I live in the Bay Area. The problem here is the temporary nature of those residing here. They tend to plan to leave after a few years when enough of their RSUs have vested to afford a nice home elsewhere.
One thing that helped me enormously was… getting a dog. I’ll take multiple walks in the neighborhood each day and eventually got to know a whole bunch of neighbors. Even now I’ll go out for a brisk thirty minute walk only to end up spending multiple hours chatting with neighbors.
In terms of career; don’t get comfortable. If you are comfortable then you’re not being challenged enough, and if you’re not being challenged enough then you’re not growing at a decent rate.
It’s ok to be comfortable absolutely, but if you’re looking to advance your career then do not get comfortable.
I once heard a great tip to prevent those pre-bedtime snacks. After dinner, brush your teeth as if you’re going to bed. Your brain already associates that with “no more food” and so programmatically dissuades you from eating. It’s always worked for me.
Exactly this. I have three kids and a dog. There is zero spare time. I typically sit down for the first time at 9pm at which time I'm so exhausted that learning is not really possible. I may get to read for 30 mins to an hour before I crash.
> This is not a bad route to go if you enjoy/feel comfortable doing the work and don't care about air quality, smart thermostat integration, etc
You're insinuating that doing the work yourself means you'll have poor air quality, poor thermostat integration etc. That's not true at all. If you've gone to the trouble to do a DIY install then you're now already experienced enough to install a heat-recovery ventilator to get fresh air into your home via an independent system. I installed my own ecobee thermostat with my heat pump and electric furnace and it works with HomeKit so is integrated with my entire ecosystem.
Reading their comment slightly overly charitably vs what was written (but almost surely in-line with what was intended), they were contrasting their unit that has a HEPA filter bundled as part of their unit and that is not part of the Mr Cool unit.
Exactly. There's lots of stuff you can stitch together yourself, and if you're a DIY person, its more fun/rewarding to do it that way. I think the majority of homeowners will want something that doesn't require doing the install themselves, or having to worry about overall system integration.
Yes pretty much this. It’s subjective based on an enormous number of factors. Your lifestyle, your personal experiences, reading too much news (especially in the US), having a pessimistic attitude towards everything, your general personal beliefs and how they align with the world. The list goes on. Many of these factors can be personally influenced.
For example, I live in the Bay Area and love it, have lived here seven years now. I had a friend live here for three years and tell me how terrible it was and listed off all the terrible things about it. The experience was subjective and I respect that; he found a way to have a more positive life by leaving and good for him.
Not all things are equal, especially our perceptions of the world.
> because I associate those decisions with low resilience to frustration I had, and low discipline to exert my patience further
Absolutely this. You’re always going to end up in testing environments somewhere so it’s good to practice both patience and resilience. The more you train that muscle the easier it becomes to work in those situations.
One thing that helped me enormously was… getting a dog. I’ll take multiple walks in the neighborhood each day and eventually got to know a whole bunch of neighbors. Even now I’ll go out for a brisk thirty minute walk only to end up spending multiple hours chatting with neighbors.