I wish them luck. historically over the time periods that they are potentially talking about (40-50 yrs), that is a risky bet.
The math works out well for someone willing to buy and hold for a long time, because if there's a crash you wait to sell until the market has recovered. However, if you need to sell, you need to actualize the losses. Even if your portfolio later recovers, you've lost out on the growth that you would have had.
For everyone else, hobbies exist.
> and
> "Hey, I gotta go. I'm gonna move to Vermont. I'm gonna stop working. And it was exactly the same. She said, "Hey wait, wait, you can keep working remotely if you want and, by the way, here's over a 50% raise.”
TL;DR:
1. Become indispensable at a day job.
2. Tell them you are quitting and moving to _INSERT_LOW_COST_OF_LIVING_PLACE_HERE ( and be ready to follow through )
3. Wait for counter offer for 100% remote.
4. Rinse and repeat every few years.
This story is not practical and not applicable to over 95% of us (programmers / software engineers).
Kids, healthcare costs, COLA, commute, very few 100% remote jobs that pay more than the day job,
will all ruin your math and sh*t on your grand plans to retire early.