[jessedhillon]

Thank you 1000x for stating this. I've never heard of anyone doing anything significant and living this way. Before he made money selling books on how to design lifestyles, what did Chris Guillebeau do for money? Be a grad student, I think. (As in, live off his stipend.)

[soulbow]

He's not the only one to lead this lifestyle and write about it. Tim Ferris started a sports supplement company to fund his travels before writing "The 4-Hour Work Week."

One doesn't have to be a programmer or designer to lead a lifestyle like this, though those professions are more location independent by their nature.

[jessedhillon]

> One doesn't have to be a programmer or designer to lead a lifestyle like this

That's not my point. My point is that, regardless of what you do work on, it will be rather inconsequential (by the norms of SV perhaps).

[ahoyhere]

I've done it and I "do significant things." Instead of being grateful for somebody confirming your suspicions, you'll find it pays to investigate the truth.

[jessedhillon]

A) What do you do that is significant (by SV norms, not your personal, subjective standard for self-satisfaction)? B) A string of corroborating anecdotes is not proof (notwithstanding a cliche about anecdotes * N == data for large N)

Let me be more clear about significance. My statement is that people don't do what is done in SV by trotting around the world, working from their laptops in internet cafes. What is done in SV?

* Start or work at billion dollar startups.

* Create disruptive technologies and build businesses around them.

* Network with the most brilliant minds in business, engineering, etc.

Creating an app that can pay the bill for a bungalow in Phuket (for example) is a great achievement and congratulations on being able to do it. You deserve all the awesome titles that you've listed in your profile.

However, it's not what I would call significant, by these standards. I'm sorry if you feel offended by my choice of the word significant, I really am, but I am saying that there is a difference in scale between what a globetrotter can do and "the rest of us" -- and there is a limitation on the former.

[kristiandupont]

Not everybody lives in SV. By your logic, could someone who doesn't travel but lives somewhere else achieve anything significant?

[jessedhillon]

I'm not making a statement about those people, but what I said still applies: the opportunities on that list are available in SV, and a small number of other places in the US. Not in Saigon or Amsterdam -- at least not to a large number of people.

HN is about news that happens mostly in SV, or is relevant to it. It's about startups -- high-risk, scalable businesses -- and SV is where they are (at least, many, many of the successful ones are). I'd expect that a solid majority of the readership is based in this area too.

My premise is this: people who choose to live and work in SV have huge opportunities that exist (almost) nowhere else. Sure, you can setup a consultancy and dabble in a few side projects while you make your way around the globe and have remarkable experiences.

But let's not pretend that, if you choose to do this, you are exposed to the same opportunities as the rest of us -- you're not.