Year 4, Part 2/2
And back to happy — mostly, anyways.
It’s time to finish up year 4.
In the first part of the year, I finally made critical lifestyle changes to enable a higher savings rate and remove a great deal of job-related stress.
Here in the second part, I realize what it means to go against the grain of my peers when it comes to spending and long term goals.
At the same time I start searching for alternate employment — and not just in my own industry. I examine video game companies and also consider going back to school to receive formal training as a 3-D artist.
And finally, my own employer, SoftwareCompany, moved their support division from San Francisco to Denver. Incredibly, most of my co-workers end up making the move. I had a big decision to make.
Should I stay or do I go?
As it happened, I did both.
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Living a FI 
That is totally bizarre what the director did to you. So strange.
About the only smart thing I did at the start of my working career was signing up for the 401K as soon as i was eligible and dumping in enough to get the full match. Smart of you to finally take advantage of that.
Yep. I’ve sort of concluded that there was some kind of mix-up or misunderstanding, internal to my director and the company. Maybe he “meant” to clear the position but got caught up in his own personal stuff and never took action on it. It’s incredibly hard for me to believe there was anything malicious going on there. But weird, yes. Nice that you signed up for your 401(k) right away. It obviously took me a bit more time to get things together.
Good read. I actually thought before the reaching the end you might have stayed with Software Company now that it relocated to a more Waldenesque Colorado location. Apparently you were done with that chapter of your life. I can’t wait to read the next episode.
I was only in Denver for 2 months but I *really* liked it there. Wide streets, modern zoning, great bike lanes, and lots of outdoor activities. It sure beats the suburbs of Boston, which is where I am right now. Streets around here were created ad-hoc, as needed, and it shows — you’ll get wrapped around and lost in about 5 minutes without a guide or google maps open at all times. Seems like lots of FIRE-types are in CO, although I didn’t know it at the time.
You probably never going to read this, but every blog entry is just so helpful and fantastic – and I am sure you’re helping many more people and not just me. I hope you enjoy your life right now. Cheers from Europe!