4 ms·

Thanks! I'm fine! Since I started my career in SWE (at a company which went public and crashed hard in the first dot.com bust) I've always had enough so I neve

by owyn 6y ago

Thanks! I'm fine! Since I started my career in SWE (at a company which went public and crashed hard in the first dot.com bust) I've always had enough so I never really worried about money. And I usually had more than my musician friends so I "felt" well off, if that makes sense. I could always buy a new guitar and they couldn't always do that. I rented the van to go on tour when they couldn't afford it because it was a bucket list thing for me and I'm glad I did it. Now I'm starting to think maybe I should have thought about it a little more. I've always been so busy working and pursuing other hobbies (guitar, then drums, now game programming (or just game playing? hard to tell) and weight lifting) that I never thought "hey, dude, sit down and plan your retirement" beyond checking a box to auto-fill the 401k. I have also worked at a lot of companies that didn't even offer a 401k so that also made a bit of a dent. I'm definitely dreaming about finding a remote job and moving out of SF, like half the developers in the city... I could easily afford a house in any other part of the country. I could use the savings to hire a younger guy to stand in front of the web cam while I type. :) My parents are still here in CA so I'm standing by to care for them if/when necessary. My dad is in a home already but I'll probably move back in to hang out with my mom soon. So far I've been happier maintaining my own apartment I'm sure a lot of people with mom's can understand. I spent a half hour on the phone today doing technical support. :) Another hint -- set up remote desktop! I'm still torn between spending the rest of my career at some BigCo or taking a shot at one last startup. A lifetime of indecisiveness has led to a lot of these half-assed decisions for sure. Since this post is about aging, one bit of advice: get your parents to sign power of attorney (medical & financial) documents long before they can't sign paperwork any more! By the time you actually have to use it for something it may be a LOT more difficult. Fortunately my parents trust me and they were happy to do it, and we're all very happy we did.

vmception 6y ago
[I'm definitely dreaming about finding a remote job and moving out of SF, like half the developers in the city.] [like half the developers in the city... I could easily afford a house in any other part of the country.] Was this intentional? This is amusing, interesting. I hope you figure it out! You are scratching the surface on the idea that comparing yourself to your musician friends with less marketable skills doesn't help you really continue optimizing your own life. Your aspirations are not different than the current crop of transient developers in the bay area (ie. getting tf out of SF before it becomes Detroit West). The only difference from what I can tell is that "career" doesn't mean the same thing. Big Tech is paying enough for people to do 2-4 year stints and be done with that part of their life. Career and retirement becoming concepts that people aren't really banking on at all, but lump sum and leaving definitely being an opportunity people are really looking for.

by owyn 6y ago

vmception 6y ago

[I'm definitely dreaming about finding a remote job and moving out of SF, like half the developers in the city.] [like half the developers in the city... I could easily afford a house in any other part of the country.] Was this intentional? This is amusing, interesting. I hope you figure it out! You are scratching the surface on the idea that comparing yourself to your musician friends with less marketable skills doesn't help you really continue optimizing your own life. Your aspirations are not different than the current crop of transient developers in the bay area (ie. getting tf out of SF before it becomes Detroit West). The only difference from what I can tell is that "career" doesn't mean the same thing. Big Tech is paying enough for people to do 2-4 year stints and be done with that part of their life. Career and retirement becoming concepts that people aren't really banking on at all, but lump sum and leaving definitely being an opportunity people are really looking for.