3 ms·

Nothing like retiring with only 3 years worth of savings and no plan on what to do after that.

by rob 4mo ago

sph 4mo ago
Definitely not my first rodeo, but feel free to gloat.
- keeda 4mo ago
  I'm probably being overly charitable, but I would have said the same thing except in a positive context, because I've wanted to do the same thing at times.
cybrox 4mo ago
If you don't need to support a family and are unhappy otherwise, why not? Sure it's not 'the smart thing to do' but if it makes you happy and you're still not far worse of than most people...
- cortesoft 4mo ago
  Because if you are unhappy now, just wait until you are homeless
  - Rover222 4mo ago
    there are in fact plenty of ways to earn enough money to get by on a simple lifestyle
    - sph 4mo ago
      People in tech, especially from US, are so accustomed to spending $5,000/mo just to survive, that they cannot fathom one is able to live without having a tech job in San Francisco. It's a pretty sad state of affairs. I live in a first-world European country where the average salary is about €25,000 per year. My mortgage estimate is less than €300/mo. I'm not that afraid of having to supplement my income if I need to. The world will still need cheap and experienced software engineers for a while.
      - Rover222 4mo ago
        Yeah, I was just living off $1k/month in Brazil just to see if it was possible. It definitely is. And was in a beautiful, safe area.
        alephnerd 4mo ago
        Of course you felt amazing living off US$1k/mo in Brazil - the average per capita household income in Brazil is less than US$450/mo and a salary of $700/mo puts you in the top 10% [0]. Basically, you enjoyed feeling rich in a country where the vast majority are getting screwed. And this is what I as well as my SO's family (middle and working class Vietnamese in VN) hate about digital nomads - y'all don't realize that you end up perpetuating the same inequality you try to run away from, and feels deeply colonial in nature as the countries y'all end up in had histories of being colonized and stratified. You get to travel everywhere because you have a strong passport. They don't because their passport is weak and their salaries are low. You will always be promoted to the top of the social pecking order thanks to your passport. They will always be relegated to the bottom and attacked by politicans as "stealing jobs" or "changing demographics" thanks to their passport. [0] - https://g1.globo.com/economia/noticia/2026/05/08/veja-quanto-e-preciso-ganhar-para-entrar-no-topo-da-renda.ghtml https://g1.globo.com/economia/noticia/2026/05/08/veja-quanto...
        Rover222 4mo ago
        oh please, get over it. I supported a local old lady who airbnb'd out her guest house. I shopped at the local grocery store. and I left. you would drop that buzzword 'colonial', as though Brazil isn't a former European colony, just like the US. And they... gasp... used slaves for much longer. I was in the southern cone of the country, first world lifestyles there. Brazilians are proud, they'd be insulted by your savior attitude.
        alephnerd 4mo ago
        > I was in the southern cone of the country Even in São Paulo the average household income is around $550/mo [0]. That said, I assume you live in Florianopolis but even then the average household income is around $520/mo [1]. > you would drop that buzzword 'colonial', as though Brazil isn't a former European colony, just like the US. And they... gasp... used slaves for much longer I know. And clearly you're a bit thick in the head if you don't realize the ongoing political and social fissures in Brazil as a result of this. There's a reason Lula retains such a cult following. > I supported a local old lady who airbnb'd out her guest house To even own a house that is Airbnb-able in a digital nomad hub in the south cone means they were better off socially and economically during the dictatorship and the messy transition back to democracy. Nothing wrong with that, but assuming you are living a normal life there and not recognizing that your lifestyle is much better off than most people is douchey. --- Alternatively, don't complain [2] when it's people like us or our parents who left, succeeded in the West, and are blamed for making life expensive for your types in America or Germany ;) Being anti-immigrant yet being on an immigrant visa yourself (yes, a digital nomad is an immigrant), and while Brazilians are barred from getting a visa to the US. Talk about hypocrisy. [0] - https://www.metropoles.com/negocios/sp-tem-2a-maior-renda-domiciliar-per-capita-diz-ibge-veja-o-ranking https://www.metropoles.com/negocios/sp-tem-2a-maior-renda-do... [1] - https://estado.sc.gov.br/noticias/renda-das-familias-de-santa-catarina-cresceu-146-em-2024/ https://estado.sc.gov.br/noticias/renda-das-familias-de-sant... [2] - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45158497 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45158497
  - timcambrant 4mo ago
    He said he was quitting tech, not retiring from work forever. I would assume if you're fed up with tech you could instead do carpentry jobs, work part time at a store, be a tour guide or whatever. Is it fair to say that he has 2 years to find a way to earn $50,000 per year? Sounds like that would be doable if you're smart and ambitious, no?
hobofan 4mo ago
They didn't say that they are retiring, just that they are ending their career as a software engineer.
staticshock 4mo ago
Feels like an unfair judgment of someone else's values, which have no obligation to match yours.
- ASalazarMX 4mo ago
  I think it's not a moral, but financial judgement. Unless an alternate income is achieved before that deadline, becoming destitute except for a small cottage is not a great prospect.
jLaForest 4mo ago
Anyone willingly making that choice has a massive safety net protecting them (almost always family money)

Nothing like retiring with only 3 years worth of savings and no plan on what to do after that.

by rob 4mo ago

Nothing like retiring with only 3 years worth of savings and no plan on what to do after that.

sph 4mo ago

Definitely not my first rodeo, but feel free to gloat.

keeda 4mo ago
I'm probably being overly charitable, but I would have said the same thing except in a positive context, because I've wanted to do the same thing at times.

cybrox 4mo ago

If you don't need to support a family and are unhappy otherwise, why not? Sure it's not 'the smart thing to do' but if it makes you happy and you're still not far worse of than most people...

cortesoft 4mo ago
Because if you are unhappy now, just wait until you are homeless
- Rover222 4mo ago
  there are in fact plenty of ways to earn enough money to get by on a simple lifestyle
  - sph 4mo ago
    People in tech, especially from US, are so accustomed to spending $5,000/mo just to survive, that they cannot fathom one is able to live without having a tech job in San Francisco. It's a pretty sad state of affairs. I live in a first-world European country where the average salary is about €25,000 per year. My mortgage estimate is less than €300/mo. I'm not that afraid of having to supplement my income if I need to. The world will still need cheap and experienced software engineers for a while.
    - Rover222 4mo ago
      Yeah, I was just living off $1k/month in Brazil just to see if it was possible. It definitely is. And was in a beautiful, safe area.
      - alephnerd 4mo ago
        Of course you felt amazing living off US$1k/mo in Brazil - the average per capita household income in Brazil is less than US$450/mo and a salary of $700/mo puts you in the top 10% [0]. Basically, you enjoyed feeling rich in a country where the vast majority are getting screwed. And this is what I as well as my SO's family (middle and working class Vietnamese in VN) hate about digital nomads - y'all don't realize that you end up perpetuating the same inequality you try to run away from, and feels deeply colonial in nature as the countries y'all end up in had histories of being colonized and stratified. You get to travel everywhere because you have a strong passport. They don't because their passport is weak and their salaries are low. You will always be promoted to the top of the social pecking order thanks to your passport. They will always be relegated to the bottom and attacked by politicans as "stealing jobs" or "changing demographics" thanks to their passport. [0] - https://g1.globo.com/economia/noticia/2026/05/08/veja-quanto-e-preciso-ganhar-para-entrar-no-topo-da-renda.ghtml https://g1.globo.com/economia/noticia/2026/05/08/veja-quanto...
        Rover222 4mo ago
        oh please, get over it. I supported a local old lady who airbnb'd out her guest house. I shopped at the local grocery store. and I left. you would drop that buzzword 'colonial', as though Brazil isn't a former European colony, just like the US. And they... gasp... used slaves for much longer. I was in the southern cone of the country, first world lifestyles there. Brazilians are proud, they'd be insulted by your savior attitude.
        alephnerd 4mo ago
        > I was in the southern cone of the country Even in São Paulo the average household income is around $550/mo [0]. That said, I assume you live in Florianopolis but even then the average household income is around $520/mo [1]. > you would drop that buzzword 'colonial', as though Brazil isn't a former European colony, just like the US. And they... gasp... used slaves for much longer I know. And clearly you're a bit thick in the head if you don't realize the ongoing political and social fissures in Brazil as a result of this. There's a reason Lula retains such a cult following. > I supported a local old lady who airbnb'd out her guest house To even own a house that is Airbnb-able in a digital nomad hub in the south cone means they were better off socially and economically during the dictatorship and the messy transition back to democracy. Nothing wrong with that, but assuming you are living a normal life there and not recognizing that your lifestyle is much better off than most people is douchey. --- Alternatively, don't complain [2] when it's people like us or our parents who left, succeeded in the West, and are blamed for making life expensive for your types in America or Germany ;) Being anti-immigrant yet being on an immigrant visa yourself (yes, a digital nomad is an immigrant), and while Brazilians are barred from getting a visa to the US. Talk about hypocrisy. [0] - https://www.metropoles.com/negocios/sp-tem-2a-maior-renda-domiciliar-per-capita-diz-ibge-veja-o-ranking https://www.metropoles.com/negocios/sp-tem-2a-maior-renda-do... [1] - https://estado.sc.gov.br/noticias/renda-das-familias-de-santa-catarina-cresceu-146-em-2024/ https://estado.sc.gov.br/noticias/renda-das-familias-de-sant... [2] - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45158497 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45158497
- timcambrant 4mo ago
  He said he was quitting tech, not retiring from work forever. I would assume if you're fed up with tech you could instead do carpentry jobs, work part time at a store, be a tour guide or whatever. Is it fair to say that he has 2 years to find a way to earn $50,000 per year? Sounds like that would be doable if you're smart and ambitious, no?

hobofan 4mo ago

They didn't say that they are retiring, just that they are ending their career as a software engineer.

staticshock 4mo ago

Feels like an unfair judgment of someone else's values, which have no obligation to match yours.

ASalazarMX 4mo ago
I think it's not a moral, but financial judgement. Unless an alternate income is achieved before that deadline, becoming destitute except for a small cottage is not a great prospect.

jLaForest 4mo ago

Anyone willingly making that choice has a massive safety net protecting them (almost always family money)