Comment by monktastic1

A typical Bay Area mortgage is what, $8k/mo? Add say $2k/mo for health insurance premium close to what a big co would provide. That's $120k/yr plus living expenses (call it $50k). At a 3.5 safe withdrawal rate, you'd need to save about $5mm. If your take home is say 280 of which you're spending 170, that's 110k/yr saved. So almost 50 years of savings, not counting appreciation.