crave normalcy
i grew up in normal area. it was a laid back area where it was never crowded. i could run to store or starbucks with no crowd and no hassle parking. and everyone had normal cars, not bmw and tesla. people were normal. not intense career oriented people who are obsessed with prestige or school rankings. they could have hobbies and life didn’t revolve around work. i miss that life. it was simple and stress free. i don’t want to live in expensive crowded area. i don’t want rat race. i don’t want expensive city or homeless or crime. but no jobs in normal areas. and now companies force rto. anyone feel same?
Work for non tech. Much more relaxed and more open to remote work, unlike tech. Or stay in the suburbs and commute. You can easily do that since most people close work at 4pm in non tech. No one bothers about net worth, school, interviewing etc. I spent a majority of my career there and sometimes I miss it.
a lot of these tech hubs don’t even have normalcy in commmuting distance. for instance, bay area. and good luck commuting in LA
Bay is shitty, so us NYC. Try North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Atlanta, Austin. I have friends who work in Ohio and they would call me stupid if I told them I spent 6 months on interview prep, then worry about performance, stock refresh, layoffs etc. Their commute is 10-15 mins and most offices are ghost town by 5pm. I remember non tech interviews were a cake walk. I would give the interview a day after getting the interview call and would easily get an offer.
Make more money and you will feel "normal"
not really. you don’t get it. i don’t want to be surrounded by rich career oriented people. making more makes the problem worse not better i make > 500k btw
🎶 Tiny violin 🎻
There are jobs in “normal” areas but obviously they are not going to pay HCOL salaries….San Antonio Texas for example. You have to get out of California or NYC and you will find normal cities with normal people
I get it.
Absolutely. I moved to an outer area of bay area that is so much more balanced. Still a lot of tech employees, but they self selected to slow down. I don't talk about work or compare myself all the time. Everyone has lots of fun hobbies and are very involved parents. You always have choices
how long is your commute? does it make you miserable?
You keep saying normal and haven't defined it. I guess you mean a 1990s middle class suburb where the household income was probably around $50K at the time?