No unemployment, no severance package.

How long can you survive without touching your retirement accounts or selling chit?

How long would you take off before jumping back into the saddle and finding another job?

For me it's looking like I could survive a little over 3 years before touching the 401k or downsizing my car or something. I'm a rentcel though so rent would go up, was just using current numbers... but also hopefully my non-retirement investments generate a little income too over that timespan to offset rentflation/inflation a bit.

Realistically I'd take a minimum of 3 months of a break, just to focus on my hobbies, gym. I'd want to also work on another advanced certification, which I suspect would take 3 months if I'm fairly committed, so potentially up to 6 months off. If I had that cert I'd get extra confidence and shine bright to recruiters and hiring managers.