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> What do you need this wealth for? Insurance for the future. Maybe I get bored of software, maybe I want to take a few years off and not have to work. Maybe I

by vecinu 6y ago

> What do you need this wealth for? Insurance for the future. Maybe I get bored of software, maybe I want to take a few years off and not have to work. Maybe I won't be able to "unprogram" the consumerist habits I picked up in the US and will fall back into buying things I don't really need (like Hi-Fi, photography equipment, gaming rigs, TVs, etc...) and will need funds to continue doing that. I don't know, I guess I spent too much time in the US and deeply concluded that it's better to have wealth than to not have it. I have a lot of reflection to do. Even adjusting for cost of living, if I bring $1M over to the EU, I couldn't stop working for the next 50 years, I would need a few for $xMs for that.

feanaro 6y ago
Yes, stopping all work for the next 50 years right now wouldn't be realistic with that. But then again, you're definitely not going to be stopping work while trying to accumulate more wealth either.
- vecinu 6y ago
  Correct but with an optimistic projection of working for 5-10 more years, I could stop working forever, unless I want to work for fun / enjoyment (or say no to crappy jobs) and then move to the EU. If I move to the EU now and take a hit in income, that will become impossible.
  - tonfa 6y ago
    Germany median salary is 42k EUR (and I guess one of the highest in the eurozone, Portugal seem to be 25k USD), depending on your lifestyle, I think many people could actually retire with 1M...
    - vecinu 6y ago
      Once you extrapolate that to software engineers, levels.fyi says you can expect 80k EUR/yr in Germany [1] which I think is after-tax. If that is true, it's more than I thought it would be and I think if you found a good job you enjoyed, making 80k EUR/yr on top of having $1M saved could give you a secure financial future. [1] https://www.levels.fyi/Salaries/Software-Engineer/Germany/ https://www.levels.fyi/Salaries/Software-Engineer/Germany/
adrianN 6y ago
A million dollars is 20k per year for fifty years. You can life pretty well off that in one of the poorer European countries, or in a poorer area of a richer European country.
- vecinu 6y ago
  You can "safely" withdraw between 3-4% of your $1M for 30 years and never lose that $1M, assuming you keep that money invested and it grows at an average of 7%/yr. $30-40k/yr, pre-tax, would still be ok for one person in Portugal / Spain or other lower cost of living places, right NOW. Once you add in a spouse, children, things start to get hairy. Once you consider that these places are currently undervalued and their cost of living could increase dramatically in the future, that $30-40k/yr no longer seems as safe. I would personally aim for $2M+ to feel safe that I won't have to be forced to work a job I hate for the next 30 years.

by vecinu 6y ago

feanaro 6y ago

Yes, stopping all work for the next 50 years right now wouldn't be realistic with that. But then again, you're definitely not going to be stopping work while trying to accumulate more wealth either.

vecinu 6y ago
Correct but with an optimistic projection of working for 5-10 more years, I could stop working forever, unless I want to work for fun / enjoyment (or say no to crappy jobs) and then move to the EU. If I move to the EU now and take a hit in income, that will become impossible.
- tonfa 6y ago
  Germany median salary is 42k EUR (and I guess one of the highest in the eurozone, Portugal seem to be 25k USD), depending on your lifestyle, I think many people could actually retire with 1M...
  - vecinu 6y ago
    Once you extrapolate that to software engineers, levels.fyi says you can expect 80k EUR/yr in Germany [1] which I think is after-tax. If that is true, it's more than I thought it would be and I think if you found a good job you enjoyed, making 80k EUR/yr on top of having $1M saved could give you a secure financial future. [1] https://www.levels.fyi/Salaries/Software-Engineer/Germany/ https://www.levels.fyi/Salaries/Software-Engineer/Germany/

adrianN 6y ago

A million dollars is 20k per year for fifty years. You can life pretty well off that in one of the poorer European countries, or in a poorer area of a richer European country.

vecinu 6y ago
You can "safely" withdraw between 3-4% of your $1M for 30 years and never lose that $1M, assuming you keep that money invested and it grows at an average of 7%/yr. $30-40k/yr, pre-tax, would still be ok for one person in Portugal / Spain or other lower cost of living places, right NOW. Once you add in a spouse, children, things start to get hairy. Once you consider that these places are currently undervalued and their cost of living could increase dramatically in the future, that $30-40k/yr no longer seems as safe. I would personally aim for $2M+ to feel safe that I won't have to be forced to work a job I hate for the next 30 years.