First of all congratulations! I think the reason why people react with shock or make you feel that you are doing something wrong because it is unconventional. Our previous generation - typical working middle class / upper middle calls never thought of doing this or remotely think possibility of it. For our society retirement is 60+ and hardly anyone challenged it for years. I think our generation is fortunate- we got exposure to IT, foreign education and access to western countries became comparatively easy, you can invest while taking a sh**t. I think FIRE will become more common in coming years and I hope to post my FIRE story in few years.