Good heavens m1469, where I am, either US500,000 or NZ 500,000 would be quite enough to enable me to stop work and to see me through to the final curtain thank you very much ! What on earth must the cost of living be like where you are ?!
Actually, you should ask Reginald Robinson, the ragtime composer who has just received a grant of precisely that amount. I suggested to a mutual friend that he live off it and stop working. She thought it could be done, so either you have high material standards or we're talking about different countries.