Less than 1 mil NW here. Trade-offs would be no world travel, no expensive restaurants, no gas guzzler SUV or truck, no $150 concert tickets, or $200 football tickets. (Not that any of those things are bad, just expensive). I have a modest pension from Megacorp. And I have a lot of free time to seek out the cheapest deals on stuff. Plus, the ACA makes health insurance very cheap for me due to low income. Home is paid off. No credit card debt. This lifestyle, even with less than 1 mil net worth, is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay better than w*rking. No complaints, really.
This is pretty close to my situation too. I forget the exact dollar amounts but, IIRC, I had ~$640K on beginning portfolio withdrawals in 2011 at the age of 47. Current portfolio balance is $860k, even though I have been withdrawing from it for the last 6 years. If I claim SS early at 62, I'll have an extra 1k/month. It's not a fortune, but considering I'm currently living on $18K/yr, a useful extra amount of income. Also, as I age, I may feel comfortable increasing the WR a little above it's current level of ~2.1%. There are times when I think about how much more money I would have, had I continued to work and save, and how it would be easier to afford such things as travel and other extras but, truth be told, I have always been good at doing without things - perhaps a little
too good.
I rent a small studio in a high COL area (the SF Bay area). Rent is $651/month. Transport is a 20 year-old bicycle, along with the excellent public transport here. I wear pajamas a lot of the time, but remember to put clothes on when I go out
No cable TV or other pricey subscriptions. Cheap cell phone ($12/month), and cheap basic speed DSL. Healthcare costs me nothing out of pocket, as I am on Medicaid due to low income. If my income goes over the threshold, an ACA subsidy should still help a lot. There's a palm tree right outside my bay window which, with it's squirrels and birds, makes great kitty TV. When I've had a glass of wine, I've been known to put my feet up on the sofa and stare at it too, along with my 3 furry gals. It's cheap entertainment
Many would feel uncomfortable retiring without owning a home, but I'm adaptable. My rent is way below market rate, and I am open to moving outside the area if the high rents force me out. In fact, I'm almost willing it to happen, as it would be a good excuse to purchase a used RV and hit the road. Lots of boondocking, of course, to keep costs down.
Of course, had the market tanked again shortly after I retired, my story might be different. Still time for things to go wrong though. We'll see