u/Particular_Box4839

How long before you felt like you could actually do the job? I keep hearing there's a dip and nobody seems to agree on how long it lasts.

How did the money go? Did you negotiate differently than you would have before the break, or take roughly what was offered because you'd been out a while? And did anyone try to use the time off to justify a lower number?

What surprised you? The thing you'd forgotten about working, or the thing that was worse than you remembered, or the thing that turned out not to bother you at all.

And did you come back on the same terms, or did you change something, hours, travel, remote, seniority, the actual job?

Also interested if going back was a mistake, and how long it took you to know.

I’ve got a feeling it’s more possible than most people think, but the details are hard to find.

If you’ve ever managed to get extended time off and still keep your job, I’d really like to hear how it actually went.

A few things I’m curious about:

• Who did you ask, and what did you say?
• Was there an official policy you could point to, or did you basically have to invent the request?
• How long did it take from the first conversation to getting a clear answer?
• Did they try to negotiate you down to something shorter?
• Did you keep your benefits and seniority? Was any of it put in writing?
• Did you time the ask carefully, or did you just ask when you’d had enough?
• Did you offer them anything in return?

I’ve been wondering whether the people who get a yes are the ones who frame it as a retention issue rather than a personal favour.

Also especially interested if you asked and got turned down. What reason did they give? And did you end up leaving anyway?

Would love any real details.

I’ve got a feeling it’s more possible than most people think, but the details are hard to find.

If you’ve ever managed to get extended time off and still keep your job, I’d really like to hear how it actually went.

A few things I’m curious about:

• Who did you ask, and what did you say?
• Was there an official policy you could point to, or did you basically have to invent the request?
• How long did it take from the first conversation to getting a clear answer?
• Did they try to negotiate you down to something shorter?
• Did you keep your benefits and seniority? Was any of it put in writing?
• Did you time the ask carefully, or did you just ask when you’d had enough?
• Did you offer them anything in return?

I’ve been wondering whether the people who get a yes are the ones who frame it as a retention issue rather than a personal favour.

Also especially interested if you asked and got turned down. What reason did they give? And did you end up leaving anyway?

Would love any real details.

I’ve got a feeling it’s more possible than most people think, but the details are hard to find.

If you’ve ever managed to get extended time off and still keep your job, I’d really like to hear how it actually went.

A few things I’m curious about:

• Who did you ask, and what did you say?
• Was there an official policy you could point to, or did you basically have to invent the request?
• How long did it take from the first conversation to getting a clear answer?
• Did they try to negotiate you down to something shorter?
• Did you keep your benefits and seniority? Was any of it put in writing?
• Did you time the ask carefully, or did you just ask when you’d had enough?
• Did you offer them anything in return?

I’ve been wondering whether the people who get a yes are the ones who frame it as a retention issue rather than a personal favour.

Also especially interested if you asked and got turned down. What reason did they give? And did you end up leaving anyway?

Would love any real details.

I keep reading about the money side of taking a long break and almost nothing about what it does to a household. The version I imagine is one person at home all day and the other still going to work, and I can't tell if that's fine or quietly awful.

If you've been on either side of it, did you talk about how things would change before it started, or did you sort it out as you went? And was there anything you'd handle completely differently a second time?

Also interested if you did it together at the same time. Curious whether that solved the problem or created a different one.

I keep reading about the money side of taking a long break and almost nothing about what it does to a household. The version I imagine is one person at home all day and the other still going to work, and I can't tell if that's fine or quietly awful.

If you've been on either side of it, did you talk about how things would change before it started, or did you sort it out as you went? And was there anything you'd handle completely differently a second time?

Also interested if you did it together at the same time. Curious whether that solved the problem or created a different one.

Not the plan, The actual month!
I've been collecting these and the honest answers are more useful than the tidy ones.

How long before it stopped feeling like a holiday?
Did you have any structure or did you just drift for a while and let it happen?
And who did you actually see during the week, given everyone you know is presumably at work?

Not the plan, The actual month!
I've been collecting these and the honest answers are more useful than the tidy ones.

How long before it stopped feeling like a holiday?
Did you have any structure or did you just drift for a while and let it happen?
And who did you actually see during the week, given everyone you know is presumably at work?

I've spent sometime interviewing people who took extended breaks and went back. Nearly all of them are glad they did, but I've realised that's the shape of the sample, not a finding. I only ever hear from the people who went.

So: if you thought hard about taking six months or a year off and didn't, what was the actual blocker? Insurance, mortgage, children, your industry, your partner, or just nerve?

And do you regret not going, or does it still look like the right call?

I've spent sometime interviewing people who took extended breaks and went back. Nearly all of them are glad they did, but I've realised that's the shape of the sample, not a finding. I only ever hear from the people who went.

So: if you thought hard about taking six months or a year off and didn't, what was the actual blocker? Insurance, mortgage, children, your industry, your partner, or just nerve?

And do you regret not going, or does it still look like the right call?

I'm researching what happens after an extended break from work, because there's a lot written about leaving and almost nothing honest about going back. I've interviewed a couple of dozen people who did it, and on four specific points I've ended up with credible people saying opposite things.

So I'd rather ask a larger group than guess.

1. Is there a length at which a break stops being a gap and becomes something you have to recover from?

Nearly everyone I've spoken to who took under two years came back at the same pay or better, several 10–20% higher. One person took three years and it took her eight years to get back to her pre-break income. Same country, same decade.

If you've taken one: how long was it, and did you come back higher, lower, or about the same?

2. Does the gap hurt you, or is it the market you happen to return into?

One person took several breaks across twenty years with no trouble at all, then took a single month off in a bad year and needed months to find work.

If you've gone back: how much was the gap, and how much was just when you were looking?

3. Was your break money separate from your long-term investments, or one pool?

The people who kept one pool describe shifting the whole portfolio conservative during the break in case they needed to draw on it, and reckon that cost them more than the lost salary did.

Did you separate them? If not, did you end up repositioning?

4. How often would an employer actually tolerate this?

One person argued that a break every three years works financially but employers won't wear the repetition. Another has taken three in a decade and been hired at better pay each time.

If you've done it more than once: did the pattern ever start counting against you, separately from any single gap?

Even one-line answers help, "14 months, came back 20% higher" is genuinely useful.

I'm writing a book about this and happy to share the findings here when they're compiled. If you'd rather answer privately, DMs are open.

This is something I've been wondering about, and I'm curious whether others have noticed the same pattern.

It often feels like people with higher incomes also spend much more, not just on luxuries, but on travel, education, tools, networking, outsourcing, and experiences.

Obviously, higher income allows higher spending. But I'm wondering if there's any causation in the other direction:

Have you ever felt that being willing to spend strategically actually helped you earn more?

Or is this mostly survivorship bias, where we only notice the successful big spenders and ignore everyone who overspent?

I'm especially interested in experiences from people pursuing FIRE, since frugality is such a core part of the community.

Where do you think the balance is between being intentionally frugal and investing in yourself?

I keep reading posts here from people a year or two in.

A lot of them say some version of the same thing: I actually like working. I just couldn't stand my manager, or the hours, or the commute, or the politics.

And then a bit further down, the other recurring theme: the hardest part wasn't money, it was the lack of an enforced structure. Slipping into lethargy with no schedule.

So I'm curious about something specific:

If your job had been the same work with a decent manager and forty honest hours, would you still have left?

How long did it take before the free time stopped feeling like relief and started feeling shapeless? Weeks? Months? Never?

And has anyone gone back, not because they ran out of money, but because they missed doing something? How did that go?

I'm writing about a different approach: taking repeated funded breaks across a career instead of one permanent exit. Part of why is that I suspect a lot of people who FIRE didn't need to escape work permanently. They needed to escape a situation, and permanent exit was the only tool they had.

Could be completely wrong about that. Tell me if I am.

I've been reading this sub for a while and I keep noticing the same thing. People post about hitting their number, and the replies are all congratulations.

Then a few weeks later someone posts about boredom, or regret, or taking a job six weeks into a planned six-month break.

The maths of Coast FIRE is well documented.

What happens after it doesn't seem to be.

So, a genuine question for anyone who's crossed it:

Once you stopped contributing, where did that money go?

Did your spending actually change, or did the surplus just quietly sit there while you kept living the same way?

Did you take real time off, or just a lower-stress job?

I notice most Coast stories are about switching jobs, not about taking months away. Curious whether that's a deliberate choice or just what's practical.

Did you keep saving anyway?

Several posts here suggest people hit the number and keep contributing at the same rate out of habit. If that's you, what would it take to actually stop?

And if you did take time off, how long before it stopped feeling like a holiday?

I'm asking because I'm writing about a slightly different model: instead of coasting continuously to 60, taking repeated funded breaks along the way and returning between them.

Coast FIRE gets you to safety. I'm interested in what people do with the surplus once they're there, and it looks to me like a lot of people don't do anything with it.

Happy to be told I'm wrong about that.

I'm writing a book about a question I don't think gets answered very often:

What actually happens after you take a long break from work?

There's plenty of advice about retiring early, taking sabbaticals, or traveling for a few months. What I struggle to find are honest stories about the return.

• Was it difficult to get hired again?
• How did you explain the gap?
• Did your salary change?
• Did your professional network survive?
• Looking back, would you do it again?

I'm especially interested in people who took 2 months or longer away from full-time work and later returned to paid employment.

The break could have been:

• Planned (sabbatical, mini-retirement, career break, travel, family, study, personal projects)
• Unplanned (burnout, layoff, illness, or simply needing time away)

The book itself focuses on planned career breaks, but I think people who didn't plan theirs often have some of the most valuable lessons about returning to work.

I'm not trying to prove that career breaks are always a good idea. I'm trying to understand what really happens—the good, the bad, and the parts people usually leave out.

The interview would be:

• Around 45 minutes (voice or video)
• Recorded (with your permission)
• Anonymous if you prefer
• I'll ask about finances in percentages and ratios rather than exact amounts if that's more comfortable
• If I quote you, you'll be able to review the quote before publication, and if you later decide you don't want it included, I'll remove it.

I'm particularly interested in experiences that didn't go according to plan. Those stories are often the most useful because they reveal problems that success stories tend to hide.

If you're open to talking, please leave a comment or send me a DM.

Happy to answer any questions about the project as well.

I'm writing a book about a question I don't think gets answered very often:

What actually happens after you take a long break from work?

There's plenty of advice about retiring early, taking sabbaticals, or traveling for a few months. What I struggle to find are honest stories about the return.

• Was it difficult to get hired again?
• How did you explain the gap?
• Did your salary change?
• Did your professional network survive?
• Looking back, would you do it again?

I'm especially interested in people who took 2 months or longer away from full-time work and later returned to paid employment.

The break could have been:

• Planned (sabbatical, mini-retirement, career break, travel, family, study, personal projects)
• Unplanned (burnout, layoff, illness, or simply needing time away)

The book itself focuses on planned career breaks, but I think people who didn't plan theirs often have some of the most valuable lessons about returning to work.

I'm not trying to prove that career breaks are always a good idea. I'm trying to understand what really happens—the good, the bad, and the parts people usually leave out.

The interview would be:

• Around 45 minutes (voice or video)
• Recorded (with your permission)
• Anonymous if you prefer
• I'll ask about finances in percentages and ratios rather than exact amounts if that's more comfortable
• If I quote you, you'll be able to review the quote before publication, and if you later decide you don't want it included, I'll remove it.

I'm particularly interested in experiences that didn't go according to plan. Those stories are often the most useful because they reveal problems that success stories tend to hide.

If you're open to talking, please leave a comment or send me a DM.

Happy to answer any questions about the project as well.

any idea of what can be the reason?

Hey guys, I own a furnished 1BHK with 2 bathroom & balcony and a private parking .. very nice furniture and wanted to rent it monthly including all the bills

Wanted to know how much should I offer it for ..

Please answer only if you have a fair idea of the prices

Thanks

Posting as: Owner

Property type: Apartment

Area/community: City Towers Ajman

Building/project: City Towers

Price: AED 3,500/month

Bedrooms: 1

Bathrooms: 2

Size (sq ft): 750

Furnishing: Furnished

Available from: 24 July

Cheques: Monthly

Images/video: Included below

Additional details: Fully furnished 1BR apartment in excellent move-in-ready condition. No commission, no agency fees.

Includes brand new fridge, washing machine and gas stove, bedroom set, sofas, dining table, TV, balcony, open view and dedicated parking space.

Rent: AED 3,500/month including bills (excluding internet).

AED 3,750/month including internet.

Minimum stay: 3 months.