Forum Replies Created
-
AuthorPosts
-
spdrun
ParticipantTemecula lol. So you’d be trading proximity to beaches, cultural events, etc for a long commute and a more suBURPan area. Seems like a path from the frying pan into the fire. Pechanga? Sure. If you want to become friends with alcoholic compulsive gamblers.
ParticipantGrew up there, haven’t lived there in years. But my experience of NJ wasn’t of anonymity or unfriendliness, quite the contrary. I knew all of my neighbors for better or for worse, had dinner with them quite a few times (even after one moved away), took care of another’s kids when mom’s water broke at 4 am and dad was traveling on business.
ParticipantYeah, I’d imagine there are a lot of moldy married suburbanites out there … could you sublet your house and rent an apartment in a more urban area to try things out a bit? Then sell the house and buy a condo or small house if you like it in town.
ParticipantI’m honestly surprised by your description. I’m from the East Coast of the US (NY and NJ), and I did find Southern Californians to be somewhat suspicious by nature. However, last year, I bought a rental apartment in San Diego in a very socially mixed (in a good way, in my book) apartment complex. I spent a few weeks renovating it, cleaning it up, and getting it ready for tenants.
I found that the neighbors were actually a pretty talkative bunch — I got to talk to quite a few of them, even got invited to a barbecue by one of them. This despite the strange noises going on inside the apartment and the fact that I was wearing different shades of wall paint on various parts of me for a week…
Maybe it’s more neighborhood-by-neighborhood. What area of town are you in? Perhaps everyone is so busy working that they don’t have time or energy to talk.
Maybe you would prefer a more urban area (not urban in the sense of NY or Paris, but with small bungalows like parts of North Park, Golden Hill, or even the more poorer/working-class parts of the city).
ParticipantOur of curiosity, why bring Obamacare into it?
ParticipantSounds like the American firm will miss its office more than the French will — unless they can live without the connections that it supposedly provided. Good riddance.
Participant.
ParticipantBet the French won’t miss an American company with slave-driving work ethic.
ParticipantOther option is to go academic — get the right teaching job and the work load will be somewhat humane. You’ll also have contact with some pretty interesting people.
ParticipantYeah, but does a romantic Frenchman want a American girl who was conditioned to think that life is defined by work, consumption, and more work? Fool a man once…
ParticipantWhat are customs duties and what would be infrastructural costs to distribute the pants?
BTW – if you just want to pay for part of airfare to Europe, nothing wrong with bringing a high-end iPhone or two (one personal, one “work”) with you to the right country and “losing” them on the trip. iPhone prices in Poland and Czech Republic are about 30-35% higher than unlocked price in the US. Same might go for MacBooks, haven’t checked recently.
You can easily make $200 per device and spend the money on your trip, thus negating currency exchange commissions.
ParticipantHere’s a 3/2 for $255,000, common charges $170 within spitting distance of Pacific Beach. Probably a slightly dumpy area/complex, but relatively cheap, rentable when you travel, and easy to get to the beaches or to a cafe in PB.
San Diego is a very beautiful city, but not when you play the damn game that “they” want you to play.
Participant^^^
Nothing wrong with testing your value to a company in that instance. Don’t give them a choice, tell them you need the time off. If you’re valuable to them, they’ll let you keep the job. If not, then fuck them — no reason to work for people who don’t value your services.
ParticipantDo you have any equity in the house? If yes, then sell it, buy a 2-bedroom condo (flat) with cash or a large down payment to keep your monthly costs to a minimum. You’re talking $20/mo insurance, $250/mo common charges, $250/mo taxes, and you have a place that you can easily sublet for 3x those costs when you travel.
If you have anything left over, pick up a rental property. Drive a used car, no payments. Etc. Live below your means, use the money saved on travel.
Also: can you take a few weeks unpaid time off?
Lastly, you’re a software engineer. It’s not difficult to incorporate an LLC in California (much easier than starting a firm in most Eurozone countries) and sell your services on the open market. Plenty of small to midsize firms need custom software, web back ends, and mobile apps developed. Also things like digital control systems if you know anything about them. Buyer’s market for good freelancers out there.
I’m honestly as uncomfortable with the typical American lifestyle as you are.
-
AuthorPosts
