Dream job and boring location, or dream location and boring job?

Former finance guy turned technical analyst at a FAANG. I'm realizing now that some of the really mindblowing stuff (Autonomous cars, ML models to diagnose cancer, drone tech) tends to be in locations that I don't like (Bay Area, Arizona).

The cushy-but-boring roles on the core business are often in great places (London/NYC). Would you rather have a comfortable but slightly boring role in a city you love, or a super cool role in a location you dislike?

7 Comments
 

If you are a straight young guy you have to live in / near the marina if you want to see any women above a 5

 
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Definitely pick the role over the location. You’ll be spending the majority of your time in the role. You will get to a point where you don’t like your job or wish you were doing something different and you’ll be miserable.

I know this is not always the case, but if you really don’t like the new locations after a while then you could try to get the combination of the good role in the good city after a couple of years of experience.

One thing that I think is great about the US is that we have so many different cities that have something unique and exciting to offer. There is a drastic range in COL but the quality and experiences can be much of the same because chances are whatever you do in New York, you can come close to replicating in another city.

 

A boring job in a city that you like going out and doing things in (e.g. spending money) sounds like a quick way to financial ruin. Always take the role that you will enjoy more over anything else. 

 

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