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Comment by yibg | Hacker News Reader

This is me. FIRE was one of the dreams / goals from many years ago. I'm technically able to retire now but I'm still working. A few reasons I think:

1) Sense of (in)security. There is the thought of, what if my investments lose a lot of value. What if costs suddenly go up. So the number keeps shifting up. Just another x dollars and I'll retire.

2) As I get older, the thought of retiring is also starting to lose appeal. Life's priorities change and preferences change. I wanted to be able to not work and travel the world. Now that sounds some what exhausting and unanchored. Personal situation also comes into play. Single vs those in relationships. Will the partner welcome the FIRE lifestyle etc.

3) There is a bit of how society will view a 30 something with no job and no plans to get a job.

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Another thing: Work is generally how people best have the opportunity to interact with people operating at a higher degree of sophistication, and it's often where you have a chance to work with people who are smart or motivated.

If you stop working, you risk losing both those networks.

> Work is generally how people best have the opportunity to interact with people operating at a higher degree of sophistication, and it's often where you have a chance to work with people who are smart or motivated.

That's true of “work” viewed broadly, but not necessarily particularly of wage labor more than other things within the broad sense of “work”; certainly, I’ve found it to be no less true in political and charitable volunteer work than it is in wage labor.

Anecdotally I've observed older people around me who retire early for various reason have much earlier decline in both mental and physical health. Where as the ones that work until much older age tends to be healthier. And it does seem causal too, since the decline doesn't happen until years after retirement.

For example, many of my aunts and uncles that retired around 55 - 60 are / were having many health issues some have experienced decline in mental sharpness. Where as my grand parents who worked on the farm until into the 70s were fairly healthy until towards the end of their lives.

I'm interested by #3, as it is imminently to be my own situation (by choice). The few people who know thus far are all close friends, and even then aren't completely aware that "living off my savings" comes with the additional "and I'm >95% confident that I can do so in perpetuity." My parents think I'll be bored in short order, which may be true. But I've no idea how the rest of society would see it. Envious? Pleased for me? Suspicious of how it was achieved? Something else?

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