#fire

$1.95M for US retirement vs $1.0M for Lisbon. Same lifestyle, half the savings target. The COL × healthcare double-discount that makes 'retire abroad' the highest-leverage FIRE move tech workers don't take.

Most sabbatical calculators show cash drawdown and stop. The honest math is 15× higher because foregone earnings compound to retirement. We modeled four common scenarios — three are cheaper than you think; one creates a NET positive lifetime impact.

Companies offer 10-25% pay cuts on relocation, but break-even on a typical SF→Austin move is closer to 35-40%. The gap between 'company offer' and 'true break-even' is your savings rate boost. Math, scenarios, and the negotiation lever most engineers miss.

We ran the cost-of-living math for the typical SF tech worker considering Austin. The savings rate jumps from 25% to 38%. The 10-year wealth gap is $510K. The honesty correction: real moves usually capture 70-80% of theoretical savings, not 100%.