Life Update: Moving to Austin, Going Independent

I've been meaning to write this for months. The irony of a person who writes regularly about travel — where things happen, where change is constant and observable — failing to document the biggest changes in his own life isn't lost on me. So: here's the update.

The SF Chapter Closes

I moved to San Francisco in 2019 for a job at a fintech startup. I had the classic arc: loved it, burned out a little, loved it again, learned an enormous amount, eventually got restless. By late 2024 I was ready for something different.

San Francisco is a singular place. I don't think I'll fully process what living there taught me for another decade. The density of ambition, the conversations you have at random dinners, the fog that rolls over Twin Peaks every evening — there's nothing quite like it.

But I needed space. And cheaper rent.

Austin Is Real and Also Surreal

People told me Austin was getting crowded and expensive and that it had lost its weird. These people are right and also overstating it. Austin is still genuinely unusual — there's live music and food trucks and a tech scene that doesn't take itself quite as seriously as the Bay, and you can get a parking space without crying.

I've been here six months. I like it. The summers are brutal in a way that requires lifestyle adaptation, but that's what swimming holes are for.

Going Independent

The bigger change was professional. After leaving my full-time role at Meridian Labs in March, I decided to freelance for a while instead of immediately jumping to another full-time position. This felt risky and also right.

Six months in, what I've learned:

The freedom is real, and so is the chaos. I control my schedule completely, which is both wonderful and requires discipline I had to actively build. No one is managing my time but me.

Finding clients is a skill. I spent the first two months networking more actively than I have in years — coffee chats, old colleagues, posting about what I was working on online. My pipeline now is mostly referrals.

The money is more volatile, and I've made more than I expected. Some months were sparse; others exceeded what I made at a salary. The average has worked out.

I write more. This surprised me. Without the cognitive overhead of a corporate job, I have more space for other things — including this blog, including the book I've been threatening to write for three years.

What's Next

I'm taking on a few longer-term contracts this year while keeping some capacity for interesting shorter projects. I'm also planning to spend the fall traveling more slowly than I usually do — two or three months in Europe, working remotely from various rented apartments.

If you have a project that might be a fit, or you're thinking about making a similar leap and want to compare notes, the contact page is right there.

More soon.