Location: Pine Street, San Francisco
The headlines say San Francisco is a ghost town. They say the dream is over, the Valley is dead, and everyone who is smart has already moved to Miami or Austin.
The wind is definitely blowing in our faces this year. But standing here on Pine Street, looking up at that flag, I’m not packing my bags.
The Immigrant Premium
To a local, this flag might just be background noise. To me, it is a reminder of the journey. The crisis of 2022 – the inflation, the market crash, the fear—this isn’t a signal to leave. It is simply the price of admission.
The entry fee to the greatest arena on earth has always been high. This year, the currency is resilience. I paid too much to get here to let a little turbulence scare me away.
Concrete Patience
I am looking up because looking down at the stock tickers right now is useless.
These granite buildings on Pine Street survived the Dotcom crash of 2000. They survived the Global Financial Crisis of 2008. They will survive 2022.
Markets panic. Concrete waits.
I am learning to adopt the patience of this architecture. We are not day-trading our careers; we are building them stone by stone.
The Ghost Town Advantage
Yes, the streets are empty. The tourists are gone. The hype-chasers have moved on to the next “hot” city.
Good.
The noise is gone. What remains are the builders. The people who are actually working. It is easier to focus when you aren’t fighting for a table at a coffee shop.
Let them say SF is dead. I’ll be here working when they come back.
