Starting at a West Cost Fund and I Hate the West Coast
Title says it all - signed at a UMM West Coast fund a while back during on-cycle and was feeling great about it then. But having to move out to a completely different coast in a couple of months with no friends and very little support is scaring the s*** out of me. Does anyone have any tips / ways to make the best out of this? I'm going into with an open mind but I'd be lying if I didn't say I haven't been thinking about lateraling at the one year mark.
Well you have two options -
1) Renege the offer and leave a bad taste in the mouth of the firm. People will tell you “PE is a small circle and this will hurt your rep” which it could but in the lifecycle of your career, you will be fine. Still, it’s a move you shouldn’t do lightly.
2) Be an adult, branch out of your comfort zone and meet new people. Life’s about taking risks. You could cross paths with the next Zuck and your life could change for the better. Or you could meet your future wife. Who knows.
Theres no right answer. Do what you think is best ultimately for you
Finding myself in a similar situation. Just going to work hard and see how things are going at the 1 year mark and re-evaluate. I feel like this is the best way to keep options open if you realize you want to move. Im overall excited about the team / strategy I’m joining just in a city I have no connection to.
In the opposite situation as you. I hate the east cost but am going to have to move back to advance my career due to an opportunity that’s too good to pass up (dislike the elitist attitude and shitty weather).
As long as you go in with an open attitude you’ll be fine and really think you’ll need to give it 2 years if you actually want to give it an honest shot out West. Your first year is going to be a lot of trial and error both on and off the job. After that you should have a better idea of what your life will look like and can make a more informed decision. If you make the move back east after a year realistically all you’ll be doing is networking for a year outside of work without having experienced anything.
The name of the game to succeeding out here is having hobbies and interests outside of work. Unlike, the east coast nobody out here really gives a shit what you do unless you’re famous which can be annoying but is entirely avoidable. Given those dynamics if you’ve ever relied on your job or university prestige to get laid that shit won’t work out here. In my experience the people who fail socially the most are the hardos who think Andover -> Wharton -> Top IB/PE entitles them to a hard 8 and have no personality outside of work. They then talk about how much the West Coast sucks because nobody wants to date or hang out with someone with no personality, a superiority complex, and no interest outside of work because they spent their teens doing SAT prep.
I’d recommend trying surfing while you’re out this way (tons of transplants meet people this way) and taking advantage of being able to golf 12 months a year. The West Coast is not without its problems but the pros far outweigh the cons especially if you’re into being active.
Personally am pissed I won’t be able to surf much back east and will only be able to play golf 6 months out of the year while paying 2X the rent in a space smaller than my current bathroom. Also not looking forward to having to take the dirty ass subway again (previously lived in NYC for 18 months) and not being able to drive places. Having a Porsche Taycan as your primary means of transportation is a hell of a lot better than riding around in a disease riddled tin can even if you get stuck in traffic.
Should add I love visiting NYC and have a lot of friends + family in the area but I hated living in the city.
Holy fucking shit I’ve never had a comment resonate more with me than this one. Praying that my path brings me back to socal
+1 for surfing and golfing year-round on the west coast. Golfing with co-workers is also a great way to meet people if you are new to the area.
Lived in 3 countries by the time I was 26, including 2 years in fucking Canada.
No matter how much you hate or think you hate a place, it is now you have the freedom to explore and grow as a person.
Once you have a family of your own, you won’t be able to uproot your existence easily to experience this often.
And living in different places provides you a deeper perspective on life and promotes greater growth as a person. You navigate problems easier, smaller things don’t bother you.
And, grow the fuck up, you’re getting a sickass career and you’re not even leaving the country. Open your mind a bit.
Similar story to you with slight variance having lived in 3 countries outside the US by 25 (UK, Spain, and Australia) and been to 50 different countries.
Part of the reason for the bad attitude is related to settling down given I’m in my early 30’s and my time to be single + grow is running out. I’ve lived in Boston for 5 years, NYC for 18 months, and Southport, CT (1 year) so I feel like I’ve given the Northeast enough of my time to know it’s not where I want to be. Therefore, any time I spend there feels wasted and feels like it’s taking away from my goal of being out on the West Coast.
I’ve done the summers on Nantucket and rented a Hamptons House with coworkers, gone hiking and skiing in the Catskills + Berkshires + Vermont + New Hampshire, and done a fair amount of exploring in the region (surfing + hiking in New Hampshire, all the historical stuff in Boston, museums in NYC).The only thing I haven’t done that’s on my list is going up to Maine and doing a canoe trip (there’s some Thoreau path that looks cool).
I personally just prefer living in Laguna Beach where it’s summer 12 months a year, flying into Tahoe + Aspen + Whistler when I want to see snow, John Muir Trail + Zion + Yosemite for nature and hiking, easy access to Mexico (Tuluum + Mexico City), being able to golf or surf 350 days a year, and having access to fresh produce (produce in the northeast tastes horrible due to extra pesticides) + world class wine in Napa.
For the kinds of things I like doing the Northeast loses out on every front and can’t compete with what I have access to out here. I’d honestly happily move out of the country back to Australia (Visa situation is fucked) or London (fairly easy Visa requirement but difficult to get firm sponsorship) for these next few years rather than move back to NYC but it’s just not practical. I even considered living in Philly and commuting into the city but decided against it due to how impractical it is.
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