This is sad. My advice, as an older person, is find a job that doesn't suck, or even is actually fulfilling. Public sector did that for me. Some weeks will drain you, that's what we get paid for, it just needs to be, not all the time :) Then early retirement is less "necessary". This is perfectly compatible with kids (albeit not in a high cost of living area). While kids are young, adventures will be put on hold to some extent, but then having kids and watching them grow up is a delightful adventure in itself :) And you get to share adventures with them later on. I'm glad I travelled and stuff when young, but seeing others without kids, their life seems a bit boring and same-y to me, but that's a personal thing. Important to some to have kids, important to others not to have them. Those "ground down" people you describe probably need a decent holiday to recharge, they also may need to think outside the box , get off the treadmill and realise that chasing promotions and money is a trap, and in fact a middle-of-the-road tech salary combined with some intelligent frugal habits gives a great standard of living despite today's brutal house prices etc. (only caveat - in USA health costs can be major problem for people with certain conditions)