[njepa]

Unfortunately if running a startup means sacrificing or holding off on getting a mortgage, studying or establishing a family (which it often does) you will be at a major disadvantage in a place like Stockholm today. Literally hundreds of thousands of dollars behind your peers and everything that means for attaining a good quality of life.

[Grustaf]

No. Running a company is a more attractive experience for most employers than a degree, ESPECIALLY in a place like Stockholm.

About the other stuff, the guy is 31, there’s plenty of time. And I don’t think the question was even about that, it was about work wasn’t it?

Also, not that many people in Sweden will have saved hundreds of thousands at 31. I would say that most younger people with apartments in attractive areas borrow or received money for the down payment from their parents.

[njepa]

> No. Running a company is a more attractive experience for most employers than a degree, ESPECIALLY in a place like Stockholm.

It doesn't really matter if you are attractive to employers when they won't pay you much more than anyone else.

> About the other stuff, the guy is 31, there’s plenty of time. And I don’t think the question was even about that, it was about work wasn’t it?

Work isn't just about work. Someone who wants to be successful, or at least not unsuccessful, of course have to consider what they are getting for their work.

> Also, not that many people in Sweden will have saved hundreds of thousands at 31.

They saved hundreds of thousands by not having to buy at today's prices. Add to that the high taxes on work income, but not on e.g. inheritance or real estate, and you might never catch up.

In fact you will be paying other people's education, parental leave and kids while paying twice the mortgage for at least twice as long as they do. That is if you can even get a mortgage and are aren't just paying market rents in a suburb somewhere.

Stockholm is just a shitty deal at the moment. But that isn't even the point. It is that by running a startup someone might very well have become disadvantaged and that is something that needs to be considered. Some things will very much not solves themselves. Given the choice I would absolutely advice anyone to go to Berlin instead of Stockholm these days.

[Grustaf]

It feels like you are getting quite far from the original question now.

[njepa]

I don't think so. Your original comment doesn't really reflect the challenges someone would face getting a job in Stockholm today as a result of doing a startup instead of having joined their peers in the more traditional route of university, mortgage and kids. You might very get a job and a similar salary, but you will instead pay the price over time in finances, quality of life and competitiveness.

I would say that is very relevant to the question since picking the correct job market will be crucial to whether they will be able to transition to a normal career or not. In a place like Stockholm you mostly can't since you likely won't have, or be able to make, the money for a decent life at a decent cost in many years. If they were to instead choose a job market that looked different in terms of housing or taxes they wouldn't be at the same large disadvantage and would instead just have to recoup the years spent doing something else.

[Grustaf]

Did you read the question? It has nothing to do with choosing the right market.

He asks if it will be hard for him to find a job and the answer is “no”, it won’t be hard. He is not asking if he should have made a different choice 7 years ago or if he could have had more savings in the bank.

And he is most definitely not asking about Stockholm, that was an example from _my_ life.

[njepa]

The question is not how to get any job, but how to join the job market effectively. That is hard to do that in places like Stockholm today, because the increase in cost of living de facto means taking a pay cut. If you are 25 you might be able to afford to wait a few years and hope that things go your way, but not at 31 when most people would and should expect more.

So the answer isn't really "no" when the condition to getting the job is spending years saving for the down payment of a hundred year mortgage at huge prices just to have somewhere decent to live. I don't think anyone is surprised that regions with these conditions have a shortage of talent. It might however be true that getting a job in Berlin won't be a problem, but that isn't universal. Your experiences doesn't really match the situation today.