My target is to retire at approximately 55, which would be around 2038. The age is connected to family responsibilities more than a magic portfolio number: our youngest may have completed college by then, and I hope to have the mortgage addressed.
I am considering living abroad for a period in a country with a lower cost of living. My personal spending target is about $30,000 per year. That is my budget, not a proposed combined budget for my wife and me. I don't yet know what her retirement decisions will be.
Keep the house, rather than automatically sell it
My current inclination is to retain our Signal Mountain home and rent it out while abroad. I might return to live in it eventually, or keep it as a permanent rental and choose another home in the U.S. The possibility of rental income is attractive, but I would need to deduct management, vacancy, taxes, insurance, repairs, capital expenditures, and any mortgage payments from gross rent.
The mortgage's existing schedule extends to around 2040, so actually eliminating it by age 55 would require additional payments or a lump-sum payoff. That deserves a deliberate comparison against leaving capital invested.
The years before Social Security
Retiring at 55 would mean financing several years before regular retirement-account withdrawals generally become easier at age 59½, and before Social Security eligibility beginning at 62. Healthcare, tax rules for overseas residents, exchange rates, and the possibility of returning to the United States all deserve planning. I would not treat a simple withdrawal-rate estimate as a guarantee for an unusually long retirement.
What longevity has to do with money
I've paid increasing attention to longevity and healthspan research. I am intrigued by speculative ideas such as negligible senescence, but I do not treat them as proven or reliably achievable for humans. That interest does make one question especially important: what if the money needs to last much longer than a traditional retirement model anticipates?
I would like investments to continue compounding where possible and to spend time learning, traveling, being with family, and pursuing projects I enjoy. When household net worth crossed roughly $500,000 I began to feel more comfortable about retirement, even though I still don't see our accounts as unusually large.
For me, financial independence means more control over time. It's a direction for future decisions, not a declaration that the plan is already funded or risk-free.