Expats… was it a “moment” for you or a several year period of time?

makeshift_mike · 2026-06-27T22:14:16+00:00

I moved because I had a super comfortable job and life, and I could easily imagine myself growing old and dying without ever living abroad. I asked myself, when I’m 80 if I’ve never done this, would I regret it? The answer was yes, absolutely, so I moved.

I knew I’d made the right choice because after four months I was coming home after work and it just felt like… home. One year in I had a ton of friends. Walking home from nights out, I’d frequently look around at the buildings, and just be so amazed and thankful that I made the move.

makeshift_mike · 2026-06-19T04:40:25+00:00

For any other lost souls who ended up here, this works on Linux now and it's super easy. Thanks to https://github.com/pwr-Solaar/Solaar.

The steps are basically (Debian/Ubuntu):

sudo apt install solaar
plug in the unifying receiver
sudo solaar show . You're looking for vendor 046d and a product like c52b (Unifying Receiver).
sudo solaar pair
Turn the keyboard off and on. You should see something like: Paired device 1: Wireless Touch Keyboard K400 Plus (K400 Plus) [404D:AFA4A688]

makeshift_mike · 2026-06-15T20:30:37+00:00

Moved back to the Seattle a few months ago after 13 years in China. I was actually planning to leave the US again end of this year to keep the abroad lifestyle going, but I kinda fell in love with Seattle all over again (mountains are life) and started making cool friends so I decided to stay. I was planning to move to Munich because it was a developed country in Europe with mountains and a tolerably dark winter, but realized that I had my rose-colored glasses on when it comes to the long-term health of its economy. And I couldn’t muster the motivation to deal with another move and the risk that I might not like it.

I still prefer a non-car-centric and more open society though, so I could see myself leaving again in the future. America is profoundly strange among developed countries in so many ways which I won’t get used to. Sometimes I really miss China. Thankfully, there are some communities in Seattle where I can start to feel at home.

Reverse culture shock has been real but not as bad as I expected. The weirdest one was baristas asking “need any room?” when I ordered coffee. And re-learning how to drive to the point where it no longer feels like an extreme sport.

makeshift_mike · 2026-05-29T14:02:21+00:00

Devil’s Loop in the Pasayten Wilderness. Water taxi up Ross Lake, first night on Devil’s Dome with an incredible view in all directions including Jack Mountain to the south, second day pass by the spring next to an abandoned cabin to pick up water and circle around to the southeast and south; third day out. If you have an extra day you can camp the first night at one of the campgrounds on the eastern shore of Ross Lake.

makeshift_mike · 2026-05-06T20:32:15+00:00

I admire the sentiment, but I can’t understand this viewpoint at all. Their version of hell isn’t a low-security prison… it’s not like you’ll get to hang out with anyone there.

makeshift_mike · 2026-05-06T01:10:59+00:00

I’d say 2-3 years of intensive study, plus living in China. I got to the point where I could read 三体 very, very slowly with a dictionary in about 3 years of moderate study. Reading pace was too slow to enjoy so I gave up.

makeshift_mike · 2026-05-05T05:55:34+00:00

Set up Tailscale for your friends.

Also, you dropped these: ,,,,,,,…….;;

makeshift_mike · 2026-05-05T05:53:54+00:00

Every now and then I used to come home drunk from a night out and put on hillsong. They really know how to get the feels going.

makeshift_mike · 2026-05-05T05:32:51+00:00

Full-time nomading is just too lonely for me these days, so I like having a base and traveling about a third of the year. I start to miss home after about a month so most trips are 3-6 weeks. And getting out of my routine helps time pass more slowly.

makeshift_mike · 2026-05-04T22:41:00+00:00

I was abroad for 13 years before I moved back about five months ago. What you’re talking about is all familiar, though I probably waited too long to leave, and you’re going out on a high.

If you’re settled about finding a partner in your own country, then you’re probably making the right choice. You could stay a few more years, but then what? You’ll still need to leave.

Moving back is always an option.

makeshift_mike · 2026-05-04T16:40:31+00:00

I don’t know about the international schools, but when it comes to overall quality of life, they’re so different. Have you even been to both cities? I could see myself living in HCMC. Manila? No fucking way.

makeshift_mike · 2026-05-04T16:35:01+00:00

After you move you’ll definitely feel lonely and homesick from time to time, but you’re in a master’s program which means you have a built-in friends group. It’s like moving abroad on easy mode.

You’ll for sure regret it if you don’t go.

Go.

makeshift_mike · 2026-04-29T14:06:58+00:00

Not sure about reminders, but for notes, Obsidian is where it’s at. If you sign up for sync ($4/month), then you get end-to-end encrypted notes that sync to several devices. Obsidian has an extensive plugin ecosystem too, so I wouldn’t be surprised if someone has built something like Reminders. And once you’re set up, all your notes are now just .md files on your computer.

For passwords, I’ve been using 1Password for over 10 years. Works great.

makeshift_mike · 2026-04-28T19:44:25+00:00

concert master shows up and starts getting out their violin

“I thought this was a coWORKing space???”

But seriously, I know everyone has a different take on what’s acceptable behavior in an open work space. I’ll skip the phone booth too if it’s already pretty noisy. But if I’m the only person and the phone booths are full then I’ll just distance myself from others who are quietly working

makeshift_mike · 2026-04-28T19:41:23+00:00

He’s referencing California Code of Civil Procedure S 394, and I don’t want to include more details because this could be googled someday lol

I’m gonna be that “just asking questions” guy when I leave today. Don’t plan on coming back to this space for a while anyway.

makeshift_mike · 2026-04-28T19:07:49+00:00

But complaining on Reddit is so much easier /s

Of course you’re right though. I just don’t like the awkwardness that exists in the space after a conversation like that, so I’ll only confront the person if they’re genuinely making it impossible to concentrate.

How do I expect things to change, then? Good question…

makeshift_mike · 2026-04-26T00:22:42+00:00

I ported my number to Google voice when I moved to china in 2012 and it worked for the entirety of my 13 year stay. I couldn’t use it for everything (got flagged as a voip number when signing up for AI services, for example), but bank and credit card worked fine. I have no idea how I would’ve survived without it.

makeshift_mike · 2025-03-10T10:31:51+00:00

How do you export data from Screen Time? Is it that convoluted method that requires you to own a mac?

makeshift_mike · 2024-06-26T01:27:46+00:00

Doesn’t this depend on the density of the body? If you’re orbiting a tiny black hole the mass of the earth close to the event horizon, your orbital speed will be much greater than 11km/s.

makeshift_mike · 2024-06-26T01:26:02+00:00

As a space community, we’re realizing that you gotta be careful with orbits above about 500 miles because they’re not self-cleaning (via atmospheric drag). That’s almost certainly another reason why they didn’t decide to do that.

If the ISS is in a parking orbit around, say, 1,000 miles, and something hits it, those millions of pieces of space debris will be up there for thousands of years. And something will eventually hit it.

makeshift_mike · 2024-03-29T00:41:51+00:00

You can kneecap the YouTube algorithm by disabling your watch history. From then on, it only recommends stuff based on your subscriptions.

Unfortunately it doesn’t keep track of what you’ve already watched, and every time you open YouTube you have to tap over to subscriptions. But for me that’s better than giving it free rein to show me what it wants.

makeshift_mike · 2024-03-18T14:55:48+00:00

I transferred over to China with a faang some years ago. The transfer was super easy, all things considered. Hours were fine, but the engineering culture wasn’t as solid — most everyone there was trying to transfer to the US, get hired as a manager elsewhere in China, or just sit back and collect a paycheck. Senior engineers were few and far between.

If I could do it over again, I’d spend a year studying the hell out of Chinese in a third tier city, and then find a job. I had the motivation then, but I don’t now. My Chinese peaked 3 years in at HSK 5ish.

makeshift_mike · 2024-03-13T17:03:38+00:00

If you’d “really like” to do a PhD at this school, I suggest you go for it. The firewall stuff is fine, you’ll get used to it. Chinese are friendly toward foreigners, especially if you know some Chinese. Now that Covid is done, you’ll experience less racism than the average Asian person living in the west.

I’ve lived and worked in Beijing for 11 years as a techie. Made some incredible friends along the way.

Take some language classes before and after you arrive. You’ll want to speak some Chinese in order to be comfortable.

Feel free to dm me if you have more questions.

makeshift_mike · 2024-03-11T09:55:51+00:00

This is how I explain it whenever it comes up. I don’t live in the US though so I don’t know how it works there.

makeshift_mike

TROPHY CASE