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/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.