{"id":452,"date":"2006-01-25T23:11:10","date_gmt":"2006-01-26T07:11:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nehrlich.com\/blog\/?p=452"},"modified":"2006-01-25T23:12:02","modified_gmt":"2006-01-26T07:12:02","slug":"moving-to-new-york","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nehrlich.com\/blog\/2006\/01\/25\/moving-to-new-york\/","title":{"rendered":"Moving to New York"},"content":{"rendered":"

That’s right. Crazy as it sounds, I’m going to move to New York. I’m still somewhat in disbelief myself. Here’s how it happened.<\/p>\n

Four or five years ago, I found this guy on the web who wrote about software development and software management and called himself Joel on Software<\/a>. His ideas made a lot of sense to me (treat your people well, keep management simple, stay out of the way of productive coding). I became a disciple, quoting his essays to my managers and trying to learn from what he had to say. But he was in New York City, and his company was only hiring top-notch software developers<\/a> that were described as coding “animals”. Since I mostly do software because I’m good at it and it pays well, I didn’t think that description fit me, so I never applied to work at his company. But I kept on reading his columns and daydreamed about someday working at a company that was run along those principles.<\/p>\n

In a separate storyline, it was five years ago that I sang at Carnegie Hall<\/a>. I stayed over the following weekend, and had an absolute blast exploring New York with some friends of mine. We had bagels at Zabar’s, hit a jazz club in Greenwich Village, wandered through Central Park, etc. And I started daydreaming about someday getting to know New York better, maybe spending a year or two living in New York. <\/p>\n

Last spring, I decided I was never going to get the chance to live in New York for an extended period of time, so I spent a three week vacation there<\/a>. I sublet an apartment in the East Village, and walked all over the place visiting museums, going to shows and restaurants, etc. It was a blast. I’d kind of been hoping that three weeks would get New York out of my system and make me feel like “Okay, now I’ve done<\/i> New York – time to do something else”, but instead I felt like I’d barely scratched the surface. But three weeks had already been stretching how long a vacation could be, and I couldn’t really do that every year. <\/p>\n

Meanwhile, I’d steadily been growing more disillusioned with being a software engineer. I could do it, and do it well, but it wasn’t my passion. I wasn’t really sure what my passion was, although bad management certainly seemed to raise my ire. I started to explore the idea of moving into management myself – I had the technical chops to have the respect of technical teams, but could also communicate effectively to my less technical colleagues. And I started to understand how hard good management was. But getting onto the management track is tricky, especially coming from a technical background. Most companies will not hire a manager that does not have management experience (or an MBA), so I had to find a company that would hire me as a technical person, but give me the opportunity to gain management experience. <\/p>\n

At the end of October, I happened to read Joel’s post where he announced that he was looking to hire “the next generation of management”<\/a> at his company. He didn’t care whether applicants had previous management experience or not. He preferred a technical background. Wow. I had to apply. So I spent a few days working with friends to polish up a cover letter and resume, and sent it off.<\/p>\n

And then I mostly forgot about it. I mean, sure, I thought I would be a good fit. But something like 300,000 people read Joel’s writings on the web. And a couple hundred people apply for every job opening at his company. So I knew my chances were statistically slim. But I kept it in the back of my mind as a daydream through the next month and a half – “Wow, wouldn’t it be cool to work for Joel in New York?” I almost didn’t want to hear an answer because that would mean I would have to stop daydreaming and confront reality.<\/p>\n

In mid-December, I got a phone call from the 212 area code. New York. Yikes. “Are you still interested in the position?” “Yes.” “Do you have time to speak with Joel this week?” “Um, yes!” I did an hour-long phone interview with Joel later that week – we chatted about management, about various projects I’d been involved with over the past several years, etc. And at the end, he invited me out to New York for an in-person interview. We couldn’t squeeze it in before the holidays, so they flew me out in the first week of January.<\/p>\n

It was great. They hired a car to pick me up from the airport. They put me up in a fantastic hotel<\/a> across from the New York Public Library. The interview was a lot of fun – the questions were interesting, and I enjoyed meeting the different people at the company. And, at the end of the day, I got an offer.<\/p>\n

Yowza.<\/p>\n

Suddenly, I was presented with the opportunity to fulfill several of my daydreams at once. I could work with Joel! I could live in New York! I could move onto a management track! I’d get to join an early-stage startup! (they’re still less than ten people, but looking to grow)<\/p>\n

It was disconcerting, to say the least. I’ve settled into my life in the Bay Area over the past ten (!) years. I have friends I adore, and a variety of social groups with whom to do stuff, from the chorus to ultimate frisbee. I’ve got a burgeoning professional network. I bought a condo four years ago. I bought a new car last summer. I know my place here. And I’m going to trade this life in for some ill-defined fantasy?<\/p>\n

But the lure of New York was too much to deny. I have no idea how things are going to work out. But this way I’ll at least have found out whether I can convert those dreams into reality, rather than always thinking that the grass must be greener somewhere else. I may return in a couple years to the Bay Area with my tail between the legs, but it’ll have been worth it just to know once and for all. <\/p>\n

Wrap-up comments:<\/p>\n