Leaving San Francisco feels unreal, as though I’m not actually leaving and that this move is only temporary. In less than six months San Francisco has come to feel like home, maybe even more than the Netherlands and I’ve been pondering why.
Read MoreSan Francisco
Go big or go home
in Life, San Francisco
After 4 months in San Francisco, I'm finally beginning to understand the magic of Silicon Valley. It's the American "Just do it" mentality, it's either go big or go home.
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Hidden doors
My expectations for San Francisco included meeting lots of passionate and ambitious people, with big dreams to change the world in a meaningful way. I started wondering “Where are all the people with world-changing ideas?”
Read MoreThe halfway mark
Besides, me trying to figure out what I want to do in life, it's been an uneventful month. For the first time in my life, I have the time and mental space to think about what I want to do in life.
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The opportunity cost
in Life, San Francisco
Lately, I haven’t been as set on staying in San Francisco as I originally was. Having spent at least half of my mental energy trying to figure out my next step, I came to the conclusion that I only want to stay for the right reasons.
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Starting the job search
It’s been a crazy rollercoaster ride the last few weeks, where the euphoric feeling that I had when I arrived is slowly dissipating. I decided to look for jobs in San Francisco, little did I know things would go so differently here than they did for me in the Netherlands.
Read MoreSecond month in San Francisco
As you might have noticed, I’ve dialled down on writing about my adventures. Not sure if it’s because I’m doing less or because everything isn’t as new anymore. Either way, the last months have also given me some time to think about whether or not I want to stay in SF and how that works visa-wise.
Read MoreA month in SF
Moving to another country is exhausting and even though I’m slowly getting settled and really building a social life, I’m really starting to notice the toll moving is taking on me.
Read MoreThat homey feeling
So far, San Francisco has been incredible. I finally got a bicycle and cycled through the city. People are amazing, it feels a bit like home (Shanghai) and there are some cultural differences between SF and NL.
Read MoreUpdate on the last two weeks
It’s been great the last two weeks with so many things to do and explore in the city, meeting lots of great new people.
Read MoreStanford people parties in Palo Alto
On Saturday evening, I headed to Palo Alto by Caltrain to join Charlotte for her birthday party followed by a French party with Will. If you want to meet Stanford people, join a random party in Palo Alto.
Read MoreP A C I F I C A
On Saturday morning I headed out to Pacifica with Himank for my first surf sesh in the Bay Area. The forecast was looking good and the sun was shining so time to check out the waves!
Read MoreTGIF
On Friday, we had our vrijmibo at Drakes and then I headed back to the apartment to move from San Leandro back to San Francisco. In the evening, I checked out my first dive bar together with Lucas.
Read MoreFirst day of work
On the first day of work, I decided to walk to the office and spent most of the day onboarding and getting to know the company a bit. They had a pretty impressive office.
Read MoreViewings, viewings, viewings
On Monday, I spent most of the day going from viewing to viewing and in the end not quite settling on anything. Travelling to different viewings is nevertheless a great way to get to know the city.
Read MoreThe first weekend (part 2)
We visited the Ferry Building around Union Square, where you also immediately see the extreme contrast between rich and poor. I moved from San Francisco to San Leandro, a very suburban neighbourhood, into a dodgy flat.
Read MoreThe first weekend (part 1)
I spent the night in San Jose with Mei and Thomas and visited my first American supermarket. The prices were shocking. Also, I quickly review my first impressions of the start-up scene in SF.
Read MoreDay 3 in San Francisco
I had a really early morning today and woke up at around 6am, so I decided to get out early and try and find a coffeshop with wifi to get some work done. It was a pretty long day with lot’s on the schedule, so feel free to skip through this post a bit.
Read MoreDay 2 in San Francisco
Woke up nice and early this morning to try and sort out as much as possible before starting work next week. Bought my most expensive chai latte ever and I didn’t even get free wifi. Some funny things I noticed about SF include:
Read MoreDay 1 in San Francisco
After a fun last dinner with close friends and a franctic morning of last minute packing, I made it to Rotterdam Centraal just on time to get the 12:51 train to catch my flight to San Francisco at 15:00. I hadn’t really thought through the logistics of carrying a large duffle, a surfboard, a backpack and a small handbag by myself, let alone walk around the airport.
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