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Move to the Big City (2018)

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Re: Move to the Big City (2018)

#41

Post by coldtea »

discordance wrote: post #22

I work 90% remote at the moment, and the only thing stopping me from moving to a smaller town is the fear of not having a community or friends nearby. It’s so important to have in person human contact, especially with remote work, that Montana or wherever will always be a dream. Would love some ideas on how to solve this if anyone has any!

>I work 90% remote at the moment, and the only thing stopping me from moving to a smaller town is the fear of not having a community or friends nearby.

OTOH, you can have more community and more friends nearby in a smaller town -- and actually get to see them and do things with them.

But you need to take the time to make friends with those people. Still I know several people who moved to a small town, small island even, and made great friends with the local community, even people from an entirely different country. YMMV.

Re: Move to the Big City (2018)

#42

Post by coldtea »

notadoc wrote: post #28

> "(Nashville, Paris, Seoul, or Tokyo only count if you’re limiting yourself to those markets.)" LOL, as if Nashville is even vaguely comparable to the other three?

For a certain kind of businesses, Nashville is superior to the other three. Country for one.

Re: Move to the Big City (2018)

#43

Post by remarkEon »

slimed wrote: post #31
yepthatsreality wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

NYers flooding MT would be worse than OHians flooding NYC.

I'm willing to bet you wouldn't refer to other groups as "flooding" NYC. Why do New Yorkers find it acceptable to say such things about Midwesterners?

The Midwest is pretty culturally distant from NYC, or at least it can be. There’s a long list of things that are different, and a shorter one of things that are similar.

Source: Am Midwestern, lived in NYC once upon a time

Re: Move to the Big City (2018)

#44

Post by kstenerud »

jborichevskiy wrote: post #6

This stood out: > So why do I hate to admit this? > Because I love how the internet has made it possible for anyone to get successful, anywhere. I love the idea of living in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by nature, yet being connected to the world. > But still, when I look at the facts, it’s impossible to deny. Living in the big city, and being where everything is happening, will help your career the most. Being…

I started working remote from a farm at the foot of the Rockies 4 years ago and never looked back. During this time, I've watched the number of remote companies rise considerably.

Internet was expensive at first, but I could expense it so I didn't care. Now that Starlink is on the way, it really won't matter anymore.

The key is to work at a company that is REMOTE FIRST. If the remote team is in the minority, then you'll always be left out of the important discussions and decisions, and, ultimately, promotions.

Yes, it's a bit of a pain getting out to other places. But I'm perfectly happy to spend 90% of my time in nature, so I consider it an acceptable trade to have extra hassle 10% of the time.

PS: Think twice about an RV. I tried that route, and it's a big hassle having to move around all the time (because of California's tenancy laws, for example), it's a pain to find a place to park the thing, propane isn't always conveniently available, repairs are a pain, black/grey water is a pain, and a lot of places just aren't RV friendly. Also, RV parks just generally suck and have TERRIBLE wifi. If you DO go this route, get a 5th wheel so that you get the extra headroom, easier turns (IMPORTANT), and can drive the pickup to the store. You DON'T want to drive a 30ft coach around town!

Also, get an RV with one popout (more is just asking for shit to break), the kitchen in the back (otherwise it's always in the way), and NO island (it just gets in the way).

Also, don't go lower than a half-ton for your pulling vehicle. You'll thank me on the hills.

Re: Move to the Big City (2018)

#45

Post by danenania »

coldtea wrote: post #41
discordance wrote: post #22

I work 90% remote at the moment, and the only thing stopping me from moving to a smaller town is the fear of not having a community or friends nearby. It’s so important to have in person human contact, especially with remote work, that Montana or wherever will always be a dream. Would love some ideas on how to solve this if anyone has any!

> I work 90% remote at the moment, and the only thing stopping me from moving to a smaller town is the fear of not having a community or friends nearby. OTOH, you can have more community and more friends nearby in a smaller town -- and actually get to see them and do things with them. But you need to take the time to make friends with those people. Still I know several people who moved to a small town, small island e…

Right, I think you just need to be more willing to make friends with people who don't necessarily share many of your interests.

The great thing about a big city, at least in theory, is that whatever sort of weirdo you are, you can probably find a group of people that sees it as a positive rather than a negative. On the flip side, many people in cities are very busy and don't have much room for new relationships, so it can be hard to establish close friendships, the kind you can hang out with on a daily or weekly basis, without some catalyst like school or (non-remote) work.

In a smaller town, people will have time for you and it's easier to integrate into a community, but you may have to water yourself down a bit to fit in. It's tough to have it all!

Re: Move to the Big City (2018)

#46

Post by thrower123 »

slimed wrote: post #31
yepthatsreality wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

NYers flooding MT would be worse than OHians flooding NYC.

I'm willing to bet you wouldn't refer to other groups as "flooding" NYC. Why do New Yorkers find it acceptable to say such things about Midwesterners?

Because you can make fun of mostly-white yokels without the PC police coming for your scalp the way they would if you were to criticize the influx of any other demographic.

Re: Move to the Big City (2018)

#48

Post by aserafini »

My take on this is that the network effects of living in a big city vs. small town actually increased post-internet. Ie. the value proposition of the physical city network is even greater with internet.

One obvious example is on demand food delivery. In a small town you still just get one or two places delivering food, the internet cannot solve that.

But in a city you’re immediately connected to every provider in your radius. It was technically true before but required walking around, local knowledge etc. The internet removed that upfront investment and made the physical network available to anyone immediately.

Re: Move to the Big City (2018)

#49

Post by coldtea »

danenania wrote: post #45
coldtea wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I work 90% remote at the moment, and the only thing stopping me from moving to a smaller town is the fear of not having a community or friends nearby. OTOH, you can have more community and more friends nearby in a smaller town -- and actually get to see them and do things with them. But you need to take the time to make friends with those people. Still I know several people who moved to a small town, small island e…

Right, I think you just need to be more willing to make friends with people who don't necessarily share many of your interests. The great thing about a big city, at least in theory, is that whatever sort of weirdo you are, you can probably find a group of people that sees it as a positive rather than a negative. On the flip side, many people in cities are very busy and don't have much room for new relationships, so i…

>Right, I think you just need to be more willing to make friends with people who don't necessarily share many of your interests.

A, yes, that part is crucial. E.g. a common interest in just life, nature, and common stuff: small talk, food, drink, some games, etc, sure helps.

Re: Move to the Big City (2018)

#50

Post by samsonradu »

jborichevskiy wrote: post #6

This stood out: > So why do I hate to admit this? > Because I love how the internet has made it possible for anyone to get successful, anywhere. I love the idea of living in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by nature, yet being connected to the world. > But still, when I look at the facts, it’s impossible to deny. Living in the big city, and being where everything is happening, will help your career the most. Being…

While I’m supportive of working remotely, I’m somewhat uncomfortable with the idea of making physical location irrelevant.

If/when we get there it will also imply abstracting away the physical interaction between people. This might have unwanted social implications, read people losing many important social skills.

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