I feel this post is really hard to understand. You are:
* A phd in quant finance in London
* You joined due to high comp
* You say getting a home would cost 10 times your salary
* You have a partner earning multiples of your salary (?!)
* You want to retire early
I guess I just feel like this story doesn't seem like the numbers make any sense? A quant finance phd should be able to afford a home. A quant finance phd with a partner earning multiples of them should easily be able to afford a home. Maybe not in cash, but certainly with a mortgage, even in this market. You say "an 'adequate' house in London would cost at least 10 times my salary", but that seems manageable with your partner's help?
It seems like your economic position is incredibly favorable to me, and that you wouldn't really experience any difference economically if you got a more pleasant job with lower income if your partner is going to be the breadwinner, in such a way that you can make life better for the both of you.
edit: The housing thing is really throwing me for a loop. Perhaps I have no sense of the London market, but I'm going to assume no person can be unsatisfied living a million dollar home, that a quant finance phd must earn at least $100k per year, and that a partner earning multiples of that must earn at least $300k per year. How do these numbers check out?
* A phd in quant finance in London
* You joined due to high comp
* You say getting a home would cost 10 times your salary
* You have a partner earning multiples of your salary (?!)
* You want to retire early
I guess I just feel like this story doesn't seem like the numbers make any sense? A quant finance phd should be able to afford a home. A quant finance phd with a partner earning multiples of them should easily be able to afford a home. Maybe not in cash, but certainly with a mortgage, even in this market. You say "an 'adequate' house in London would cost at least 10 times my salary", but that seems manageable with your partner's help?
It seems like your economic position is incredibly favorable to me, and that you wouldn't really experience any difference economically if you got a more pleasant job with lower income if your partner is going to be the breadwinner, in such a way that you can make life better for the both of you.
edit: The housing thing is really throwing me for a loop. Perhaps I have no sense of the London market, but I'm going to assume no person can be unsatisfied living a million dollar home, that a quant finance phd must earn at least $100k per year, and that a partner earning multiples of that must earn at least $300k per year. How do these numbers check out?