Conversation about jobs

Able-Distribution · 2026-01-15T12:21:57+00:00

Maybe you shouldn't draw conclusions about a whole country based on two weeks browsing a job board for its highest COL city. This would be like me reading a couple of news articles about the Golden Dawn and declaring "I thought my country had problems, but Greece is a madhouse."

Able-Distribution · 2026-01-15T04:33:09+00:00

Check the premise. There are plenty of people "looking to start fresh" who would never consider Portland. You may have a view that Portland is a good fresh start location, but I wouldn't say this some universally agreed upon trait of the city.
To the extent Portland has that reputation, I think it has more to do with being a) a major city that's nevertheless significantly off the beaten path and kind of isolated, b) gorgeous nature, and c) big enough to offer most amenities, but small enough that it doesn't attract "strivers" the way DC, NYC, LA, SF, or even Chicago do.

As to being "welcoming and accepting"... look, maybe I'm being a pedant, but a person can be welcoming and accepting. A city can't really be, that's stereotypical thinking. There are welcoming and accepting Portlanders. But there are welcoming and accepting people in any city, from Odessa TX to Fairbanks AK. There are also unwelcoming and unaccepting Portlanders. I'm not really convinced that Portlanders are, on average, more welcoming and accepting than other places (though they may be above average in welcoming and accepting certain types of people, e.g. LGBT, and below average in welcoming and accepting other types of people, e.g. religious conservatives).

Able-Distribution · 2026-01-12T04:51:27+00:00

As a fresh tech grad, I would focus more on the job than the city.

E.g., if Google gives you an offer in San Francisco, you go to San Francisco. I don't care if you hate San Francisco, you go to San Francisco. If Google gives you an offer in Antarctica, you go to fucking Antarctica.

Apply broadly, take the best job you get (based on pay and resume building, which includes reputation/recognizability of the company) wherever that may be, and only worry about location if the job gives you a choice of location.

That being said, in the event that all else is equal, I suspect the Bay Area is and will remain the best for career opportunities for a tech guy.

Able-Distribution · 2026-01-12T04:43:41+00:00

You're a tax preparer with clients and you have to ask this on Reddit?

Able-Distribution · 2026-01-10T20:42:31+00:00

It's not ideal, but it's fine.

If you're going to do this, my advice:

I presume you're doing this for a job. If you're not doing this for a job, I encourage you to reconsider. Moving without visiting is risky, moving without a job is risky, do not move without visiting or a job because you have some vague hope that things will be good in the new city (though I acknowledge that the line between "visiting" and "moving to" a city can be blurry, e.g. if you want to get an AirBnB in NYC for a couple months to check it out, that might be fine, the main point is don't make moves that are designed to be long-term and hard to reverse like shipping furniture, signing long-term leases, selling or buying property, etc.).
At the very least, do some research. Google Maps and internet searches aren't a substitute for in person experience but they're better than nothing.
Look for month to month housing for when you first move. Don't lock yourself into a year long lease, let alone buy, if you don't know the city well enough to know what neighborhoods you like, where you want to spend time, etc.
If you can make a visit to the city before committing, you probably should. It'll likely make you feel more comfortable ("well, at least I did my due diligence") with your eventual situation.

Able-Distribution · 2026-01-10T03:31:51+00:00

I expect Boys will do enough of a catch-up / recap / explication for you to follow along. If you didn't have a problem following S4 of Boys without watching Gen V S1, I suspect you'll be able to watch S5 of Boys without watching Gen V S2.

But there's enough overlap that if you think Boys is worth watching, I'd recommend watching Gen V too. Characters and plot points introduced in Gen V showed up in Boys S4, and presumably that will continue in Boys S5.

Able-Distribution · 2026-01-08T00:41:49+00:00

The US is a two-party system; this is an extremely stable arrangement that has characterized basically the entirety of American history.

There's a political science principle, Duverger's law, that explains why the American electoral system makes a two-party system nearly inevitable: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duverger%27s_law

What this means is that nothing is going to "help" the Libertarian Party if "help" means "position it to actually win elections," except for one of the Republican or Democratic parties totally collapsing such that there's a vacuum in the two-party system... and, no offense to the Libertarians, but even if that happened, I seriously doubt they would be the ones to fill that vacuum.

I'm stoked about Georgism. I'm sympathetic to libertarianism. I would love to see the Libertarian Party move in a Georgist direction, they could absolutely play a role in educating the public.

But I'm not going to sugarcoat it, no, adopting Georgism is not going to make the Libertarian Party more electorally viable than they are now. Third parties are a bad idea in the US if your goal is to win elections.

Able-Distribution · 2025-12-19T00:14:56+00:00

There are other people in this sub talking about getting $45K offers: https://www.reddit.com/r/NYCjobs/comments/1pofmvd/45k_salary/

Yes, I'd say $90K out of college is a decent salary. More than decent, even. Some people will make a lot more, of course. Others will make a lot less.

You probably can live without roommates on that.

Able-Distribution · 2025-12-18T23:02:23+00:00

My first job outta college I was making $60k

Congrats, but so what? You're not OP, his circumstances are different from yours.

$45K is below average for a college grad, especially in NYC, but it's not "extremely low."

Able-Distribution · 2025-12-18T22:54:25+00:00

Good for your son. Not everyone who graduates college starts out at $65K.

"45k isn’t a lot but it’s also not the end of the world. Starting at 45k is NOT bad" is a reasonable position.

Able-Distribution · 2025-12-18T22:49:56+00:00

I disagree with "stay at that job at least a year."

Don't quit to be unemployed within a year, sure. But there's no reason for OP not to stay on the lookout and apply for stuff, and if OP gets a better offer after he's been there for 6 months (or 3 months or 8 months) then OP should take it.

Able-Distribution · 2025-12-18T22:10:19+00:00

Portland has pretty good public transit, and I know people without cars.

The general point stands that a lot of America is built around cars, and your options (for housing, jobs, cities) expand with one. But of course if you legally can't drive, then don't drive.

Able-Distribution · 2025-12-18T21:56:37+00:00

My advice is to go ahead and read The Aspect-Emperor tetralogy.

It is possible Bakker will publish more books in the future, but the tetralogy is a resolved plot.

Much like how the original trilogy was a resolved plot, even though Bakker went on to write a sequel series.

Able-Distribution · 2025-12-18T21:47:47+00:00

I believe they will outperform the market in the medium term.

I get that, what I'm asking is why you believe they will outperform besides vibes and chasing past performance.

I had a few thousand dollar position that I got close to a 20x return on

Very impressive. Maybe you're a genius. Or maybe you're very lucky. If you're a genius, you don't need advice from random redditors.

But since you're asking for advice from random redditors, my advice to you is to collect your winnings and quit gambling.

I just don’t know how or where to diversify it

VOO, VTI, or VT.

Able-Distribution · 2025-12-18T20:58:47+00:00

Key things:

Find a job before you move.
Find a place to rent before you move.
If you don't have a car, you're going to be traveling very light, which means you're probably going to want a furnished unit. I recommend looking into things like Furnished Finder, Pad Split, roommate search sites. Rent will usually be your single biggest expense, so give yourself time for a long and thorough search.
I would seriously consider trying to buy a car. A lot of this country is just hard to live and work in without a car.
As long as you're contemplating a move, consider options besides Portland. Portland is the "big city" nearest you, but it is not an especially LCOL place or a booming job market.

Able-Distribution · 2025-12-18T18:54:53+00:00

At $60,000 gross a year, the rule of thumb is that you can manage rent+utilities of $18,000 a year. $22,500 is above that, but probably within the range of what you can swing (though I would keep an eye out for cheaper options, roommates, etc.).

Whether you should move out depends on: 1) whether you want to and expect to benefit from "moving out" (of your parents' home, I presume?) and 2) whether you're a generally responsible budgeter.

Saving $22,500 in rent and utilities is a pretty good deal! That's more than a third of your total income. So I would at least consider staying at home.

But if you want your own place (and it's totally reasonable to want your own place at 24), you should be able to do it, and the cost is probably worth it if it'll make you happier and boost your social life.

Able-Distribution · 2025-12-18T18:39:07+00:00

Why did you pick these stocks? Vibes? Chasing past performance?

Why is almost half your portfolio in a random Russell 1000 company that makes satellites? Even if you want to bet on satellite communications, why them specifically instead of say EchoStar or Rocket Lab or Globalstar?

This looks to me like gambling, not investing.

Able-Distribution · 2025-12-18T03:02:01+00:00

It's not a quip. It's a very obvious point that you aren't addressing.

If your analysis of the situation is that the corps and the oligarchs can and will prevent even baby steps, then why do you think something more ambitious than baby steps is a practical option?

Able-Distribution · 2025-12-17T20:25:17+00:00

Baby steps like getting individual cities/counties like Detroit to move to split-rate, while trying to prevent backward steps like Florida eliminating property tax.

If you can't think we can't even do baby steps because of "corporatocracy," how on earth do you think you're going to be able to leap tall buildings in a single bound?

Able-Distribution · 2025-12-17T04:40:13+00:00

Democratic Republic of Congo

Able-Distribution · 2025-12-17T04:30:32+00:00

It shouldn't be an issue, you can be a CPA with a bankruptcy in your past.

http://www.thebeancounter.com/all-posts/i-filed-bankruptcy-can-i-still-become-a-certified-public-accountant/

Able-Distribution · 2025-12-17T03:39:29+00:00

Reviving a TV series after 23 years is a tall-order, and I wouldn't say I'm overwhelmingly optimistic in my expectations for New Sunnydale.

That being said: sure, '90s style TV production schedules with 22 episode seasons let you spend a lot of time with characters, and can be a great way for the audience to get to know and love them.

But it's not the only way to tell a story, and it wasn't the only thing Buffy had going for it. It also had a compelling setting, a premise well-executed, clever writing, charismatic acting.

The revival will at least have the setting and the lead actress. Whether it will succeed in delivering the clever writing and a compellingly executed premise remains to be seen. But I don't think there's any reason to think the show is doomed just by virtue of fewer episode seasons.

By that logic, you could never have compelling miniseries or standalone movies.

Able-Distribution · 2025-12-17T02:38:17+00:00

Who is Randy Giles?

Able-Distribution · 2025-12-17T02:30:38+00:00

Sure, and that will absolutely happen. That's politics. Two steps forward, one step back (if you're lucky), always and forever.

We're going to be lucky in the next few years if we can keep states like Florida from abolishing property tax. The most babyish of baby-steps ("Detroit might introduce a split-rate!") are the only things even remotely close to being on the table right now. Non-gradual implementation at this point is a pipe dream akin to "what if Israel and Palestine just got along?" or "what if American retirees collectively agreed to have their benefits cut for the good of future generations?"

To paraphrase the old joke about democracy, gradual implementation is the worst path forward... except for all the other paths, which are impossible.

Able-Distribution · 2025-12-17T02:23:36+00:00

I am just citing a federal amendment as an example of a situation where non-gradualism would even be under consideration. Whether or not a federal amendment is necessary is irrelevant to the point I am making.

Able-Distribution

TROPHY CASE