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Comment by sweettea | Hacker News Reader

>* How one retires at 25 when working at Google which is way past IPO and the 100x return on stock option which is only possible at the earliest stage?

levels.fyi reports a L4 averages $270k/yr at Google. Can sock away a whole lot of that pretty fast.

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$270k in the Bay Area is not retirement at 25 money unless you’re that Googler living in a van in the parking lot, or your retirement plan is living simply in a poor country. It’s a fine living, to be clear, but in a high cost of living area you’re paying high rent until you can buy an expensive house, etc. and the American healthcare system alone means you need to have millions saved as a buffer against illness over that kind of timeframe (kinda hard to re-enter the workforce at 40 with cancer when you realize your cost projections were optimistic).

>It’s a fine living, to be clear, but in a high cost of living area you’re paying high rent until you can buy an expensive house, etc.

You don't need to live in a high cost of living area, except if you're competing American Psycho style.

You could live where the other 95% of people working in the Bay Area live.

I'm pretty sure that the baristas serving those Googlers in cafes outside the Googleplex don't make $270K a year, and still get to work in the same area.

If that means more commuting, that's always an option. People commute 1-2 hours per direction too, to make $50K, I'm pretty sure a 20-something making $270K can handle it.

Heck, even a daily two-way Uber would be totally doable, and other expenses added, they'd still get to save over $150K per year still.

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