I’m hitting the desk full time in a few months as an analyst after my summer internship and was wondering if there’s any other avid outdoorsman here that have gone into banking and how they attempt to balance those two parts of life.
Everyone says having hobbies is the way to get some semblance of a WLB, however, nearly all of my biggest sources of pleasure come from hiking, surfing, skiing, camping, etc. Obviously not very compatible with being an analyst-1 at a BB in NYC.
Before anyone says “well maybe you shouldn’t be in banking then”, I love the city, had a great time last summer, and enjoy my job a lot. Just want to stay connected to that part of my life.
Has anyone else dealt with this transition that can give shed some light on their experience?
Same exact boat - its been miserable in the city. I miss surfing and mountains everyday.
Have you check out any surfing on Long Island / Jersey? The mountains seem like a lost cause as an analyst barring vacation given the time commitment / lack of connectivity but surfing seems like it could be doable at least on the weekends.
I'm also a bit of nature junky. I grew up in Rhode Island and was always on sail boats in the summer, on Block Island, or going skiing in New Hampshire or Vermont during the winter. I went to UMiami in 2017 and worked in Miami for a year after I graduated. Didn't have a lot of free time but it was still nice to be able to go to the beach during any month of the year. I'm now moving to San Francisco, and although the city may be pretty gritty, I'm looking forward to exploring the forests and other national parks around the Bay Area.
I'm not too sure what NYC has to offer in terms of Outdoorsmanship stuff. If you have a free weekend, I highly recommend driving up to Lake George. My family used to rent a cabin there around Thanksgiving when I was a kid, and it was pretty fun. For skiing, New Hampshire and Vermont still aren't too far away from NYC. You just need to find out how much time you'll have available for these things. When you decide to join banking, you're deciding to sacrifice a huge portion of your life.
Would highly recommend checking out Santa Cruz after your move. Did a road-trip last year out to California for a few months and that was the highlight of the trip - tons of surfing if you’re into it or just want to try, great beach town (very clean), and a ton of free / cheap campsites.
Any tips on how to get into sailing? Know some people who sail / race and it seems like it would be something I’d be really into but have no idea how you even start getting into it.
Dying to build up enough of a nest egg over the next ~4 years to put a down payment on a place on lake George and rent it for 90% of the time when I can’t use it. The Hamptons is nice but with how uptight it is it hardly feels like relaxation to me.
Thanks for the recommendation, I am definitely trying to find some good surfing spots.
Growing up in Rhode Island made getting into sailing very easy because everyone has a boat. Pretty much every high school also has a sailing team. I would recommend making a friend who sails and tagging along with them so they can show you how everything works. Once you know what you're doing, it's addicting.
Lake George is also just great vibes. I spent 2 weeks in East Hampton once and was just annoyed with how pretentious it felt. Hamptons people always act like they have a stick up their ass, but lake house people are usually very chill and friendly. That's just my experience though.
If you haven't already read it, this is a great article (tangentially) about surfing in San Francisco.
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1992/08/24/playing-docs-games-part-o…
Also, I grew up in RI, and almost no one had boats haha, I assume you were in South County?
Yessir, Narragansett
Yeah I think that’s ultimately what I’m going to end up doing, was lucky enough to spend some time out there during Covid and loved it. The problem then becomes leaving behind your entire network of friends, family, and professional connections, but I’m sure that rebounds quickly if you put yourself out there.
Depending on what you like to do outdoors, you can certainly get your fix in NYC/Greater NYC.
My experience has been:
Awesome advice, gonna save these and check them out. Are you a cyclist? Have been trying to decide weather or not to bring a bike to the city given the need to haul it in and out of my apartment every time I want to go for a ride.
I’d bring it. Bringing mine with a tacx neo for winter riding, Central Park for shorter rides and occasionally venturing out for longer gran fondo style rides
Admittedly, I'm in very deep and have 3 bikes in my apartment right now. I've had to carry bikes up 4 flights of stairs when I was in walk-ups, but I always found it worth it. It is definitely the easiest way to explore, and also escape, the city.
Had to deal with the same problem, but was much easier living for me living on the west coast. Ultimately, when you have free time, you'll have to prioritize getting outdoors - that might mean going out to bars/clubs less so you can wake up early to drive or take the train to the beach or mountains. You might have less of a social life in the traditional sense but I'm sure you'll be able to find other analysts down to hike, ski, or surf, and your relationship with them will probably be stronger than any bonds you'd form with people you only party with.
That’s exactly what I’m thinking. Especially the physical and mental health benefits of spending free time being active outdoors over murdering your liver and getting no sleep every weekend.
Absolutely. You'll feel way better. Though sometimes it was hard motivating myself to wake up early on a Saturday when I was exhausted from the workweek lol, but it's worth it. Love how quiet things are in the early morning.
I don't live in NYC, but you should check out the Catskills. I've spent some time there and it surprised me how beautiful it was and the amount of options for activities. If you like to fish, there are plenty of options there but also plenty of options to hike I know. The Phoenicia area is awesome and there are also wilderness areas / parks around with plenty of activities within
Managing banking and outdoor hobbies is next to impossible. I’m lucky enough to live in the mountain west but would recommend considering corp fin exits for mid/long term to get the most out of work and hobbies. Grind out as much as you can then exit. Senior bankers at my BB have no time for outdoor pursuits other than golf. It’s all good, but tough
Definitely planning an exit and this thread is really making a convincing argument for the west coast.
For sure. I lived in Houston for three years to get the career rolling in corp fin; took trips near every weekend. While I've since started in IB in a better location, there's really only one day off / week in my group hence the need for an exit strategy. Not sure why but I need pretty consistent "unplugging" and time alone on the river / slopes / trail / anything outside lol otherwise I go crazy very quickly and neither my wife nor myself are happy with the outcome. Similar to a post below, I really wanted the extra money to accelerate personal wealth to ultimately focus on passions but realize I lose too much along the way. Why wait to "buy" powder snow when I can have more sustainable balance in the near term.
Work in Charlotte. Plenty of stuff in town including whitewater rafting and trails. Nearest foothills are a 45 minute drive away. Skiing 2 hours away and Charleston beaches 3 hour drive. Year round good outdoors weather. Also there are banks.
Mountains are my heroin. Earlier in my career I would typically do 1 week long backpacking trip each year, just disappear into the mountains completely off grid and unreachable. Also, do a couple 3-4 day weekend trips a year as well for weekends that would but up against a holiday, usually memorial and labor day. Less exposure to the things that I enjoy than I would have liked but I made due with what I could get. Now that I have a place in Montana I split my time between my primary residence and my vacation home in Montana, usually spend at least a week up there each month working remote. Being an Analyst that is just hitting the desk buying a vacation home isn't exactly in the cards for you just yet but if I could give you any advice it would be to start saving for it now, having a place to always go to get out of the city was one of the best decisions I ever made.
That sounds awesome man congratulations, definitely gonna be following your playbook. I mentioned it in an earlier comment but I’m planning on putting all my bonuses plus some salary savings towards a down payment on a place I can rent out when not using it to cover the mortgage. Montana sounds amazing, personally been eyeing New Hampshire. You can have a house on a lake and be an hour from the white mountains and an hour from the coast. Pretty much covers any outdoors activity in any season you could want with only an hour drive to do that activity once you’re there. Couple places in Utah and California that I’ve been to with similar setups, although California tends to be quite a bit more expensive than NH.
Grew up in NH, great spot. Lake Winni is overcrowded and full of jackasses that are hazardous on the water now, but spots like Lake Sunapee or Winnisquam still give you that same big lake vibe with great access to skiing.
I feel like this is the only way. I know one guy who bought a van, but still can never use it and also can never rent it out either.
I lived in Hawaii during COVID based out of NYC. I would get to go out for a quick sunset surf at Bowls or Kaisers ~2x a week on the weekdays and usually a solid session and hike on Saturdays. But with return to office I had to come back to NYC. I would go dawn patrol sunrise at Rockaways. I would go to sleep around 1-2am then wake up at 4am to go surf shitty closeout waves and be logged on at home by 9am. Pretty brutal, but if you're desperate for waves, you'll suck it up. I took my first vacation of the year to PR to surf and ended up working most of it. After this I realized how unhappy I was back in NYC.
I think if you're okay surfing low quality waves and skiing / snowboarding the ice coast, banking in NYC might work, but I was craving better waves and mountains than I had access to as a banker in nyc.
I work in tech now, so my location is flexible and can manage my schedule however I want as long as the work gets done. I worked in Hawaii last week and caught one of the longest / rippable rights of my life, and I'll prob take a few 3-4 day trips to PR when it's firing out there. Yea it's less money, but what am I gonna do with more money? You can't buy waves...
Was in a similar boat a while ago. Always loved the outdoors and spent almost a decade in banking. It was a sacrifice as I rarely had time to do all the outdoor things I wanted. Went out as much as I could on weekends (hiking, etc.) and vacations (snowboarding, wakeboarding, etc.). Eventually, I knew the banking/city life wasn't for me and planned an exit that was very suitable. I now live in the desert, get to do big interesting deals, and get to do tons of outdoor things (cycle before work, beaches on weekends and some mornings, running in multiple parks, and gonna learn to kitesurf soon).
Def find an exit where you can maximize health & wellness. Makes such a difference.
What's the exit?
SWF. Not for everyone but fantastic for what I was looking for
A lot of good commentaries here. My 2 cents (realize that some of this may echo earlier points);
- Surfing: Rockaway Beach (city's only legal surfing beach). Are the waves huge and would it rival the best areas in terms of surfing? No. Is it good enough? Yes. Is it easily accessible from Manhattan? Yes
- Hiking: Catskills, Bear Mountain, Delaware Water Gap
- Nature: Near Manhattan; Alley Pond Park (Queens), Inwood Hills Park (northern Manhattan), Sprain Ridge Park (Bronx), Botanical Gardens (Bronx)
- Other: Clay pigeon shooting; Orvis Sandanona - It's a beautiful 500 acre+ area around Millbrook, NY. I've taken clients there and have yet to see anyone disappointed. Hudson Valley Dutchess area; James Baird State Park, Bowdoin Park. Putnam area; Thunder Ridge for skiing/snowboarding. Distillery Tours (that aren't in Manhattan): Hillrock Estate in Ancram, Taconic Distillery in Stanfordville, Hudson Whiskey in New Paltz
I know what you're going through. Miss outdoor activities but live in a city and with a job that doesn't lend itself to the time needed for 1) travel to outdoor locations and 2) experiencing/engaging in the activities. You'll find open Saturdays and Sundays, Holidays, and/or whatever to scratch this itch. It may not be as frequent as you like, but try to plan around it.
In terms of dealing with it myself, I really love skiing. I cut my teeth in Colorado and Utah growing up (even though I lived in New York/New England). Obviously, Northeast skiing leaves a lot to be desired (e.g., artificial snow/ice over powder, limited/smaller mountains, less accessible from large cities). To compound this, once I started working in IB, I found it almost impossible to find time to do this. But I was determined to get out on the slopes and tempered my expectations on quality. I just wanted to be outside. Here's how I did it.
- Identified all ski areas within a 5hr travel radius, then narrowed it down to 2-3hrs
- Marked areas that had bus packages from Manhattan or areas accessible by train
- Found weekends where I wouldn't have to work Saturday and had a reasonable leave time Friday
- Booked a room or Airbnb for Friday night near the mountain (I cut costs by finding others in my class that also missed skiing). Then I called the mountain to see if we could get a group discount or package deal. Most places were willing to work with me here (further lowering costs)
- Leave Friday night, wake up first thing Saturday, and then get a full day on the mountain. Afterward, head back into Manhattan or stay Saturday night, get in a half-day Sunday, then travel back to Manhattan Sunday evening (this would require going to Mountains very close to Manhattan like Windham or Camelback for example)
Around the holidays I would try to get as much in as I reasonably could. With the WFH over the past couple of years, I sometimes now work remotely from ski mountains. Go to the area on Wednesday or Thursday evening, Get in a few calls in the morning, ski between ~10-1ish (assuming I don't have meetings), take calls for the rest of the day, then either go for a few runs where places have night skiing, etc. Then I have Saturday/Sunday to get in--at least--a half-day before heading back to Manhattan for in the office on Monday. Is it grueling and a bit exhausting? Yes. Was it worth it to me? Absolutely.
Good luck man. I know its tough.
work in S&T and know a handful of guys that would happily go on a client outing surfing or hunting. you'll find ur way
The only green I see is $$$.
The Ramble and North Woods in Central Park almost make you feel like you're in the woods. Woodsiest part of Manhattan.
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