Thank you all for the encouragement.
How long did it take you to 'unplug'and get used to the new pace of life? I am looking forward to it but assume that after all those years it will be a big change that will take some getting used to.
In our country we have two calendar months notice period. That means that when you give your notice you still have two months left at your job starting from the 1st of whatever month starts after you resign. 7 weeks to go ... and two paychecks.
I am looking into available options near the area where we live (I want to avoid the nearly hour long commute by public transportation) and it seems that there is a position open that looks great, I have sent my CV and keep my fingers crossed. Job market is not that good right now.
We do have some savings and my husband has a decent job that he likes very much so even if I am unable to find anything immediately we would be fine for a while. My job has been getting worse and more stressful for quite some time. So we have made some adjustments to save more / spend less so that I can look for another job that won't pay so much or perhaps even part time job and still have everything we need and some things that we just want while saving for retirement as well.
Now I'll need to get more creative. Some expenses will disappear by themselves - I am determined not to step into corporate again so no business wardrobe, home haircuts will suffice, no after work temptations in form of 'everybody' going out for beer/coffee/cocktails/bowling, no late evenings spent working from home over a take-out dinner. Some expenses I have to re-evaluate. Do I need my mobile phone plan including data which I rarely use? Probably not. Race registration fees? Could by cut in half by choosing more carefully. Travelling? Avoiding hotels and keeping it more local lately and it's all right.
I love cooking and baking so I am learning to take time to shop around for good deals on produce and plan meals around what's available and cook from scratch (goodbye canned chickpeas and pasta sauce)
I want to learn more gardening and also canning and preserving which should help our budget (and my nerves too) and in general simplify and slow down our days.