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Done with China. New life in San Francisco. [intro]

Is diving straight into the Bay Area a good idea?

  • Yes, you are absolutely in a situation where you can last in SF!

  • Maybe, if you get lucky or stay in a cheaper district

  • No, you should have gone to another up-and-coming city (Salt Lake City, Denver, Austin)


Results are only viewable after voting.

bakhman

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Oct 5, 2021
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Aloha folks ~

33-year old, born in Chicago, got a couple degrees in Engineering from top ranked universities.
Lived and nerded out in various cities across the Pacific. Remained broke as hell until 28, when teaching Physics / Engineering became a viable option in Shenzhen (and still is!). Now with a net worth of 100k+, I plan to dive into the Bay Area, California (where everyone told me NOT to go).

I only had a handful of ideas for casual income:
- editing resumes / applications online (built website "Gateway America" but nearly zero leads despite posters and Google Ad services)
- buying a condo and renting it out (HOAs are discouraging, as is current market)
- starting a rental business (renting out a certain good by hour / day)

Books I have read include (I know, it's not much)

Think & Grow Rich (more for the keks)
Secrets of a Millionaire Mind
The Millionaire Next Door
Rich Dad, Poor Dad
4-Hour Workweek
Millionaire Fastlane (soon!)

I hope that this forum (and DeMarco's books) will be a source of inspiration to get me off my a$$ and use this 100k+ productively rather than have it sitting around. Just need a stable studio, a casual day job, and some balls - if anyone else is in the Bay Area do give me a shout! Hope to end up in Mountain View or northern SF in the long-run.

- bakhman
 
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Kevin88660

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Feb 8, 2019
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Singapore
Aloha folks ~

33-year old, born in Chicago, got a couple degrees in Engineering from top ranked universities.
Lived and nerded out in various cities across the Pacific. Remained broke as hell until 28, when teaching Physics / Engineering became a viable option in Shenzhen (and still is!). Now with a net worth of 100k+, I plan to dive into the Bay Area, California (where everyone told me NOT to go).

I only had a handful of ideas for casual income:
- editing resumes / applications online (built website "Gateway America" but nearly zero leads despite posters and Google Ad services)
- buying a condo and renting it out (HOAs are discouraging, as is current market)
- starting a rental business (renting out a certain good by hour / day)

Books I have read include (I know, it's not much)

Think & Grow Rich (more for the keks)
Secrets of a Millionaire Mind
The Millionaire Next Door
Rich Dad, Poor Dad
4-Hour Workweek
Millionaire Fastlane (soon!)

I hope that this forum (and DeMarco's books) will be a source of inspiration to get me off my a$$ and use this 100k+ productively rather than have it sitting around. Just need a stable studio, a casual day job, and some balls - if anyone else is in the Bay Area do give me a shout! Hope to end up in Mountain View or northern SF in the long-run.

- bakhman
Interesting experience.

Did you leave China due to the recent crack down on the private education sector?

Best of luck!
 

bakhman

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Oct 5, 2021
9
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Did you leave China due to the recent crack down on the private education sector?

Hah, you are certainly in the know.

Fortunately, they are only going after tutoring agencies, while I was working for actual international high schools / colleges. So the crackdown had no affect on me, but Shenzhen was grating on my nerves, and there's only so much mental anguish I could handle out there.
 

Alxf

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Feb 28, 2021
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I hope that this forum (and DeMarco's books) will be a source of inspiration to get me off my a$$ and use this 100k+ productively rather than have it sitting around.
My suggestion is DON'T USE THIS 100k+ until you have some experience with business.

Business skill is a lever, and your cash reserve is the pressure you can apply to it. With the right leverage, you can do well with almost no capital. True, you probably can't buy a rental property without capital (but does it have to be your own?), but there are a ton of things you *could* do.

On the other hand, since you have minimal previous experience with business / investing, your skill is close to zero, so the money you put in will almost certainly be wasted since you're not likely to magically get it right on the first try. Anything easy to get into will also have massive competition. You aren't the only person who can buy a rental property.

An idea might be to try to see what you can do/ or start with a limited budget (like $1k) and a lot of hustle. The principles and skills you learn at a 'small scale' will apply to bigger scales.
 
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Ronak

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Sep 13, 2013
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What do you mean by casual day job? Are you working full time in something tech related?

As others mentioned, money should be used for a purpose. You never want to have the perspective of, hey, I got $$, what can I use it for. Pretend you don't have it at all. Do things organically in whatever field you're wanting to learn. For real estate, that might mean birddogging or wholesaling. For programming you can hand code or use nocode tools. Don't start with cash. Cash is fuel. It's like having a can of gasoline and trying to find somewhere to use it. You need the vehicle first, otherwise you'll end up spraying yourself and accidentally setting yourself or something else on fire.

If you're set on San Fran, then make use of that ecosystem, otherwise it's a waste of resources. Some places are better than other depending on your goal. For real estate, you want to find the next Boise, not pay SF prices while you "learn", unless you're also getting paid an SF salary.

Maybe visit and do some short term trips of a few weeks to check it out, attend meetups, and meet people first.
 
G

Guest-5ty5s4

Guest
I voted for the up-and-coming areas, but I rolled my eyes at your examples.

No, Denver and Austin are not "up-and-coming." They are both very much saturated already, lol!
 
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Toyotomi

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Jun 27, 2021
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I would just go to the city that has a buzzing tech hub with progressive worker rights. Last time I checked seattle fitted that category... but I am from uk so take it with bit of salt and chips.
 

bakhman

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Oct 5, 2021
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My suggestion is DON'T USE THIS 100k+ until you have some experience with business.

An idea might be to try to see what you can do/ or start with a limited budget (like $1k) and a lot of hustle. The principles and skills you learn at a 'small scale' will apply to bigger scales.

This is absolutely my route and I'm glad you've affirmed it. Don't want to piss away money that I earned from that soul-sucking country. Particularly since I'm not familiar with legal taxonomy or the local laws of the city I'm about to move to (I just learned what "Pro Se" means). This will require a LOT of networking and prodding a mentor. @Alxf

Was it more because of the general environment/culture or personal matters?

Definitely general environment. China is a harsh place (just look at the rankings for expatriates). No one knows how to do their jobs, their internet speeds are shit, banking system and government is messy, can't advertise, list goes on ..

What do you mean by casual day job? Are you working full time in something tech related?

You never want to have the perspective of, hey, I got $$, what can I use it for. Pretend you don't have it at all. Cash is fuel. It's like having a can of gasoline and trying to find somewhere to use it. You need the vehicle first

My casual day job is teaching (engineering / science), we'll see how that goes, just enough to pay rent is enough for me. And yeah, I'm definitely not blowing money any more than I used to, going full-blown Jew until I have a steady stream of income. I do have an idea for that rental business but again it'll require me learning a) how to get investors b) learning local laws so I don't get stabbed by the govt in the long run

No, Denver and Austin are not "up-and-coming." They are both very much saturated already, lol!

Ha, I've been out of the loop for a while .. it's a pity Detroit never came up .. heard even Alabama is attracting a ton of young people ..
 

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