There’s retirement and then there’s retirement. If I wanted to retire in my big house in an expensive city and just keep going like nothing has changed. I’d need millions to keep up this level of lifestyle. No doubt. I know several couples that have done just that. Many either worked in the tech sector or had inheritance from family. My mother, a federal employee her whole career, but had a pension (remember those?) and lived a decent life in retirement in Arizona where homes are a 1/5 of what they are where I live. My wife have contemplated moving to Ohio where her family is from because it’s so dirt cheap. Thankfully I won the house lottery and can retire comfortably from selling a house we bought 25 years ago. But that isn’t going to happen for my kids.