Is there some way to look at $700,000 and not think, "Holy shit that's a life changing amount of money for nearly any American."?

FOMO is the biggest reason I find not to sell and rent for a while. If I want to buy again in a few years, there is no way to know if the equivalent house would be out of my price range. And I can't think of too many places I would feel safe investing that amount of money given current asset price inflation.

Becoming a landlord while renting out something new may be a good option though. Or moving to a low cost of living area.

Life-changing would be living in nicer arrangements, consuming more stuff, doing less work, being more secure.

That’s not what’s going on here.