[pc86]

$2.5 million is enough for a six-figure salary in retirement, without touching the principle. Assuming there is post-tax money in there, you're going to have a much lower effective tax rate than you did while working. And if you're retired you probably have much lower expenses than you did before (most retired folks aren't making a big mortgage payment even if they're young).

Unless you want to live an extravagant lifestyle (nothing wrong with that) $2.5 million is more than enough to retire in all but the most expensive US cities. And let's remember this is liquid, so real estate doesn't really count in that. One or two properties you're not living in could easily float that extravagant lifestyle for years.