Should I Take A Sabbatical?

[Eric Lunsford]

This post is purely opinion based although I suppose some may have experience with this. I work for a company that is employee owned and have stock that I can't touch until I leave. If I were to leave at the end of the year this year, after taxes, I would have about 100k to invest. 

My question is this - should I get a new job so I can keep a steady income while gaining access to the stock $ for investing or should I take some of that money and live off of it for a year while focusing all my attention on real estate? In my area, that would be the difference of either buying 2 properties at a time or 3 at a time (if I were to keep a day job.) 

It is highly likely I will not replace my monthly income in just one year of real estate investment so likely I'll have to go back into the job market. But what's better/worse - taking a job immediately or getting one after a year of very focused intent on growing my portfolio and likely other ways to make and invest active income? 

I'm interested in thoughts, opinions, experiences. 

Thanks!