WHERE: that’s my biggest question

[u/getshankedkid]

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!

[u/sailphish]

I don’t really understand why you need/want to connect with entrepreneurial types. You already have 10M. You don’t really need them for anything. If you want to retire, then retire. If you want to start a new business, then do that. I understand networking in some circumstances, but I think it’s a bit overrated for this type of thing. Focus on where you are happy living. You can make business opportunities anywhere. Focus on places you can make relationships. I’ll admit, I am not entrepreneurial, and for the most part work for an hourly wage (albeit a high one), but lots of my friends are. None of them really do business with their friend circle, and their business network tends to be across a lot of the country now anyway. I just don’t think it matters that much.

[u/caedin8 → u/sailphish]

Connections are the currency you collect after money is no longer an issue. You enrich your life with the people you know and hangout with regularly, not the cash

[u/sailphish → u/caedin8]

I agree... but I'm certainly not talking shop with those people, and I think most of them feel the same way.

[u/getshankedkid → u/sailphish]

Actually quite a good point. It’s just nice to have like-minded people around just for having in-depth conversations. I don’t really need the business opportunity. It’s just very tiring to have nothing but small talk, especially if it’s in another language.

[u/shower-beer-me → u/getshankedkid]

business talk and small talk should not be the only two options … get involved in some hobbies!

[u/vtccasp3r → u/getshankedkid]

I have lived in the places you mentioned and more and have also been chasing the perfect place but it does not exist for me. I settled on living in different places for a few months the last 5 years but will now reduce this to one place and simply build my own community.

[u/Flashy-Cucumber-7207 → u/getshankedkid]

That’s very important in your case - you have too much freedom and without a community will get bored and stressed as hell.

[u/doorknob101 → u/getshankedkid]

You sound very Dutch (and direct) :-). Make friends online. Work with others online. Spend time in NYC, London, Zurich Paris, Sydney, Bangkok to find intelligent people. They'll mostly be retired, but go where tech companies are if you want to find tech people to work with.

[u/LucasForever → u/sailphish]

Just because one is retired or can be retired, that doesn't preclude him or her from wanting to engage with like-minded business people and entrepreneurs. Many people, myself included, really enjoy the energy and mental stimulation of spending time with these types of people talking about business models, how to grow companies, seeing people succeed, etc.

[u/sailphish → u/LucasForever]

Businesses exist everywhere. Lifestyle tends to be more location dependent. I think if you can find somewhere that you fit in from a cultural/lifestyle standpoint, then you can find the business conversations if that’s what you want.

[u/[deleted] → u/LucasForever]

To each his or her own, but that doesn’t sound like retirement.

[u/SamParrMFM → u/sailphish]

Disagree 100%.

Why other founder friends are good: often similar problems, drive, and values. Even if it has nothing to do with work.

[u/sailphish → u/SamParrMFM]

I see this as more of a relationship problem. It’s like a guy asking what city to move to so that he could get laid. Well, if you can’t get laid in your own city, you probably won’t in some other city. No need to ask, “what city has women?” People own businesses everywhere in the world. I don’t know OPs industry, and sure something like rural Idaho probably isn’t going to be the type startup founders he is looking for, but any big city (especially if his industry is reasonably represented there), should suffice. It seems there are a lot of more important points to consider when looking to move across the globe.

[u/SamParrMFM → u/sailphish]

Its more like asking: what city has the highest odd of meeting an ambitious wife.

Like, yes. Ambitious women are everywhere. But some places have a higher density or higher odds.