Ask HN: Where Is Everyone Moving To? And why?
Where is everyone moving to and from? And why? My partner and I are trying to figure out where to go. She's a doctor and I run a small fully-remote software development firm.
7 comments
This is quite a funny question. Sort of impossibly broad and vague. It’s a big country and 300 million people is really a lot of people. I guess I am taking it as a challenge to say something helpful in spite of it all.
America is an odd sort of country. It both incredibly homogeneous, yet also incredibly diverse. The idea that you can travel for thousands of miles and will be in the same country, same basic language and culture is pretty amazing to anyone from a smaller country.
So from one perspective, it doesn’t really matter where you live, it’s all America with its drive throughs and Walmarts and cul-de-sacs and strip malls and endless places to get a burger.
From another perspective, we are 50 states, each with its own flavor and history, made up of people from every country, and even every city has its own special vibe. It’s a place where if you have very specific values, interests and wants, you can find a place that meets them. You want to golf 365 days a year? You want to live in an Ethiopian community? You want to speak Spanish with your barista? You want to play in a bluegrass band? You want to eat lobster roll every day of the week? You want to go to monster truck rallies? You want to bag peaks on Saturday?
Most of America is quite nice, some of it not so much. And there are a lot of options besides Austin and Raleigh. So, sit down with your spouse and sort through what you value in life. Money, fame, culture, family, hobbies, weather and so on. Then start narrowing down your options from there.
And once you have some candidates, do yourself a favor and go visit them for a week or a month to get to know the place better before making a big commitment.
America is an odd sort of country. It both incredibly homogeneous, yet also incredibly diverse. The idea that you can travel for thousands of miles and will be in the same country, same basic language and culture is pretty amazing to anyone from a smaller country.
So from one perspective, it doesn’t really matter where you live, it’s all America with its drive throughs and Walmarts and cul-de-sacs and strip malls and endless places to get a burger.
From another perspective, we are 50 states, each with its own flavor and history, made up of people from every country, and even every city has its own special vibe. It’s a place where if you have very specific values, interests and wants, you can find a place that meets them. You want to golf 365 days a year? You want to live in an Ethiopian community? You want to speak Spanish with your barista? You want to play in a bluegrass band? You want to eat lobster roll every day of the week? You want to go to monster truck rallies? You want to bag peaks on Saturday?
Most of America is quite nice, some of it not so much. And there are a lot of options besides Austin and Raleigh. So, sit down with your spouse and sort through what you value in life. Money, fame, culture, family, hobbies, weather and so on. Then start narrowing down your options from there.
And once you have some candidates, do yourself a favor and go visit them for a week or a month to get to know the place better before making a big commitment.
This is a strange question given your partner's occupation, I assume you mean within the same country, likely the US or perhaps the EU? (I have no idea how skills recognition works in the EU)
I should have clarified... I followed my partner to St Louis, MO for 1 year so she could complete her fellowship. We're trying to figure out where to go to next when she's done.
Just to voice the old fashioned opinion: find someplace that you want to live, move there, and stay there. Have a family. and dogs.
What's wrong with staying in place?