The past two months have been quite a journey. I had to make some important decisions. What would I do for income? Where would I live? What’s next?
I don’t want to stay in Los Angeles for too much longer. I don’t want to settle down here. It’s too expensive and spread out and not a great place to raise a kid. Also, I’ve grown weary of the long, hot, sunny summers. I need a little bit of clouds, rain, cool weather, and Fall colors. In fact, I’d move on right now, but my girlfriend, whom I love, is tied to LA; she’s an actor. So, I told her I’d stay another year and then reevaluate.
My previous employer contacted me in August. The CTO wanted to know if I’d return. I said no. I wanted to move on to open source tech. (They are a Microsoft shop).
But I wasn’t able to find a good PHP, Ruby, or Python job in the past two months. I didn’t have enough experience in that niche.
Then this past week, the CTO contacted me again. He gave me an offer that I couldn’t refuse. How about that for timing?
I do like the people there. And the work is interesting and challenging. So, I told myself that this’ll be my last Microsoft tech job. And I’ll build my open source tech skills on nights and weekends with side projects/businesses.
I’m going to take the next year to research places to live–to settle down. I’d like to live somewhere with lower cost of living, good public transit, family friendly, decent nightlife, a decent airport, some Fall colors, and a little more clouds, rain, and greenery than LA. I’m looking at San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, Denver, Chicago, Boston, New York, Miami.
Now I know none of those cities are perfect, according to my wishes. Maybe I’d settle in an adjacent town to those big cities (’cause it’d be cheaper). Regardless, I’m confident I’ll find something that fits perfectly.
I want to continue traveling in the future. But instead of a whirlwind tour, I’d rather focus on one country at a time and immerse. Learn the language and culture. I’m not sure when or where my next big trip will be. I’ll wait at least another year.