|
I posted 6-7 months ago about two opportunities that came up for me. I was living and working in New York and was offered a job at a top fashion magazine to do marketing for them at $40,000 a year. On top of that, I was offered to take over my Father's self-employed real-estate business and start at $80,000 a year in California (I am 24 y/o). My biggest qualm with being in New York was simply seeing that I was not making money and watching people go into their 30s and 40s with little to no money saved up and being renters for their entire lives. Maybe I am border line neurotic but I am also very worried of the economy blowing up again and being axed at a company especially in the fashion industry where people beg to get in. I thought about moving to California to save up some money, create some passive income and then move back to NYC with a nest and have a bit more flexibility. This was the plan and most Goons agreed with me to go with it. After being here for 6 months, I realized that simply moving the business will not be easy and essentially my manipulative father was trying to just get me out here, flood me with money and hope that making $80-100k a year would be reason enough to keep me here. So I did it, 6 months later I am making more money than I know what to do with and I am going to start buying some real estate soon (if I stay). The only problem is, I am simply not happy in California and to be quite honest I loathe it here, I just simply miss the big city. I have three options now: -Stay. -Go back to to the fashion industry in NYC. -Go back to NYC and try to do my current job there. Here are some things about each one: -Staying- Being unhappy, making money. With the long term plan (at 30-40 years old) to move back and just live off my passive income. Sounds peachy but I really don't know if I want to deal with it for that long and I don't really want to relocate my entire life again at 30 years old. -Be self-employed + -Make money (80k this last year, $100-150k next year). + -Be unhappy/in California. - -Lose contacts in the industry. - -Maybe (Someday?) move back to NYC? - -Going back to fashion- I can re-interview at the place I was going to. I have contacts there and they are willing to help. Starting salary will be $40-50k, but the company is huge. I am not necessarily really wanting to work in an office but if I had to work at one, I rather be it in the fashion industry. This is also not a giant guarantee, it's a 3-4 month interviewing process, I am confident I can get hired but that means I have to sit in NYC for 3-4 months and go through the process again (I can afford it). -Work in an industry I like + -Be back in NYC + -Make almost no money at first. - -Work in an office - -Maybe make money in the late term once/if I become a director +/- -Trying to relocate my business- This is somewhat possible. With real estate, the job is market specific. So if I move to NYC, I basically need relearn how to appraise commercial real estate. I could do that but it would mean working in an office for 3-5 years with the slight possibility of being able to be self-employed again but this time in NYC. I have corporate level bank clients that I do work for here. I would have to basically work in an office, learn the NYC market and then go off on my own and try to do the thing I am doing now for the same clients but in NYC. -(Maybe) Possible to be self-employed. + -If I go this route, I lose all of my contacts in the fashion industry. - -Work in an office and in an industry I do not like. -- To be honest, the reason why I am coming here to ask people is because there is variety here. I don't know a lot of older people and the ones I do (and who are successful) are clients/potential employers and asking them this sort of question is compromising. Most of my friends are 2-3 years out of college and are still churning away at low/mid level jobs. I don't want to come off as E/N but I never though I'd be in a position of making money and being so unhappy. I always thought more money would = better lifestyle, but in this case (For me at least) they work against each other. Enigma89 fucked around with this message at 23:27 on Dec 12, 2013 |
#
?
Dec 12, 2013 23:23
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 26, 2024 14:02 |
|
|
Were I you, I'd stay in California long enough to build up a 12+ month living-in-NCY emergency fund, basing the amount you need on what you'd need if you ACTUALLY lived in NYC, then go do what you like doing in a place you like. Life is too short to be loving miserable because you'll make more money in one place than another, if you hate what you're doing. Also, don't buy any real estate in CA if that means you're there another couple of months. That's stupid.
|
|
#
?
Dec 12, 2013 23:57
|
|
|
Enigma89 posted:watching people go into their 30s and 40s with little to no money saved up and being renters for their entire lives. Generally money is harder to come by than happiness, at least in my experience, and especially when you're young. I'd be of the opinion that you'd have less trouble figuring out how to be happy living on the west coast and enabled with a high income, compared to the trouble of navigating the many considerable financial conundrums life can give you while living a fulfilling lifestyle on the east coast. I'm biased, I had a lot of my bohemian inclinations tempered as a young adult by watching relatives work past retirement age and into the grave at minimum wage fast food jobs because they mismanaged what little funds they had. I guess I'll say while your dad may be manipulative, he's giving you a wonderful opportunity that most fathers only wish they could offer their kids. Just whatever you do don't put yourself in a spot 10+ years from now where you look back with regret for not making that opportunity have a large, positive impact on your life.
|
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2013 01:21
|
|
|
If it were me and I had the opportunity to make $150K a year, I'd just power through it as long as I could stand it and sock away 100+ grand a year. But, I've never had to work a job that I really hated so I can't say for a fact that I would be able to do that. In my ideal scenario I'd work for 10 years then retire. Maybe you could work for your dad for one or two years, and save as much money as possible. Then find a job in the city you want to live in and even if it isn't great pay, you could supplement your income with your savings. If you got a 50K job in New York and had $100K saved, you could turn that 50K job into an ~80K job for 3 years. Hopefully in that time frame you'd be able to move up in your chosen profession to a more comfortable salary. It would be nice to have that money cushion saved up so you don't have to live like a pauper in New York when you first get there. Might be a nice compromise to do something like that; make your dad happy for a while even though it's not really what you want to do, save up some money, then not be in such a tight spot when you decide to move on. I definitely wouldn't completely turn down the opportunity to work for your dad, but there's no reason you should have to do it forever if you're unhappy.
|
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2013 02:49
|
|
|
How are are you from LA? Would you be willing to do both? (run your dad's real estate business and hire out the day to day stuff for 30-40k and find a part time fashion gig or even start a fashion business).
|
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2013 03:20
|
|
|
California is huge, but it has cities too. Couldn't LA or something be nice? Honestly, whether you love fashion or not I wouldn't take a dead-end job that pays less than half what you're making now just to go to NYC. quote:essentially my manipulative father was trying to just get me out here, flood me with money and hope that making $80-100k a year would be reason enough to keep me here.
|
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2013 03:37
|
|
|
RICHUNCLEPENNYBAGS posted:California is huge, but it has cities too. Couldn't LA or something be nice? Without going into too many details, I more or less have to stay in Los Angeles or San Diego due to the nature of the business. SF is really the only city I'd be willing to do but again I'd have to basically have to learn a new market and if I am going to relearn the business, I may as well go to NYC instead of SF. I know most people in California love LA but I can't stand the city. It blows my mind that people think it's okay to spend a significant amount of time in their car or to have to get into their car to run basic errands. The biggest thing I miss from NYC, is really just to be 30 minutes away from friends and prime locations via subway. Drinking and driving was a non-issue, I lived in Manhattan so everything was near by and I was in a better time zone to communicate with my European friends. I just prefer walking cities like NYC or Paris more. RICHUNCLEPENNYBAGS posted:Devious of him. Enigma89 fucked around with this message at 19:19 on Dec 13, 2013 |
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2013 19:14
|
|
|
Bhaal posted:It sounds like the recipe for that is to go get a 30-40k job in a frenetically competitive market while living in a place that has an unusually high cost of living. How are incomes supposed to break down? Like I said, I don't have many friends who are older than 25 but it seems that NONE of my friends are making money minus one that is working at Goldman Sachs. Are you supposed to just work your rear end off and scrape by until your 30? What would a salary at a multi-billion dollar company look like once you are 30 (Marketing?)? I have tried to look online but with the fashion industry everything is so quiet and hard to find information.
|
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2013 20:03
|
|
|
I'd go with sock away every penny possible for financial independence and then do what you want option. The "working your rear end off and scrape by until you are 30" is what the new normal is going to be. Hell, it's going to be relabeled successful in the not too distant future.
|
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2013 20:10
|
|
|
Claverjoe posted:I'd go with sock away every penny possible for financial independence and then do what you want option. What happens after 30 for people in companies? Do the salaries start to sky rocket? Or are the salaries just so depressed now that its basically only executives making the money? The only thing I worry about the company I was going to work for is that it is privately own and have revenue at around $10 billion. They are making money but don't pay interns and entry level jobs are insanely low ($38-40K). I mean if a company is making $10 billion dollars, someone has to be making money there.
|
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2013 20:13
|
|
|
Enigma89 posted:What happens after 30 for people in companies? Do the salaries start to sky rocket? Or are the salaries just so depressed now that its basically only executives making the money? Salaries do not 'sky rocket' unless you get a MBA and a job that has stock options, through the connections either you or your family have to the upper c-levels at some company. Raises not a guarantee anymore. Most places you don't get annual raises and bonuses because of 'the economy' or 'we didn't do as well as our stockholders wanted' or whatever. If you want better income and raises, you job hop every other year or so to a new company who will pay you more and *that* is where your raises are.
|
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2013 20:18
|
|
|
Enigma89 posted:The only thing I worry about the company I was going to work for is that it is privately own and have revenue at around $10 billion. They are making money but don't pay interns and entry level jobs are insanely low ($38-40K). If you can stick out 4-6 years in California saving 60-100k a year, do it. Apply the magic of ~compound interest~ and you could be financially independent by the time you're 40. The best part is that this doesn't stop you from moving back to NYC in your 30s and getting back into the fashion industry.
|
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2013 20:29
|
|
|
Hotdog In A Hallway posted:The executives are making money. Rank and file employees are not. The only thing I am worried about is becoming unhirable because I am self-employed in the real estate business. I am essentially doing financial calculations instead of doing marketing work. So trying to ease myself back into the business with all of this experience may be easy or really hard. I just have heard that other self-employed people find it hard to get back into any industry because they have been on their own and are non-traditional candidates. Maybe my situation will be different because I do have a Masters in Luxury Brand Management. Anyways, thank you for your thoughts, you have given me some more things to think about.
|
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2013 20:31
|
|
|
Enigma89 posted:Masters in Luxury Brand Management. I have never heard of this. After some internet reading, this is very interesting. What prompted you to get into that line of study?
|
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2013 21:05
|
|
|
Looking it as money vs. lifestyle makes it seem like you have your mind already made up - obviously, the best life you could lead is the one with the best lifestyle throughout, and money is merely a means to lifestyle. HOWEVER, right now you have an opportunity to heavily subsidize the rest of your life, meaning that by giving up some lifestyle now you may be getting more for the rest of your life (via the money you earn). This would require your approaching this opportunity with the proper mindset (save most of your money), not the Slow Motion mindset. Just be aware that this isn't a question of wearing Ferragamos vs. converse all stars - you could reframe this to be a question of having work be mandatory for 15 years of your life instead of 45+ of them. Granted, starting in fashion when you're older might be harder - but do you think it would be an advantage to not have to worry about getting paid, ever? But none of it will work if you can't mentally re-interpret the real estate work in a manner that feels rewarding. No Wave fucked around with this message at 21:15 on Dec 13, 2013 |
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2013 21:10
|
|
|
something clever posted:I have never heard of this. After some internet reading, this is very interesting. What prompted you to get into that line of study? I was planning to go to Law School and after seeing the Law School megathread I decided it was a bad idea. I have always been interested in the luxury industry, I find it interesting that people go to great lengths to pay more for luxury products even when they aren't high quality, or why people get brand obsessed. On top of that I always liked fashion. After research, I found out that French business schools are pretty good schools and really gear things for you to get a job. A 5 year program is a 3 years bachelors with 1 internship + 1 semester abroad. The last 2 years is for your masters with a required internship and a capstone project or a semester abroad. I went to a top 10 French business school and my tuition was 9,000 EUR and I won a 1,500 EUR scholarship for it. I already had my bachelors degree so I went in as a masters student and was able to finish the degree in 1 1/2 year. The program was fascinating because it touched a lot of different subjects and it was not too trenched down in finance, it wasn't all marketing and it wasn't too creative where I felt like I was wasting my money. I took out a private loan for it and re-consolidated my loans after I graduated with a peer-to-peer bank on a fixed rate so I don't have 200k in debt from my masters. Also even if you are American the French government will subsidize your student housing, I had an 800 square foot apartment (shared with 1 other) 5 minutes from the Mediterranean for 300 EUR a month (was 400 before French student help). Unless you are a genius going to Harvard Business School, I don't see why you would pay 100-200k for a mediocre business school in the states when you can go to a top 10 school in France. Some of my professors were directors at LVMH or former central bankers for major countries. I consider myself pretty sharp but I am sharp enough to know I am not the smartest person in the world and I try to think outside the box to expand opportunities and getting that masters degree was a huge leg up in NYC. e: Just a note about the brand management degree. You can use it for anything, you can go into brand management for planes, yachts, food, even house hold supplies. Some famous case studies about brand management are Febreeze or Bic Perfume. It's a hyper specific masters which is good but also bad because entry level brand manager positions don't really exist. You use it get into a marketing job and then use it to get into brand management. Enigma89 fucked around with this message at 21:43 on Dec 13, 2013 |
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2013 21:35
|
|
|
Enigma89 posted:What happens after 30 for people in companies? Do the salaries start to sky rocket? Or are the salaries just so depressed now that its basically only executives making the money? I'm only saying this based on a hunch, but I bet most people in the NYC fashion industry would kill for the opportunity to make 80k in 5 years, never mind 100-150k in a year.
|
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2013 22:09
|
|
|
Residency Evil posted:I'm only saying this based on a hunch, but I bet most people in the NYC fashion industry would kill for the opportunity to make 80k in 5 years, never mind 100-150k in a year. Would be surprised. A lot of people in the city that they just accept the fact that they are not going to be rich but enjoy living in a (or the) world capital. I was of the same mindset but I thought I had an opportunity to have both but now it's not looking like that. A lot of my co-workers thought I was crazy for moving out of the city. I can see why people who aren't city think this is crazy but there are a lot of people in the city that can't live in a smaller/slower place and I am one of those people. I have been going stir crazy being out and genuinely unhappy.
|
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2013 22:26
|
|
|
I'll be frank, if I were you I would stay in my current job and do fashion as a hobby. You may not enjoy real estate, but 100-150k jobs are rare, fashion even more so. It's a mistake to assume employers will pay fashion designers the same amount you make, unless you're a world-class star fashion designer that brings in big business and revenue. And let's be honest, do you really think it will be that easy to gain recognition and have the skillset to become the next world star? I understand fashion is your passion, but let's be realistic here. If you do have the talent and some luck, then a hobbyist fashion designer can still gain the recognition and compensation you seek. Fashion is not all about designing, it's also about creating products customers want. It's a wild guess if your design is what the customers want. What I'm trying to get at is that the fashion industry is full of uncertainties, while your current job is bringing results and money. Why is fashion a big deal for you? Enjoying fashion is one thing, making a career out of it is another. Reirrac fucked around with this message at 22:38 on Dec 13, 2013 |
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2013 22:34
|
|
|
Enigma89 posted:Anyways, thank you for your thoughts, you have given me some more things to think about.
|
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2013 22:37
|
|
|
3-4 month interview process where you have to be in New York for that whole time prior to having the job, with no guarantee you'll get the job? That part sounds terrible - is there any flexibility on this? They must have people who interview who can't spend 3 - 4 months in New York. Personally, I would move back to New York if fashion is what you want to do and that's where your connections are and that's the city that you love and enjoy. It sucks but almost nobody starts out at the top, entry level jobs are always tough to find (people like experience) and rarely pay well (companies pay for skills that you don't really have yet). But taking the easy road in a career you dont want, in a place you don't like, that was more or less handed to you by your father doesn't really sound fulfilling or rewarding at all. Sure it sucks to be poor but so many people make that decision to pursue what they like to do. If you're good at what you do and work hard, you'll work your way up - probably not to what you make now - but you can certainly increase your salary and get paid more as time goes on and be pickier about the companies you work for once you have experience. This is the time in life when you're supposed to be taking risks and figure out who you want to be and its when you have the most energy and drive to pursue a tough industry. There are plenty of more affordable areas of the city outside of Manhattan that you can live in that would help your money go at least a little farther. NYC is pretty much made for someone in their 20s and 30s anyway. And if you plan on getting married, its going to be a lot easier to find someone in NYC who wants to be in and loves NYC as much as you do than someone in California who doesn't mind up and moving across the country at age 40, when you potentially could also have children to consider. If you leave your job now - do you effectively cut off the real estate opportunity altogether or would your dad "take you back," so to speak? If he'd take you back, I think you're in an amazing position to take risks. If you hate it, you get fired, if you burn out - you can always just move back to California and take up your cushy job again. Yeah, maybe you'll have to start over again in a sense in terms of connections and stuff, but even the entry salary is good. Why have fashion be the thing you push off for 10 years, when it could be a cushy job in real estate that you push off instead? How much money have you managed to save up so far? I would try to craft a realistic workable budget for NYC based on your salary and see how you do.
|
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2013 23:06
|
|
|
Reirrac posted:I'll be frank, if I were you I would stay in my current job and do fashion as a hobby. You may not enjoy real estate, but 100-150k jobs are rare, fashion even more so. I was in fashion marketing not design. I am not a designer.
|
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2013 23:09
|
|
|
What is the vacation/time off opportunity for the CA real estate position? Would you be able to travel for a week or two every couple of months, or maybe a full month once or twice a year? If you can truly make it into the 100-150k range next year, you could carve out a hefty travel budget and spend a considerable amount of time in a variety of large cities you enjoy rather than just NYC. You should also look into what fashion & marketing jobs you could get and progress through in LA, I think the opportunity there would be nearly as good as in New York.
|
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2013 23:11
|
|
|
SovietRussia posted:What is the vacation/time off opportunity for the CA real estate position? Would you be able to travel for a week or two every couple of months, or maybe a full month once or twice a year? If you can truly make it into the 100-150k range next year, you could carve out a hefty travel budget and spend a considerable amount of time in a variety of large cities you enjoy rather than just NYC. I can work 2 months on 1 month off for the rest of my life. If I really wanted to I could split my time between New York and Los Angeles. But the previous poster Hookars basically sums up a lot of different things I have been feeling but not able to explain. It feels like my life is on hold and if I ever wanted to get married with someone, it would have to be in NYC because that is where I want to end up. Going between NYC and LA for years and years is just going to be a weird lifestyle for dating and such.
|
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2013 23:14
|
|
|
HooKars posted:3-4 month interview process where you have to be in New York for that whole time prior to having the job, with no guarantee you'll get the job? That part sounds terrible - is there any flexibility on this? They must have people who interview who can't spend 3 - 4 months in New York. This post really basically explains and sums up a lot of my thoughts and feelings which I haven't been able to put in words. So thank you. I will need to find out what happens if I leave and try to come back, I am not sure if that is an option but I will find out. Your points about marriage/dating are spot on and the idea that I am having it too easy and I want to work to be successful is more or less right. One of the big reasons that made me decide to leave NYC was honestly just seeing the 1%er helicopters flying to their banks every morning while I walked to work. I knew that their salaries were huge and that they had connections and their sons had connections. I wanted to work to make my own but after seeing that I realized things are rigged and maybe I should just take my opportunity. But now after getting it and making work by riding someone coat tails, it just feels unearned. As for money, I have a ROTH IRA, that I have been putting money into every year. The last time I looked at it was a couple of years ago but it was at ~$24,000. It's tax free when I take it out, but this is my super late game emergency fund that I don't want to touch until I am 50 or 60. Honestly, I pretend that I just don't have this and try not to look at it because I don't want to be tempted to draw from it. I also have $12,000 saved in my checking and banking account right now, that includes expenses already paid for on a trip I did back to NYC a few months ago and a trip to Germany in the next few weeks. When I originally came back I only had about $3,500 in billings per month because of real estate classes eating up so much time, it wasn't until the last month where I hit my stride and I am making $7,000 per month ($84,000/year). This month, I should have another 7 or 8 thousand in billings. It really shouldn't go down because I basically know what I am doing and I can do work twice as fast as I could 2 months ago. Honestly one of my biggest regrets is not taking the job at the fashion magazine to see what it was like at in the inside. To see how the office moods were and how fast people were getting moved up or held down. My other corporate job I had had a VERY toxic environment and the partners were making enemies of a lot of people at the company so I just got sick of a bad office environment and it made me worried to go to another office. Enigma89 fucked around with this message at 23:26 on Dec 13, 2013 |
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2013 23:22
|
|
|
Enigma89 posted:Would be surprised. A lot of people in the city that they just accept the fact that they are not going to be rich but enjoy living in a (or the) world capital. I was of the same mindset but I thought I had an opportunity to have both but now it's not looking like that. I guess it's because I'm in a profession that's pretty much the definition of delayed gratification, but I've never understood people who have the NYC or bust mindset. Different strokes, I guess.
|
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2013 23:28
|
|
|
Enigma89 posted:As for money, I have a ROTH IRA, that I have been putting money into every year. The last time I looked at it was a couple of years ago but it was at ~$24,000. It's tax free when I take it out, but this is my super late game emergency fund that I don't want to touch until I am 50 or 60. Honestly, I pretend that I just don't have this and try not to look at it because I don't want to be tempted to draw from it. FYI if you take that earnings out before you're 59 1/2 you'll pay a 10% penalty, so you definitely don't want to be touching it at 50. You could take contributions out penalty-free, but if you pay into it to the max and leave it alone until you're 60 from the age you are now, you can quite possibly have a million tax-free dollars at age 60. That's really not an emergency fund.
|
|
#
?
Dec 14, 2013 00:00
|
|
|
Enigma89 posted:I was in fashion marketing not design. I am not a designer. My bad. Either way, it would be prudent to have a talk with your dad and see he's willing to let you have a taste of fashion marketing work at NYC and maybe take you back if it doesn't work out, as mentioned above.
|
|
#
?
Dec 14, 2013 02:25
|
|
|
razz posted:If it were me and I had the opportunity to make $150K a year, I'd just power through it as long as I could stand it and sock away 100+ grand a year. But, I've never had to work a job that I really hated so I can't say for a fact that I would be able to do that. In my ideal scenario I'd work for 10 years then retire. 150k isn't even going to clear 100k post tax, let alone post living expenses.
|
|
#
?
Dec 14, 2013 04:38
|
|
|
Vomik posted:150k isn't even going to clear 100k post tax, let alone post living expenses. Nevermind, California also has state income tax.
|
|
#
?
Dec 14, 2013 16:13
|
|
|
wintermuteCF posted:
Plus social security and Medicaid and possibly local tax. And if you're a self employed person you're paying both sides of the payroll taxes (don't know if he is)
|
|
#
?
Dec 14, 2013 19:04
|
|
|
This thread is a great opposition to the SloMo one. It sounds to me like you're doing the right thing currently and you're just going through a withdrawal phase. Your life at the moment seems pretty cruisy with great potential benefits and your dad is giving you a hell of an opportunity. Give it a bit longer before making any strong 24-yo decisions, and maybe try to appreciate what other people would kill to have. How virulently do you actually dislike what you have, as opposed to yearning for what you don't have?
|
|
#
?
Dec 15, 2013 03:45
|
|
|
You speak pretty romantically about "~the city~" and how it doesn't matter if you don't have money as long as you're there, but things change as you get older especially if you get married and have kids. I think that's a possibility for you since you mention that having to potentially think about moving kids back to NY would be a problem. Well, if you don't make some money, how are you going to afford to have kids in the first place - let alone if you want to help out with their college educations, which will be stupidly expensive in 25 years? There's a lot to be said for doing what you enjoy, but like the dude above says, think it through. I second the thought of doing fashion as a hobby, and working and saving your rear end off for 10-12 years. It might be hard breaking into the fashion industry in your mid-30s, but it'll be easier if you don't have to care about getting paid too much. Hell maybe if you spend some free time studying NY real estate laws and NY neighborhoods/school districs/what have you, you could save like mad for five years and move back without being completely in the dark as to how to adapt your skillset to the new market. Even though you're not making money there, read up on it as if you were. This is 2013. You don't have to live in NY to read about poo poo in NY. Nail Rat fucked around with this message at 06:06 on Dec 15, 2013 |
|
#
?
Dec 15, 2013 03:54
|
|
|
Any six figure job that lets you take a month off every couple of months would be crazy silly to walk away from. Change what you hate about the area you live in and travel often. NYC seems like it'd be a cool place to live if you're doing 150k+ a year.
|
|
#
?
Dec 15, 2013 03:59
|
|
|
I don't know if anyone told you this, but it is possible to do what you love and not have it be your career. There are so many ways to skin this cat. If you make 150k a year in Cali and get 4 months of the year off, then start your OWN drat fashion magazine. Or a blog. Or something. Travel to France and Italy and go to shows yourself. Hell, you're on the west coast, travel to Tokyo, Beijing, Sydney, and Singapore too. Try to discover and promote up-and-coming designers. I'm sure those people would absolutely kill to have someone experienced in marketing to get their work out to the world. Or, work as a freelancer during your not-at-work time and maintain your contacts from the West Coast. I'm not terribly familiar with fashion, but there is something to be said for striking out on your own, instead of being some demanding rear end in a top hat's manservant simply because you want to be part of ~*the industry*~. I don't know, I just simply don't loving understand the mindset of millenials (yes I am one too) where you have to either work in something you're passionate about, or you become a boring soulless shell of a person who is doomed to a depressing, gray, 1950s suburban lifestyle. There is an entire world of things you can do in your life outside of work, and those options become exponentially more plentiful if you have money in the first place. You could start multiple businesses and have every single one of them fail, and have a blast doing it because you know you can still support yourself financially.
|
|
#
?
Dec 15, 2013 05:41
|
|
|
Rekinom posted:I don't know, I just simply don't loving understand the mindset of millenials (yes I am one too) where you have to either work in something you're passionate about, or you become a boring soulless shell of a person who is doomed to a depressing, gray, 1950s suburban lifestyle. There is an entire world of things you can do in your life outside of work, and those options become exponentially more plentiful if you have money in the first place. Enigma89 doesn't seem super-thrilled with what they have, but it sounds like most of that is because they're not in New York. If they can leverage this job into a similarly well-paid one in New York(which Nail Rat also suggested), I bet a lot of their complaints would evaporate.
|
|
#
?
Dec 15, 2013 06:04
|
|
|
Last few posts are great. You are in a really good position and you have a head on your shoulders. You should be fine. I feel like I'm in a slightly similar situation in some ways. Granted, I'm older and no one is offering me 100k of anything. But I have a job that I don't hate in a place where I don't want to live. I've stuck it out (while traveling frequently) hoping for an opportunity to move it to a place where I'd really love living and have patiently worked on it over time. Too early to know what the end result will be but patience is the key and always trying to work towards the goal. Learn NYC real estate from where you are, save, make trips, and keep your options open.
|
|
#
?
Dec 15, 2013 22:45
|
|
|
I basically have come to accept that there will be no job that utilizes the skills I have that I will feel like "this is the greatest thing in the world I don't even feel like I am working". I am lucky that the skills I have are ones that are highly sought after and pay well. So I am going to leverage that to my advantage. I think like others have said, the key is to have a *life* outside of work. Don't treat not-work as just the time to recover from work, treat it as the time to do the actual awesome thing you want to do. And to balance that out, don't strive to be the best of the best at your job if you really don't absolutely love it. Be good enough to not lose. Personally, I'm comfortable with the fact that after maybe one step up my job ladder at work, I'm done trying to progress. I'll stay where I am and be content with it. After that level, the stress gets too much and the work/life balance gets too out of whack. Make sure you are making enough to save up and finance your outside life. Don't get caught up in the material rat race of keeping up with work colleagues. That is how the vicious cycle starts: make money, spend money to get a lifestyle that you see from others who make that money, need to make more money so you can afford your lifestyle... If you can live cheaply enough, you can remove yourself from that cycle. Read The Millionaire Next Door to get the right mindset here.
|
|
#
?
Dec 16, 2013 12:29
|
|
|
Rekinom posted:I don't know if anyone told you this, but it is possible to do what you love and not have it be your career. I think the reason so many people feel this way is that their job either provides too little money or takes too much time to have this fulfilling life outside of working hours. This doesn't really apply to the OP, fortunately.
|
|
#
?
Dec 16, 2013 13:12
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 26, 2024 14:02 |
|
|
Since you said your initial goal was to create some passive income for yourself and then move back to NYC, where are you on this? Is it being held up/not possible because your dad doesn't want you to go? Was it something like a partnership stake in your dad's company, or something completely different like buying rental properties? All I know about NYC is it's expensive as hell, $40k sounds like minimum wage (maybe a little hyperbolic, but probably not far off). Are you prepared to be flat broke pretty much all the time? Sure you won't need a car but how are you going to have money to travel, socialize "on the town" with your friends, afford rent and a metro pass all at the same time? And not work until you die? You complain about spending hours in your car, but you'll be trading it for taking the subway out to queens or wherever you could afford an apartment. Is there anything you can do where you're currently at to get you closer to what you like about walking cities? Move close to your dad's office so you can walk to work, or maybe work from home? Move closer to a grocery store and/or whatever else you like to do (gym, restaraunts, etc). Buy a bike? Moving into the E/N realm, are most of your close friends in NYC and you're just lonely in LA/SD? I'm not against you moving to NYC, but since this is BFC I'm definitely against you halving your income and moving to an arguably more expensive city without you knowing exactly what you're getting into.
|
|
#
?
Dec 17, 2013 15:07
|
|
