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Twobone,
First, congratulations on getting your financials squared-away enough to retire, early, or at all. I read into your “dilemma” that you are experiencing other’s perception of you retiring “early”.
Not to make this about my situation, but to give my background in order to let you know that my comments come from personal experience... I will retire in about 1.5 years after a 35 year military career, at 52 years old. I have declined further promotion in order to retire on my terms, on my timeline. In the military, age 40 is old, so 52 makes me ancient, but on the “outside”, 52 is young to retire, and I am encountering the same kinds of comments and questions that you are from some of my non-military friends.
I think that some of the questions and comments that you are receiving come from people who gauge their milestones in life differently. Some cannot retire due to finances, some are driven to work for personal goals reasons; maybe striving for higher company positioning, more money opportunities...simply status of some sort.
I have found that most middle-age people have never really reflected on what “quality” means in their lives. When people do, they determine that one’s quality is, and should be different than another’s quality, and that’s OK. When you receive push-back comments about your retiring early, it’s from those who are trying to apply their perception of quality on you, or from those who have not defined quality for themselves, and cannot fathom retiring early.
When you retire, I think that you will find the freedom found to think, ponder, be active in new and old interests will open you up to more growth than you’ve ever experienced, and you will determine that no answers to naysayers will satisfy, so it just does not matter what they think.
Have fun!
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