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This question's gauche, but: given the prevalence of $400k++ comp packages for ~30-year-olds in Big Tech, why aren't there lots more "gentle[wo]man scholars"? i.e. people quitting to do non-remunerative creative projects I can think of some, but shouldn't there be thousands?

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Harry Tormey

| tormey.eth

@htormey

Jan 28

The answer for many is likely they purchased a home in the Bay Area and now have a very expensive mortgage to pay.

Andy Matuschak

@andy_matuschak

Jan 28

Right! The thing is… that doesn't seem to make this all that impossible? We have a nice condo in SF; our mortgage is ~$3k/mo. But an annuity which would pay that mortgage would only cost ~$600k; one could readily set aside triple that in a few years as a senior eng…

Felix Geisendörfer

@felixge

Jan 28

An annuity paying 6% post-tax? Where do I sign up?

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Andy Matuschak

@andy_matuschak

Jan 28

Ah, I didn't think to include post-tax. OK, if we're imagining a 4% payout, such an annuity would cost more like $750K. matheasel.com/calculators/in In practice in this context, I'd probably assemble a portfolio targeting 7% with some risk, and I'd consult to make up bad years.

Felix Geisendörfer

@felixge

Jan 28

The FIRE community usually considerers 4% of a index fund portfolio to be a safe withdrawal rate, so $900k needed for $3k/month. Supplementing with consulting is possible ofc, but then you’re only partially retired/doing your own thing.

Andy Matuschak

@andy_matuschak

Replying to

@felixge

(Right, I got $750k instead of $900k because you only need to pay the mortgage for 30 years! See linked calculation…)

7:09 PM · Jan 28, 2022Twitter Web App