Moving back to Bay Area. WDYT?
I moved from the Bay Area to Austin 4 years ago with: $3M net worth $750k TC Today: $6.5M NW >$1M TC I’m max 5 years away from complete financial independence in Austin. Never having to work again. Thing is we don’t really like Austin. It’s a fine city to raise a family. The people and homes here are awesome. Schools are good. No state tax. But there’s not much else to do. Live music and beer - we don’t enjoy either. Shortage of parks, bad weather, allergies, no road trips possible, no fun places for weekend getaways, not even half decent malls to go spend an hour or two in as a last resort. Moving back to the Bay Area resets the financial independence timeline from 5 years to 11 years. I’ll be past 50 by then. Really confused what to do. What would you do in this situation? Explain why? #personalfinance #FIRE #Austin
I mean… If you stay in Austin you could literally just take monthly first class trips to just about anywhere in the world and have fun there, no?
Life generally happens within 20 miles of where you live.
^ No it doesn’t. You just have limiting beliefs. You can afford to go anywhere and it will barely dent your budget
What level pays 750k TC in Austin?
Move to LA/SD area
YOE?
Which malls are great in bayarea? What's great to do here? I know it's not boring as 6th street Austin
Malls? This is your barometer for “things to do”? MALLS? 😂😂😂
OP mentioned in n his post this asking
How did your NW grow so rapidly in Austin?
Probably new jobs for the 2 of them that pay 500k+ Plus stock inflation and real estate inflation.
Same question doubled in 4 years averaging close a mil per year
Move. Just have a plan to save more and have control over finances till you FIRE. Enjoy life while you can
Are you calculating your net worth with your spouse or is that just you?
As someone born and raised in Texas, I see this is a totally ass/backwards move. The QOL you have in Austin is better than someone making 4x your TC in the Bay Area. You can have a home with way more space than you need, and that space is so much cheaper to maintain. Your kids can grow up in a much better environment with their own bedrooms, space for hobbies, you can have spare bedrooms for family and friends to visit. You said the people and homes are awesome. The people are definitely awesome, Austin is a very VERY humble city, especially in the suburbs. It’s a Texan thing. Southern hospitality is a real thing. People are polite and humble. Kids at school aren’t pretentious thanks to rich parents because the public schools are excellent melting pots of all social, racial, and financial demographics. This will work wonders for your kids socia (and self) development and awareness. Access to some of the best food in the country If your kids care about school or club sports at all, Austin is the place to be. Who the hell doesn’t like live music and beer? Also comedy, Austin is quickly growing into the standup comedy capital of the country. There are a lot of parks and road trips possible in central Texas. Weekend getaways are plentiful. I had friends who went to college there and they were always taking a trip somewhere almost every weekend. Some might be a couple hours away, but this is what happens when you live right in the middle of a giant state Bad weather, okay I’ll give you this one. Summers here suck, but the other 3 seasons are pretty mild, I’m not aware of how malls are over there. I’m not a big mall guy. Isn’t the domain a huge area that could fill this hole? Last year I was interviewing for a company down there that was based near the domain and the recruiter was really selling me on it, saying it had tons of food and shopping and stuff and it was one of the nicest parts of Austin
lmao this guy must have broken your hard on for texas 😂 i’m surprised too
i think OP has made a fair assessment of texas Bay Area has soo much nature around if that’s your thing Beaches in santa cruz or half moon bay Mountains throughout Lake Tahoe for summer/winter for skiing Yosemite for camping etc Malls are top tier here though not gonna lie Food and diversity of cuisines is top tier i think sf has the most number of michelin restaurants, 2nd to NYC? Tech/startup scene is #1 and overall the number of innovation that happens here is #1 beyond just tech you don’t have to live in SF, and the bad neighborhoods with OPs NW Housing and state tax is the only thing different also two international airports within 30 minutes of each other
Interesting why you think $6.5M is not enough for financial independence?
Some people are very risk averse and prefer to assume they will live to 100 taking care of child and medical expenses for the family.
If I was at 6.5M NW and still enjoyed working, I wouldn’t let off the gas. What’s better than a shit load of money? More money.