Life back in San Francisco
Then again, I just read this article in the San Francisco Chronicle about life back in San Francisco. It's so foreign to me, having left at the peak in 2000.
"Unemployment covers basics like rent, and everything absolutely essential, excepting food, thanks to me being totally debt-free," says Wessel. "My savings, which were somewhere between $2-3K total, cover food, incidentals and therapy."
What a great quote. I like that therapy is part of her essentials! LOL.
In the past year I've done very little "real" (i.e. paid) work and instead have puttered on my own pet projects and spent time with my new wife and now son. This is cool. I'm glad I had the opportunity to unwind after working so much in my 20s. (You have no idea how many all nighters and 6 or 7 day weeks I pulled). Now my batteries are recharged and I'm ready to do some serious work. I'd rather run my own business than climb the corporate ladder, but I've still got a lot to learn, so I'll wait a bit before starting my own thing again. But the idea is that I'm ready to get down to biz again. Which is good because we're broke and have a baby. ;-)
Reading that story also gave me a bit of insight to life back home. I won't get too nuts at the low offers I'm receiving, since it's better than being in SF with a family and no job, right? But still, there are lots of Java jobs on dice.com paying very decent salaries, so $30,000 per year here in Spain is my minimum. We're not that desperate yet.
-Russ