One of a guy at work saw me looking at this forum a couple of time since then he is making my life miserable... just a matter of time the whole damm office will know. He constantly bringing it up in groups with extreme negative tone and laughing about it.
too bad, i got another 15 more years of torture like this before i can ER. Do you share your dream with anyone? what's their reaction?? positve or negative?
That guy, and the whole office, should at least be considering retirement or else when the time comes, they won't be able to do it. So my approach to someone like that might be mild surprise and perhaps a few statistics about how poorly prepared those approaching retirement age today really are. You don't necessarily have to announce a date, 15 years in advance. It might be better to say "at least fifteen years" or something like that.
I have told several people in my office about my dreams, but then my situation is a little different since I am planning to leave in a little less than 3 years. I have been very sure to emphasize that my timeframe is only approximate, because who knows what could happen with the market and so on. At this point, I don't much care if it impacts my career (JUST got a big promotion, and no others are on the horizon). Still, I don't want people to ask "why are you still here?" if my retirement is delayed for any reason.
Anyway, having told people about it, my vacations to various possible ER locations are pretty easy to explain. I am going to check out Huntsville, Alabama this weekend and several people have told me about things I should try to see while I am there.
Reactions are very positive, with some subtle inquiries checking to see if I can actually afford to retire so soon. (Like - - "You have your house paid off, already?"). Also, some self-doubt and self-pity from those who are up to their eyebrows in debt, with them trying to justify why their situation is different and they cannot LBYM or save anything. I just nod sympathetically and tell them that is really rough and that I understand.