4 ms·

Well, I don't actually mind being "underpaid" when I can get home every day at 4pm, have 30 vacation days, ~20 months of sick leave, pay 400€ for my apartment,

by foepys 6y ago

Well, I don't actually mind being "underpaid" when I can get home every day at 4pm, have 30 vacation days, ~20 months of sick leave, pay 400€ for my apartment, and have fun at work. And while I might be underpaid compared to SV, I'm still in the top 10% income-wise.

sneak 6y ago
Why not only work only every other day until 4pm, spend more time with your friends/family/books, pay twice as much for a nicer apartment, and save even more each month for a rainy day or retirement? Being paid properly isn’t about having enough to get by and have fun. It’s about not squandering your most valuable nonrenewable resource: minutes of your life.
VRay 6y ago
Even getting home at 4 PM every day, you only end up with 2-3 hours to do whatever you want per day, vs 12+ if you aren't going to work. You should work a year in Silicon Valley and save every penny, then go spend 3-4 years back in your home country IMO. Just imagine what you could do with all that time, completely yours. The best hours of the day would be all yours again. I took a couple of years off full-time work, and it was indescribably great. It took a few weeks to unwind and get out of "rat race" mode mentally, but after that.. I finally understood the cliche of "living more" because I would do more interesting stuff in a day than my friends and family would in a week. I had to force myself not to talk to anyone more than once a month, since I just sounded like a jerk to them, and they never had anything new to say any sooner than that. I honestly felt like I lived more in that two year stretch than I did in my whole life up to that point beforehand. I didn't manage to achieve enough of a stable financial equilibrium, so I'm back in the rat race now. My current job is awesome, I love it. I couldn't ask for a better job. But compared to that time to myself, I honestly feel like I'm dead. Wake up -> Work -> Chores -> TV/Games -> Sleep -> Repeat. Weekends are almost entirely devoted to resting and catching up on chores I couldn't take care of during the week. Days turn into weeks turn into months turn into years, everything just slips by. Fortunately, I know I can come back to life again once I get enough money saved, so I'll keep at it.

by foepys 6y ago

sneak 6y ago

Why not only work only every other day until 4pm, spend more time with your friends/family/books, pay twice as much for a nicer apartment, and save even more each month for a rainy day or retirement? Being paid properly isn’t about having enough to get by and have fun. It’s about not squandering your most valuable nonrenewable resource: minutes of your life.

VRay 6y ago

Even getting home at 4 PM every day, you only end up with 2-3 hours to do whatever you want per day, vs 12+ if you aren't going to work. You should work a year in Silicon Valley and save every penny, then go spend 3-4 years back in your home country IMO. Just imagine what you could do with all that time, completely yours. The best hours of the day would be all yours again. I took a couple of years off full-time work, and it was indescribably great. It took a few weeks to unwind and get out of "rat race" mode mentally, but after that.. I finally understood the cliche of "living more" because I would do more interesting stuff in a day than my friends and family would in a week. I had to force myself not to talk to anyone more than once a month, since I just sounded like a jerk to them, and they never had anything new to say any sooner than that. I honestly felt like I lived more in that two year stretch than I did in my whole life up to that point beforehand. I didn't manage to achieve enough of a stable financial equilibrium, so I'm back in the rat race now. My current job is awesome, I love it. I couldn't ask for a better job. But compared to that time to myself, I honestly feel like I'm dead. Wake up -> Work -> Chores -> TV/Games -> Sleep -> Repeat. Weekends are almost entirely devoted to resting and catching up on chores I couldn't take care of during the week. Days turn into weeks turn into months turn into years, everything just slips by. Fortunately, I know I can come back to life again once I get enough money saved, so I'll keep at it.