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I don't think children alone are the problem - switching countries often means leaving behind your entire social network. From the guys you go out drinking wit

I don't think children alone are the problem - switching countries often means leaving behind your entire social network. From the guys you go out drinking with to the person who cuts your hair, you have to build this all over again. It can be fun, but it can also be isolating. It's tough to meet new friends, especially in a foreign culture, where your common cultural threads - sports you grew up watching, foods you grew up eating, languages you speak - don't overlap. For some people this is a great opportunity to meet and learn about all sorts of things, and it can be, until you're tired, sick, or stressed - and just want the voice of a familiar friend. Moving every 3 months means this problem is only amplified - you'll never really feel tied to whatever place you've moved to. Making real friends, learning the language... why bother, if you're just going to be somewhere new in a few months? The other thing I dislike about this article is the "advice from rich people" tone it strikes. I've seen a lot of these kind of articles - "I made this successful business and then I realized I can just travel the world doing nothing". I suppose Tim Ferris started it, but he's not the only one. The point being you have to have a certain amount of financial resources before you can do this kind of thing. Now nothing in the article says they are rich (and they do point out CR is cheaper). But before you can do something like this, if you have any sense, you've either got enough money in the bank or enough business already planned to cover all the changes - relocations and all. You know that it will be an international flight to meet almost any client, and that's not really a problem. I really think that - especially in the youthful zeitgeist, "conspicuous consumerism" as we once knew it (IE, at its zenith in the 80's) is dead. So let's stop acting like the only reason people live a frenetic life of work hard/play hard in the city is all about building up money to be better than their peers, and if only we had a little more perspective we could realize we could live relaxing, fulfilling lives on a tropical beach working a few hours a week.

gkoberger 13y ago
Lots of interesting points -- but for what it's worth, I'm the founder and I'm certainly not a "rich person". I'm a designer/developer living in Silicon Valley who wanted to experiment with new ways to build a company with the round we raised. Tim Ferriss was one of the inspirations for the traveling. Like him or hate him, his point is "you don't have to be rich to travel, you just have to do it". This isn't for everyone, but the hope is that it's extra-awesome for people who want to see the world and experience new cultures, all as part of a job.
- jmspring 13y ago
  First thing that came to mind when I read the name was a travel bookstore / center in Stanford Mall years back (I'm not sure when they closed). I like the name and the concept. It seems like your initial plan is to do have everyone in the same travel group? I like the idea. I travel a bit and always seem to get a bit of time in doing some work either at one of our local offices or at a coffee shop/coworking space.
- JimboOmega 13y ago
  To be clear, I'm not saying that traveling is a bad thing. I love it. I myself just moved to San Francisco ~3 months ago after a lifetime of living within about a 100 mile circle of places on the East coast; a lot of these observations come from this experience. Ultimately, it's been a good experience for me, but it's not exactly what I expected from a naive point of view. Packing up and moving your whole life has some pretty serious consequences that are easy to gloss over. There's a big difference between a vacation of a few weeks to a month and actually living somewhere else. Being in SF, for me, meant living in an urban (vs. suburban) environment, which meant a variety of changes. Hopping in the car to go anywhere is no longer a requirement. It's also not an option if I want to get a load of groceries, unless I want to rent a ZipCar. Am I saying it's too hard to walk 2 blocks to the grocery store? No. But it's a new way of life. All these changes to your lifestyle can be exciting and fun, but they can also be stressful; especially so if you are (as I am not) socially isolated by language and/or cultural differences. For instance, one thing that was a hassle moving here for me, and would be worse internationally, is ADHD medication. It's a schedule 2 drug in the United States, meaning I can only ever get a month's supply, among other restrictions. So when I got here I had to get a new doctor almost immediately - and most doctors are reluctant to write a controlled substance prescription on demand. Again, I love traveling, and if I was reading this article about a DC company (where I used to live) and I still lived there, I'd be the first to sign up. But a lot of the differences are subtle, or unexpected, and you should realize that it can be - while enlightening, meaningful, and ultimately fun - a very stressful experience. It's sort of like the difference between telecommuting and working in the office - with google hangouts, teleconferences, etc, the communication should be the same, right? It's the same laptop whether at home or at work, right? And yet, for me, the experience is massively different.
slapshot 13y ago
> I don't think children alone are the problem In fact, advertising a job position as "not for people with families" is usually running a pretty big labor law risk--especially if you're currently based in the Bay Area and thus subject to California law in addition to US law. In many places it's illegal to ask about children or marital status during an interview, and to come right out and say "we don't want people with families" is insanity. You might disagree with the law, but it's hard to dispute that the law is that way in California. http://worklifelaw.org/frd/ http://worklifelaw.org/frd/ http://www.foleylymanlaw.com/practice-areas/discrimination-harassment-workplace/marital-status http://www.foleylymanlaw.com/practice-areas/discrimination-h... http://oag.ca.gov/publications/CRhandbook/ch2 http://oag.ca.gov/publications/CRhandbook/ch2 etc.
- gkoberger 13y ago
  Nobody said that. My co-founder has a wife and kids. There is no reason why we wouldn't hire someone with a family.
  - slapshot 13y ago
    Are we reading the same text? > Of course, one downside is that it’s not ideal for people with families. Some of the best people I’ve ever worked with have kids, and unfortunately wouldn’t be able to do this. I could only imagine the outrage if Wal-Mart said "this job requires consistent attendance, so it's not ideal for pregnant people." Saying "this job is not ideal for" a protected category is a strange decision. I didn't write the laws, and you might very well be correct that it's not a job for people with families, but to come right out in the job advertisement and say they're not invited? I would not want to be your lawyer.
    - gkoberger 13y ago
      Fair point; I edited it to say this: > Of course, one downside is that it’s not ideal for everyone. Some of the best people I’ve ever worked with wouldn't want to or be able to travel. We’ll get around this eventually by hiring remote employees or setting up a SF office. It conveys what I meant to say, without implying something I didn't.
mixmastamyk 13y ago
It sounds like you are determined to find the negatives.
seiji 13y ago
Let's jump into all your assumptions and how they don't apply (at least to me). > switching countries often means leaving behind your entire social network I don't really know anybody, so there's nobody to leave behind. > go out drinking with to the person who cuts your hair What? That's completely a foreign concept to me. > sports you grew up watching, foods you grew up eating, languages you speak - don't overlap Completely irrelevant. I can't understand somebody else because they grew up eating paella and I grew up eating hotdogs? > until you're tired, sick, or stressed - and just want the voice of a familiar friend. Voice is all? Voices work all around the world. tired, sick, and stress is the natural condition of life. It helps to be reminded we live a coddled cloud-covered existence. > you'll never really feel tied to whatever place you've moved to. I've lived in places for years and never felt tied to them. Irrelevant on scales of years or weeks. > "advice from rich people" tone it strikes. It's exactly the opposite. > certain amount of financial resources before you can do this kind of thing. Not really. It's easier traveling while you're either very poor or very rich. The problem is traveling while you have a lot of physical/capital/emotional baggage elsewhere. > fulfilling lives on a tropical beach working a few hours a week. Working on a beach is miserable. It's hot. It's cold. It's too sunny. Sand gets in every crevice of your laptop and yourself. Work at a desk, play at a beach.
- jmduke 13y ago
  This is oddly antagonistic. I understand that the OP's points don't apply to you, but I'd say the concept of leaving your drinking buddies behind or needing to hear the comforting voice of a familiar friend aren't foreign to vast majority of people.

gkoberger 13y ago

Lots of interesting points -- but for what it's worth, I'm the founder and I'm certainly not a "rich person". I'm a designer/developer living in Silicon Valley who wanted to experiment with new ways to build a company with the round we raised. Tim Ferriss was one of the inspirations for the traveling. Like him or hate him, his point is "you don't have to be rich to travel, you just have to do it". This isn't for everyone, but the hope is that it's extra-awesome for people who want to see the world and experience new cultures, all as part of a job.

jmspring 13y ago
First thing that came to mind when I read the name was a travel bookstore / center in Stanford Mall years back (I'm not sure when they closed). I like the name and the concept. It seems like your initial plan is to do have everyone in the same travel group? I like the idea. I travel a bit and always seem to get a bit of time in doing some work either at one of our local offices or at a coffee shop/coworking space.
JimboOmega 13y ago
To be clear, I'm not saying that traveling is a bad thing. I love it. I myself just moved to San Francisco ~3 months ago after a lifetime of living within about a 100 mile circle of places on the East coast; a lot of these observations come from this experience. Ultimately, it's been a good experience for me, but it's not exactly what I expected from a naive point of view. Packing up and moving your whole life has some pretty serious consequences that are easy to gloss over. There's a big difference between a vacation of a few weeks to a month and actually living somewhere else. Being in SF, for me, meant living in an urban (vs. suburban) environment, which meant a variety of changes. Hopping in the car to go anywhere is no longer a requirement. It's also not an option if I want to get a load of groceries, unless I want to rent a ZipCar. Am I saying it's too hard to walk 2 blocks to the grocery store? No. But it's a new way of life. All these changes to your lifestyle can be exciting and fun, but they can also be stressful; especially so if you are (as I am not) socially isolated by language and/or cultural differences. For instance, one thing that was a hassle moving here for me, and would be worse internationally, is ADHD medication. It's a schedule 2 drug in the United States, meaning I can only ever get a month's supply, among other restrictions. So when I got here I had to get a new doctor almost immediately - and most doctors are reluctant to write a controlled substance prescription on demand. Again, I love traveling, and if I was reading this article about a DC company (where I used to live) and I still lived there, I'd be the first to sign up. But a lot of the differences are subtle, or unexpected, and you should realize that it can be - while enlightening, meaningful, and ultimately fun - a very stressful experience. It's sort of like the difference between telecommuting and working in the office - with google hangouts, teleconferences, etc, the communication should be the same, right? It's the same laptop whether at home or at work, right? And yet, for me, the experience is massively different.

slapshot 13y ago

> I don't think children alone are the problem In fact, advertising a job position as "not for people with families" is usually running a pretty big labor law risk--especially if you're currently based in the Bay Area and thus subject to California law in addition to US law. In many places it's illegal to ask about children or marital status during an interview, and to come right out and say "we don't want people with families" is insanity. You might disagree with the law, but it's hard to dispute that the law is that way in California. http://worklifelaw.org/frd/ http://worklifelaw.org/frd/ http://www.foleylymanlaw.com/practice-areas/discrimination-harassment-workplace/marital-status http://www.foleylymanlaw.com/practice-areas/discrimination-h... http://oag.ca.gov/publications/CRhandbook/ch2 http://oag.ca.gov/publications/CRhandbook/ch2 etc.

gkoberger 13y ago
Nobody said that. My co-founder has a wife and kids. There is no reason why we wouldn't hire someone with a family.
- slapshot 13y ago
  Are we reading the same text? > Of course, one downside is that it’s not ideal for people with families. Some of the best people I’ve ever worked with have kids, and unfortunately wouldn’t be able to do this. I could only imagine the outrage if Wal-Mart said "this job requires consistent attendance, so it's not ideal for pregnant people." Saying "this job is not ideal for" a protected category is a strange decision. I didn't write the laws, and you might very well be correct that it's not a job for people with families, but to come right out in the job advertisement and say they're not invited? I would not want to be your lawyer.
  - gkoberger 13y ago
    Fair point; I edited it to say this: > Of course, one downside is that it’s not ideal for everyone. Some of the best people I’ve ever worked with wouldn't want to or be able to travel. We’ll get around this eventually by hiring remote employees or setting up a SF office. It conveys what I meant to say, without implying something I didn't.

mixmastamyk 13y ago

It sounds like you are determined to find the negatives.

seiji 13y ago

Let's jump into all your assumptions and how they don't apply (at least to me). > switching countries often means leaving behind your entire social network I don't really know anybody, so there's nobody to leave behind. > go out drinking with to the person who cuts your hair What? That's completely a foreign concept to me. > sports you grew up watching, foods you grew up eating, languages you speak - don't overlap Completely irrelevant. I can't understand somebody else because they grew up eating paella and I grew up eating hotdogs? > until you're tired, sick, or stressed - and just want the voice of a familiar friend. Voice is all? Voices work all around the world. tired, sick, and stress is the natural condition of life. It helps to be reminded we live a coddled cloud-covered existence. > you'll never really feel tied to whatever place you've moved to. I've lived in places for years and never felt tied to them. Irrelevant on scales of years or weeks. > "advice from rich people" tone it strikes. It's exactly the opposite. > certain amount of financial resources before you can do this kind of thing. Not really. It's easier traveling while you're either very poor or very rich. The problem is traveling while you have a lot of physical/capital/emotional baggage elsewhere. > fulfilling lives on a tropical beach working a few hours a week. Working on a beach is miserable. It's hot. It's cold. It's too sunny. Sand gets in every crevice of your laptop and yourself. Work at a desk, play at a beach.

jmduke 13y ago
This is oddly antagonistic. I understand that the OP's points don't apply to you, but I'd say the concept of leaving your drinking buddies behind or needing to hear the comforting voice of a familiar friend aren't foreign to vast majority of people.