This is a really hard lesson to learn and it takes most people (myself included) many tries to learn it. From reading your post, it is super clear that you understand the lesson-- validate your idea early. But understanding the lesson and actually learning it are worlds apart.
You have put a lot of time into this project, and it is not going to go anywhere. This is a tough realization. One that you naturally want to argue against. It's easy to be stubborn. But the more time and effort you put into this, the more time and effort you are wasting.
The positives: you have built a foundation and undoubtedly learned some things along the way. Take that knowledge and pivot to something that people want/need. Good luck!
I had a front row seat to the technological changes in the music industry. I opened a recording studio when you had to "edit" using a razor blade and tape to cut tape together. I remember my first time doing digital editing on a Macintosh IIfx. What happened to drummers is that technology advanced to the point where studio magic could make decent drummers sound great. But it's still cheaper and faster (and arguably better) to get a great session drummer who doesn't need it. Those pros are still in high demand.
100%. There are lots of small dealers that will be super happy to go pick up a car at auction for you. I highly recommend this if you want the best price. If you don't really care, it is significantly faster and easier to just go to a dealership.
I would suggest spending any extra time and money you have on doing something fun and helpful. For example, learning to play poker, or chess. Both of those things will tangentially help you in your professional life, but are also enjoyable hobbies. I don't mean to limit it to strategy games. Almost anything that involves some learning will end up being beneficial at some level even if it is not technically professional development.
I don't know who these American friends that get free therapy are, but as an American, I've never heard of that. I do know people who pay two thousand dollars a month for health insurance for their family and it INCLUDES therapy. But that seems pretty different.
I don't think it makes you a snob to say that there is better food in certain cities. If you have any special requirements, like being vegan, you aren't going to find anywhere near the same options in smaller cities. But I think for most people, access to quality restaurants is fairly low on the list. Certainly far below proximity to work. Put another way, would you pay an extra $2k a month to be able to eat at certain restaurants? You might! But most people wouldn't.
I would counter that proximity to work is a huge influence on where people decide to live. There are (or will be) bars and restaurants everywhere, which means if you can work from home, there is significantly less incentive to live in a small, overpriced apartment.
Some of the comments in this thread make me pretty sad. There is a lot of nuance, obviously, but generally speaking when people say work is too "political" and make complaints that "people are allowed to insult straight white males, but insulting other groups is off limits", it doesn't take much reading between the lines to see what is going on. I hope everyone can take a second and appreciate how underrepresented certain demographics are in tech and that we should all work to change this.
You have put a lot of time into this project, and it is not going to go anywhere. This is a tough realization. One that you naturally want to argue against. It's easy to be stubborn. But the more time and effort you put into this, the more time and effort you are wasting.
The positives: you have built a foundation and undoubtedly learned some things along the way. Take that knowledge and pivot to something that people want/need. Good luck!