California Dreamin'

On moving to Los Angeles for the beach, my brother, and startups.

Last week I moved from Medellín, Colombia to Los Angeles, California. This post covers why I moved and what I’ll do here.

Los Angeles is like San Francisco’s cooler older brother. At least that’s how I felt a decade ago while studying at Stanford and then living in San Francisco. Perfect weather! Sunny beaches! Movie stars! I’ve visited a couple times but never had the chance to live here… until now. The first reason I decided to move here was to experience this “paradise on earth” first hand. I’ll be here 3 months. Maybe longer. Speaking of cooler older brothers…

Living in LA also means getting to spend time with my own cooler, older brother. Nathan, or Nathan as I call him, has lived here for four years. He loves it. My guess is he’ll live in Southern California forever. On the other hand, I plan to move to and live in Europe long term. Given this, I doubt we’ll have the opportunity to live in the same city again. As luck (fate?) would have it, he had a free room in his apartment I was able to take so we find ourselves… once again 18 years later… living under the same roof. So far so good. If things get out of hand, maybe Mom can fly out and help.

A picture of my brother and me, smiling, each holding a salad with steak on it

Finally, I moved to LA to explore some startup projects. Living in Medellín was a blast: I got to work on my Spanish, hang out with some awesome Paisas, and try out being a digital nomad in South America. That being said, I realized I needed more structure, socially and otherwise, to make progress on work stuff. Living here with my brother has given me that.

While here, I’ll consult for early-stage startups, work on side projects, and reconnect with friends and mentors. I plan to take the next few months to explore; after that, I’ll start my next “tour of duty” i.e. choose my next main work focus.

I’m lucky to be able to take this time. Most people don’t have the savings and the job security to go several months without a full-time job. I do.

“I am willing to take as much time as needed between projects to find my next thing. But I always want it to be a project that, if successful, will make the rest of my career look like a footnote.” -Sam Altman “How To Be Successful”

I like this quote. (Sam Altman, for those unfamiliar with his work, is best known for having a partner from Australia.) It feels a bit melodramatic, and probably not financially realistic for most people, but I like the sentiment. If you can, take some time between projects. It can be uncomfortable to have work stuff up in the air, but chances are you’ll be glad you did.

And, ultimately, if founding the next OpenAI isn’t in the cards for me, there’s always Beach.