I'm moving to Fort Worth this Friday
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum:
Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.
Join over 90,000 entrepreneurs who have rejected the paradigm of mediocrity and said "NO!" to underpaid jobs, ascetic frugality, and suffocating savings rituals— learn how to build a Fastlane business that pays both freedom and lifestyle affluence.
Free registration at the forum removes this block.I love this thread @Vigilante. One of the things I am struggling with right now is that I feel like I am doing the opposite of what everyone else is doing. While they are moving to their dream destination as far as geography, climate, and weather....I'm in this strange scenario where I feel like I might have to leave the beautiful weather, seasons and topography of the Carolinas to go to the dry desert area of TX where there is no ocean or mountains or greenery like there is here, and that bothers me.
But, I feel like my life here has become stagnant and that it's time for a change. The business I am working on could be done from anywhere really. But there are reasons why perhaps I should go to Texas (family, friends, no income taxes, the manufacturers I want to use for my business are there, major metro, singles, more opportunities, etc)....but it's not my dream place.
I have been vacillating back and forth about it and trying to make a decision that would be 'good for me'. Honestly what I would prefer right now I couldn't afford anyway, like spending the summer in Santorini, Greece, or going back to Italy to live in Tuscany for 6 months. So... I have to face reality. I can't stay here anymore just for the weather. Something has to change soon. Thoughts anyone?
Interesting. More mosquitos in DFW than Minneapolis.
I guess I spent too many summer on my Grandparents' farm in dassel/cokato, MN. Gave me a bad impression.
And yes, DFW is an awesome scene. Denton area is a really great place to live.
I'd also vote for Central Texas.Listen.
My top three areas that were in consideration :
1. Gulf coast of Florida
2. Dallas, Texas
3. Charlotte, NC (whose personal income taxes are declining to the point of reasonable.)
I LOVE the Dallas/Ft. Worth area, and there are a handful of forum members (both old and new) there. Awesome area, awesome amenities, awesome culture. It ended up just not being warm enough for us, but we gave strong consideration (to the point of looking for houses) to Dallas. So, if you need a change of pace and scenery to recalibrate, I would not hesitate to recommend DFW.
I love this thread @Vigilante.
I have been vacillating back and forth about it and trying to make a decision that would be 'good for me'. Honestly what I would prefer right now I couldn't afford anyway, like spending the summer in Santorini, Greece, or going back to Italy to live in Tuscany for 6 months. So... I have to face reality. Thoughts anyone?
@Vigilante
Just want to say thanks for this thread. I realized that we can change Latitudes, even if it's for a very short period of time.
After my wife got home from work on Friday we were sitting around trying to figure out what to do for the weekend. My suggestion was to just get in the car and drive somewhere..like Florida. She said that we can't do that because it's too far, there wasn't enough time, we didn't have a plan, etc... Then I said, "why?, what's stopping us other than all of those excuses?" So...
We got in the car at 8pm and headed 12 hours south driving all night until we finally arrived to the beaches. We didn't plan a single thing except for the hotel. Everything worked out, it actually ended up being our best trip ever.
We only stayed for 2 nights, then got back in the car and drove all of the way home, with two dogs. But in that short period of time I experienced a whole new culture, I learned that people actually boil peanuts (which I hated), I discovered a few business ideas, and I think that we found a new place to live someday.
I know that this isn't exactly what you're talking about because it wasn't a full blown move, but I realized that even a short-term change in latitudes can add a lot of charge back into life. And looking back, the journey was actually more fun than arriving to the destination itself. It was hard and I wanted to quit at times...It reminded me very much of the journey to the fastlane.
I added a pic of the beach at 7am after driving all night. Nothing beats the feeling of driving 12 hours to step out onto the beach in the morning when most people are still asleep.
View attachment 9784
I moved the opposite direction than most people. I spent 41 years of my life in San Diego. I was only .25 miles from the beach during my last few years there. The move to AZ was initially for retirement.
I asked each family member to research and come up with two places that they would like to live. Nobody had any input. So I suggested either St. George, Utah or Prescott, AZ. We settled on Prescott.
Well we lived there a few years until a divorce got in the way. I moved to Scottsdale and have been there since.
My wife and I have talked about heading back to CA. (She is originally from So Cal also). We decided that we liked it here in the desert for a number of reasons.
So, as you suggest @Vigilante , I live where I want for the reasons that I want. Although another house in Nevada might come into play in the future.
@Vigilante
Just want to say thanks for this thread. I realized that we can change Latitudes, even if it's for a very short period of time.
After my wife got home from work on Friday we were sitting around trying to figure out what to do for the weekend. My suggestion was to just get in the car and drive somewhere..like Florida. She said that we can't do that because it's too far, there wasn't enough time, we didn't have a plan, etc... Then I said, "why?, what's stopping us other than all of those excuses?" So...
We got in the car at 8pm and headed 12 hours south driving all night until we finally arrived to the beaches. We didn't plan a single thing except for the hotel. Everything worked out, it actually ended up being our best trip ever.
We only stayed for 2 nights, then got back in the car and drove all of the way home, with two dogs. But in that short period of time I experienced a whole new culture, I learned that people actually boil peanuts (which I hated), I discovered a few business ideas, and I think that we found a new place to live someday.
I know that this isn't exactly what you're talking about because it wasn't a full blown move, but I realized that even a short-term change in latitudes can add a lot of charge back into life. And looking back, the journey was actually more fun than arriving to the destination itself. It was hard and I wanted to quit at times...It reminded me very much of the journey to the fastlane.
I added a pic of the beach at 7am after driving all night. Nothing beats the feeling of driving 12 hours to step out onto the beach in the morning when most people are still asleep.
View attachment 9784
My wife rented a condo in Scottsdale for the month of February, where she could vacation... where a dozen or more people from the fast lane forum... live.
The business we have, for the most part is automated and outsourced. We've also grown to this point without building a huge physical infrastructure. The reason I am looking for distribution partnerships is so that the business can continue to scale, but I want to use someone else's infrastructure to do it so that I don't need to own physical assets that require maintenance and physical presence.
You've heard me talk before about the fact that we use a Regus office. We have an office currently in Minneapolis, and several months ago I triggered an office lease termination, that expires at the end of this month. So, at the end of this month, we will have no physical office. We still have a small warehouse in Minneapolis, but that may or may not be eliminated all together. 80% of your business will generally come from 20% of your activities, and that is true for our business as well. If I can automate and outsource the 20% of the activity that generates the 80% of the income... we might just cut the rest loose all together. I want to eliminate the dependence on any location that requires manual intervention. So, if I can't get some of the items to be less "hands on" manual intensive, we might just have to cut those and move on. They're not big contributors to the big picture anyway. Never fall in love with your "stuff..." because it's just stuff.
So, we switched with Regus over to a virtual office. http://www.regus.com/products/virtual-offices/index.aspx
Technically, we become location independent. There are several hundred Regus offices in North America, and now we can walk in and use any of them. In addition, we still have an "office address" for all packages, mailing, phone answering, etc... we have a business presence. It will sit in Minneapolis for a while, until I transfer it to Florida. Regus virtual offices can be transferred anywhere. So, when ever we want, we flip a switch, turn it off in Minneapolis, and turn all of it to Florida (or where ever). No longer tethered to an office.
Call me boring, but this is the most interesting part of the whole thread.. that what enables freedom.
You run e-commerce stores, right? Do your employees ship product, or is it all outsourced to third parties? How many employees do you have?
Why the Regus office though? Do you feel you need it to get things done, or is just to have an address?
Edit: I'm asking because I can see me/my business going a similar route not too long from now.
Thanks!
I hear that over and over from people who've been there, done that. Food for thought.The reduction in pain-in-the-a$$ is directly proportional to the reduction in head count.
The reduction in pain-in-the-a$$ is directly proportional to the reduction in head count.
Agreed, thanks for the heads up @VigilanteI hear that over and over from people who've been there, done that. Food for thought.
I hear that over and over from people who've been there, done that. Food for thought.
I'm thinking (aloud) of:
a part time assistant to handle day to day customer emails / escalations / anything non-financial
I do sourcing, marketing, growth.
All the other heavy repetitive lifting handled by big, stable third parties (couriers/fulfilment centres).
That would shed 3 hours of fat off each day + divorce me from my location.
Anyway, keep reminding us how great life can be and best of luck!
The reduction in pain-in-the-a$$ is directly proportional to the reduction in head count.
Life is too short to say you'll do it when you retire. Why wait till you're 65 and cant enjoy it.You.
Live.
Where other people
vacation.
the headaches that come from dealing with employees and people.
Every single employee, without exception, reaches the point where they start to think their contributions exceed their pay... especially when you are living the remote life and following the commandment of TIME.
Thanks for sharing this MJ. Rep+I didn't have many employees (5 at most) but it was one of the elements I least enjoyed of entrepreneurship. In the end, the decision to sell, versus grow, expand (and hence add employees) came down to knowing that adding more people would have added more of what I didn't enjoy. Glad I made that decision not too. Having been a solopreneur now for some years now, I don't think I ever would want to start something that would require a substantial workforce for execution.
Join Fastlane Insiders.