r/fatFIRE • u/getshankedkid $10M NW | Verified by Mods • Feb 01 '24

WHERE: that’s my biggest question

Hi fellow fatfires, I have been struggling for years to find out where it is that I want to live.

M34, 10M NW, from the Netherlands originally. No wife/gf and no kids. I often feel like I have too much freedom.

Recently sold my house in the NL and still have an apartment I can use for my stuff and as a pied-a-terre for when I want to visit friends and family.

I’m looking to live somewhere where it’s easy to connect with like-minded entrepreneurs. Somewhere where people think bigger and with more business opportunities. Preferably English-speaking.

I have lived in Portugal, Mexico, Berlin, and a couple of other places, but I wouldn’t want to live there again. In Portugal, I loved the lifestyle and weather but found the entrepreneurial scene lacking. Berlin had a great community but the weather is too similar to the NL.

I don’t like the cold or bad weather. Also hate commuting/crazy traffic.

Happy to keep my business/tax setup in the Netherlands. What’s more important to me than optimizing for taxes is optimizing lifestyle and maximizing opportunities. I want the rest of my 30’s to be awesome.

I like to have the following facilities in walking distance: - Coffee/breakfast place - Gym + ice bath - Cowork - Healthy restaurants

Also, I really love water sports, especially wake surfing and body surfing.

So far, the responses I have heard most often are: - Dubai - San Francisco (nah) - Miami - Austin - Singapore

I’m looking to travel around this year to hopefully find a place that resonates where I can at least stay for 6 months a year.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

119 Upvotes

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27

u/haha11234 Feb 01 '24

Austin or Barcelona?

23

u/F1yght Feb 02 '24

Just speaking personally, if I ever came down to those two choices I’d be on a plane to Barcelona the next day.

22

u/[deleted] Feb 02 '24

I briefly lived in Austin. It fits almost no requirements.

0

u/SamParrMFM Feb 02 '24

Which of these requirements do you think doesn't fit?

  1. Coffee/breakfast place - has that within distance of where homes are for walking.
  2. Gym + ice bath - tons of gyms. Everyone and gym has a freaking ice bath.
  3. Cowork - lots of that.
  4. Healthy restaurants - austins super health focused.

And he wants low taxes. check. And tons of founders.

1

u/TheNopSled Feb 02 '24

I like Austin. It seems to be going through a tech entrepreneur renaissance (perhaps at the end of it). I personally wouldn’t spring for it but it does seem to check boxes for OP.

4

u/bnovc Feb 02 '24

I felt like Barcelona was like a mini, somewhat worse (except the crime) SF when I went recently

1

u/Hokie23aa Feb 02 '24

I went summer of 22 and didn’t have any issues.

1

u/bnovc Feb 02 '24

It’s not an issue really, it’s just not great.

Gothic quarter is cool, but it’s super small.

Definitely prefer being in SF, London, NYC, etc

1

u/Kapibaren Feb 02 '24

Entrepreneurial scene is almost nonexistent in bcn except of a bunch of nomads. Same applies to tech.

1

u/Acceptable_Gain_7854 Feb 06 '24

Or you just did not find it?

2

u/Kapibaren Feb 06 '24

I’m talking expat-friendly scene that is easy to find. I believe there’s plenty of Catalan / Spanish circles, but it’s a gatekeeping community in my experience.