I have mentioned before that my husband is suffering from back issues. It is affecting his work and his general quality of life. He isn't ready to move onto the next stage, partly because we can't do the adventures we have planned until he gets this sorted out. That is, the only thing he would have to retire to right now would be lots of meditation, physical therapy and pain. However, his medical team is convinced that the stress and posture at work are contributing to the issue. He has tried to address this by working fewer hours (salaried employee for the win), but he feels like he is abandoning his team when he leaves after 4 hours, instead of the usual 10-15, thus increasing his stress. He needs a commute that allows him to walk or bike to work, go home for a couple of hours to get in a comfortable position, then return if he is up to it.
We lived within biking distance when he first got this job, but have since purchased a 40' boat to live on and he has been commuting just over 20 miles each way. I have been driving him to work for 2 weeks, and have done so in the past when he has a flair up, but this isn't so great for my quality of life or health (I am typing this from McDonald's because the library is closed on Mondays).
We have explored all of our options: a class B RV, buying a condo, renting a room, renting an apartment (wow, rent has really gone up in the last 5 years since we last looked!!)... It looks like we will be taking a room in an extended stay hotel for a month. If he improves, we will revisit the other options in order to improve his quality of life until we reach our number. If he does not improve, he will be exploring using his disability insurance (we already understand the process, he was just trying to push through), and if all else fails there is a round of layoffs expected this fall.
We did have a brief moment of "If only we had bought a condo 5 years ago instead of aiming for a boat," but we have enjoyed our boat and will continue to spend weekends on board. And we did look at making a 6 month commitment to a room in a condo, but the place was hoarded and smelled overwhelming of cat and whatever animal the current tenant of the room had in a cage. That is not how one improves quality of life.