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It's not too weird that people move to places where they have opportunities, and individuals will have different opportunities in different places. After unive

It's not too weird that people move to places where they have opportunities, and individuals will have different opportunities in different places. After university, I moved to a new city where a bunch of my friends had moved after graduating as well. For a couple of years things were really good, but it was a city with a crazy high housing and rental market and my salary was not really keeping up. I also wasn't having any luck dating and just felt out of place in the city. I made the hard decision to move away for a cheaper housing market and better salaries, even if it meant leaving my friends behind. It's been five years since then and I have a longterm girlfriend, a house of my own, and double the salary I was making. The only thing missing is my friends, and I haven't made many friends here. Certainly not a consistent group to gather with for board games or whatnot. I keep in touch with some of my old friends online but mostly don't. I think something this article doesn't mention is that sometimes people are just friends because of proximity, out of convenience. It's the ones who don't live nearby but you still want to visit and spend time with, those are your real friends.

istorical 5y ago
Why isn't it weird? To me it's very weird. Why do we think a slightly better job opportunity will lead us to greater happiness than focusing on our personal relationships?
- Jeff_Brown 5y ago
  Friends are like health. You know they're great but you don't realize how great until you're without them. And it's a shockingly easy lesson to find yourself "learning" repeatedly.
  - lotsofpulp 5y ago
    I think people know it. They just make a calculated decision to move to the suburb with the best schools (i.e. most expensive they can afford) for the benefit of the kids. Same with leaving a small town and going to a more expensive city with higher and more income earning opportunities.

istorical 5y ago

Why isn't it weird? To me it's very weird. Why do we think a slightly better job opportunity will lead us to greater happiness than focusing on our personal relationships?

Jeff_Brown 5y ago
Friends are like health. You know they're great but you don't realize how great until you're without them. And it's a shockingly easy lesson to find yourself "learning" repeatedly.
- lotsofpulp 5y ago
  I think people know it. They just make a calculated decision to move to the suburb with the best schools (i.e. most expensive they can afford) for the benefit of the kids. Same with leaving a small town and going to a more expensive city with higher and more income earning opportunities.