Planning to retire in my early 40's with a family / infant child ..lol

[uc_brian]

I'm considering Penang, Thailand (bk) and just scratched Bali off the list. There's no ideal place and it's all a matter of compromises.

I'm in my early 40's and have an infant child. My reasons for ER is more to spend time with my family and to do some more personal growth and exploration in Asia while I still have the energy to do so....and to do some volunteer work in a few select regions.

Financial resources are a bit of a concern as I would need to put my child thru a solid international school with the anticipation of them returning to North America to pursue College / University when they hit that stage in their life. I'm anticipating that the kid will run me 500-600k 2013 dollars until they are independent. In addition to the child cost, there are other cost and concerns as I will need to have enough funds for approx 40-50 years. Don't think 3M (not saying I have this) will suffice, due to any uncertainty that may occur over such a long period of time, but I think it's worth the risk as I will be get the 'best years of my life' to my own interest vs the rat race of urban north american culture. As a back up I plan to engage in a few small business ventures which I hope can net me 80-100k per year with 10-15 hours of work (long shot I know). However all new ventures typically have a 70-80 percent failure rate, so I have plans just in case things don't work out as planned . As a side note, I've started 7 businesses in the past, 4 failed, 1 was neutral and 2 were successful.

Worse case scenario is that I'll return to work full time when I'm about 60 for a few years while my child is in university to get that extra boost of $$$. My current field allows me to make a very good income, but this could always change with such a long time frame.

In my ER I anticipate that it will cost 50-60k 2013 dollars

I'm planning a financial rate of return of 5.5% on 2-3M over the long run as a conservative figure and also plan to hold some hard assets in case of a global financial meltdown.

Do any members see any serious flaws. Any feedback is greatly appreciated! Thank you!

[uc_brian]

Withdraw rates of 2% / yr is what I'm anticipating.

[Milton]

If indeed you have $3 million investment capital, a 2% withdrawal rate should cover your projected $50,000-60,000 annual expenses. But how confident are you in that estimate? Does it include all taxes, travel, healthcare, child care (including education), food, shelter, etc.? Make sure that you haven't left anything out.

Do you speak fluent Thai, and do you have previous entrepreneurial in Thailand? If the answer to either or both questions is no, take that into account when evaluating the success chances for a small business venture.

Absent very unusual circumstances, I suspect that the likelihood of resuming your current high-paying occupation at age 60 - and following a 20 year gap - is minimal.

[Aiming_4_55]

I'm in the same boat... approaching mid-40's with DW and 2 young kids, reached FI on less than your $3M number, but within that range for my comfort $$.

I have not looked at Penang, Thailand but playing with idea of Manila, Philippines (or surrounding area) for a life experience... test run of ER for 1 - 2 years We would come back annually to visit family and friends as I want my kids to have a good relationship with key family members.

Did you factor in travel back and housing to the US as a family of 3?

If Thailand doesn't work for long term, where else have you considered?

Depending on your skills and the industry that you are in, taking a long break and returning to high income could be rare.