth and energy to do something useful and interesting that will enrich the lives of others in some way.
After a quick jaunt to the mountaintops of Tibet, of course. (go watch "Razor's Edge" if you are unfamiliar with my meaning).
Good luck to you on your journey.
Great tips! I’m actually going more for the financial independence than truly retiring early—I’ll definitely find ways to engage the community and build something.
Might I be so bold as to ask a 34-year-old how much they have stocked away for retirement in 2020?
Just $1M, though sitting on 250K in cash that I’m hoping to deploy as things get more volatile leading up to election/covid gets bad. If you guys can, definitely dollar cost average whatever you can. (Came our with minimal student loans in undergrad and didn’t go to grad school—KPMG doesn’t pay that well 🤷🏻♂️)
Rising Star
I retired at 32 to Mexico. After a few years (37) decided it was time to get back to work for awhile, have some new adventures, etc. I’m now 42, met someone, have a kid, and love my currently role. Decided we’re giving it another 5-7 years and retiring young for real. If it makes sense, go for it. Have fun.
Inspiration.
The 4% safe withdrawal study was based on a 30 year retirement. For 60 years you’re probably wanting 2.5 to 3% with adjustments for inflation. The study also assumes US inflation, Thai inflation will likely be higher. Also, it will be very hard to come back. What if you want to be back in 30 years for family or medical reasons? Wouldn’t assume a lifetime in the VLCOL area.
Having lived in Thailand for 5 months the thought has crossed my mind, it’s the above thoughts that stopped me.
Not looking for a fight and I agree the 2.5% comes from real conservative folks on Boggleheads and I myself would probably go with 3%. My other questions stand though. Sticking to an aggressive asset mix is going to be difficult with so many years ahead along with loss of human capital, the need to maybe come back from the low cost country and the issue that none of the studies address the difference in needs being in a foreign country. Your expanses will be in Baht going up at the Thai inflation rate and the returns are US real returns. May work, may not.
Take a 1 year break from corporate life, go to Thailand and live there, see if you like it. My friend did that, loved the first 5 months and then decided it wasn’t for them in the long term but got a lot of clarity in the process on what they wanted out of life.
Do you want to live in Thailand?
Them Japanese! Always next level.
Pro
Are you really sure you want to live in Thailand? Do you know what it truly costs to live there?
If you do then yeah, go for it. I’ve had similar thoughts about selling my place and moving to a very LCOL country. But haven’t really found a country I want to move to that I can currently afford. Usually daydreams are derailed by security / safety concerns, or not wanting to take anti-malarial meds forever. Not a fan of Thailand due to the mosquitoes. Malaria and dengue fever are worse than my corporate slog.
@A1 - haha nice to be close to family, but not thaaat close. Also $11 Thai massages. And $1 Pad Thai. 🇹🇼 🇹🇼
You could also consider temporary retirements. During my career I’ve stopped working 3 times for 1 year, a few years, and 6 months. I may have done better financially if I worked straight through, but I don’t regret these times off from work at all. My kids, college age, have thanked me for these extra times together and we had some great adventures. I found with these shorter periods getting back into the workforce wasn’t too hard. Now that I’m older, I don’t think I would try it and assume I could get back in.
I think in tech it is harder to be certain you can come back at the same salary in your mid 50s and above. It can be done, but at younger ages and lower salaries I left with pretty high certainty I could come back and not take a step backwards in pay. I think to get the salary I’m at now I would have to move to fill an executive position, which in my case would entail a geographic move I’m not really interested in. I could be wrong, but my thinking is that now I’m close enough to retirement that next time I’ll leave for good and truly retire.
Don’t want to go into details on what we did; I’ve probably given up anonymity as it is. Suffice it to say, my time off involved travel, adventure travel and just time raising and being with my young kids before they hit high school and were too busy. No regrets. All worked out well.
Will that be enough to support your future family (if you want one)?
Good question. Biggest factor is who i end up with and where. Actively not seeking someone who is all about keeping up with the Joneses—assuming she has a similar job and financial practices, we should be good.
Why do you want to live in Thailand? Take a long trip there with that thought in mind
Massage is key to happiness
I want to retire abroad too. But how does the 401k work in this situation? How do you get taxed? What do you need to know?
When you leave your job, roll your 401k into a traditional ira. Then do a Roth ladder over time. Contributions to a Roth are able to be withdrawn tax free after 5 years. In the interim five years you need regular savings/brokerage to live off of.
The taxable event is when you roll traditional->Roth, but you will have near-zero AGI in those years since you’ll presumably be eating pad Thai in Thailand all day every day. Therefore very little or no tax
Rising Star
Had a very long discussion about this last night. Getting in Real Estate within the next year so that I have a steady stream of income no matter what I do. I'm 34 but no where near financial independence. But I could be there within the next few years.
I feel like I'm too younger to not have some sort of income, passive or otherwise, that at least covers the more basic of needs (say $40k/year).
Second, I think I would be bored out of my mind if I retired by myself at 34. You have to find some daily/weekly purpose or have a partner in crime. Preferably both.
My ultimate goal is to be financially independent by 45. Have passive income coming in. And then put in a few hours a week managing real estate. And maybe pick up some sort of contract consulting gig 2-6 months each year. Then be completely free to travel or work from anywhere rest of the year.