September 4th, 2010. This date seems less important as time passes. I guess that’s how it goes. Time keeps going and memories become more faint and somehow less important. That day was the day that I started my job at TomTom. This Tuesday is my 2nd anniversary at TomTom. September 1st is my 2nd year away from San Francisco. The first date is a big deal and the 2nd becomes less of a big deal each year that passes. I think the biggest date in my mind is on the 1st of December of this year. That’s when I’ll have been in New Hampshire longer than I was in San Francisco.
San Francisco was my holy land. It was the place where all of my dreams were going to come true. I was going to be among people that understood my obsession with technology and respect the skills I had been developing since I got my first PC at age 7 years old. I was ready for San Francisco to embrace my weirdness and I jumped in face first. SF was great and still was but, obsessing about living there since I was 14 lead to some disappointment when I finally moved 7 years later at age 21. I expected to make so many friends, make a lot of money and spend my days in cafes, working with smart people and changing the world.
With the help of some great people, I did accomplish a lot in my time there. Looking back, it felt like I lived in San Francisco for 10 years and not 2. I really thought I was in my 30s when finally leaving. I felt a lot older than i was mostly because I added a lot of years and maybe worked the equivalent to 8 years while I was there. It was a routine I look back on with both pride and disappointment. 6AM waking up and, after tech parties every night, I’d go back to the office to work some more. The work I put in there did lead me to the job I have now and that is something I never regret.
New Hampshire has lacked the accomplishments that I’m so proud of during my short time in New Hampshire. I haven’t started any new profitable startups or pulled an all-nighter. I haven’t spoken at any conferences. I did speak at Dartmouth as a guest instructor. I also have been in 2 books since moving here both related to startups. I’ve made a name for myself..for both good and bad reasons within the beer community. When I was in Belgium, I was recognized as “Are you that guy who has the most tweets?” and, a day later, “Aren’t you the guy who sold a bunch of beer on eBay?” So, the recognition hasn’t ceased but it’s not as frequent as it was in SF.
In New Hampshire, more people rely on me than before. In SF, I was head cheerleader for a lot of things that people didn’t care about. I wasn’t paying anyone’s rent aside from my own. Now, in NH, I care for over 25 animals. I also run projects that affect global consumers and globally positioned employees in our company. Among the new responsibilities, I also focus on activities outside of the required. After work and after cleaning out my chicken coop, I read more books than ever before, I brew and review beer and travel to see friends. I have friends that actually call me on the telephone. I have a tighter network of friends who I talk with constantly. These were not things that I had in SF. When I lived in SF, I looked back on 22-24 years of my life and thought, I have no idea who I’ll invite to my wedding. My parents would be there but I can’t think of anyone else. Guess I’ll just invite my Twitter followers.
I can think of about 20 wedding guests now. I have actual friends where before they were just Twitter followers that I perceived as friends. If it sounds like my previous way of life was depressing, it sort of us. It revolved around work and I spent zero time on myself or making friends. It’s balanced now. I never could have done this in SF. The drive to accomplish great things got to me and affected how I spent each day..even weekends and holidays.
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I met with Laura for drinks while in SF. She’s good and still enjoying the city which is great to hear! She was my best friend while living there. We still talk and she is always amazed that I have hobbies outside of work and that I regularly take time to do things with friends and travel to places other than conferences. In the last 2 years, this shift is the most dramatic shift I’ve made and what I’m most proud of.
So, after being in New Hampshire for 2 years, I miss San Francisco a LOT. While there last week, I had an awesome time. The restaurants in the bay area are fantastic! The public transit is so convenient and easy to use. The things to do on a daily basis is overwhelming and the parks in SF are just so nice. Going there to visit is enough to make me want to move back. It really is a fantastic city and one of my favorite cities that I’ve ever visited. The entire bay area is so welcoming. The cost of living is still incredibly high. It’s too high but, there’s a reason for this. Everyone wants to live in the bay area and everyone that does, loves what is available to them for work and after work.
What’s keeping me in New Hampshire? The fact that I can afford to save money and have a house that’s roomy and open. I have property here, I can have animals or play loud music. I don’t have to pay for parking and don’t have to ride the bus to meet my GF for a date. If I want to save more money this month, it’s incredibly easy where in SF budgeting is hard when you’re paying for a bus pass and even shopping for standard groceries. Will I ever go back to the bay area? I get asked this a lot. Every person I met this last week asked me that. “Come back!” a friend exclaimed. I would need to make more money and live outside of the city. That’s the key. I’d live near the Bart line, have a house with property, hopefully have some backyard chickens and a small garden. I’d have a car to get around when the busses stopped running.
SF is still an appealing city and a place I’d love to go back to more permanently. There are opportunities there that aren’t here. However, I have never been as happy as I am now living in my cabin among the trees. The trees here are so rich and green and colorful and the water is clean and “organic” isn’t a special section of the grocery store with high prices. It’s what you pick in your back yard or from the farmer down the road. I love it here but miss what the city had to offer.
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In conclusion, I want to stay in New Hampshire longer. My job is great and I have no plans to leave. The city life was great and something I miss a lot for the variety, activities and for the insanely vibrant job choices in my line of work. The appeal of SF has never left but the appeal of my cabin and the seasons of New Hampshire are so much stronger.
So, that’s that. 2 years in NH come to a close. It’s not yet my home but it’s pretty damn close. I do love it here. SF will continue to be a place I visit as often as possible.
