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Much of my professional network moved during covid. I keep an address in the bay area to keep up appearances with clients. I fly into town when nessary. Life is

Much of my professional network moved during covid. I keep an address in the bay area to keep up appearances with clients. I fly into town when nessary. Life is cheaper and better.

DevKoala 5y ago
Yeah I have been thinking of doing this. I was thinking of going to Nevada or another state without capital gains to finally start cashing out.
- LurkingPenguin 5y ago
  If you have a non-negligible amount of money on the line, you'll want to leave sooner than later and plan very carefully. California is aggressive in going after people who leave the state, even years later, especially if you have a liquidity event shortly thereafter and/or plan to maintain ties to California. Keeping an address, coming back regularly to meet clients, etc. are all precisely the things the FTB uses to argue that people are still California residents.
  - tharne 5y ago
    You know you're failing politically when you start resorting to punitive measures to keep people from leaving. During the cold war, Ronald Reagan correctly pointed out that one of the clearest indicators the Soviet Union and their allies were in the clutches of a failing ethos, was that they had to build walls to keep their own people in rather than to keep their enemies out.
    - LurkingPenguin 5y ago
      While California absolutely is overzealous in looking at people who leave the state, it's also reality that plenty of people don't really leave or blur the lines to the point where there's a legitimate question as to their residency. If you're going to leave California, leave. Don't keep a California address, tell clients you're based in California, come back all the time to do business, etc.
  - DevKoala 5y ago
    I have been studying the law and will consult with tax professionals soon. Starting next year I will not need to do business in California anymore; my next full time employer is not CA based and none of my current clients are either. I just feel uneasy leaving most of my professional network behind. Sometimes even the most trivial social interactions end up turning into very lucrative opportunities.
- testesttest 5y ago
  I didn't do it for tax reasons but for quality of life reasons. Be careful moving to "cash out". Do your research.
LurkingPenguin 5y ago
> I keep an address in the bay area to keep up appearances with clients. If you have to be deceptive about where you are living because you think it's the only or primary validator of your value to clients (in terms of $ rate), it's not a good thing. I know multiple freelancers and consultants who left places like the Bay Area and NY and their clients didn't suddenly seek to reduce their rates because they went to lower COL locations. It's a dangerous thing for your rate to be based on your location and not the value you provide.
- tharne 5y ago
  There's nothing dubious about this. Companies and individuals frequently have an address in high-profile locations while most of the work gets down elsewhere. You're forgetting that a lot of clients want to tell their clients that they have a NY or SF based team working on such and such. Marketing is, always has been, about image and spin.
  - LurkingPenguin 5y ago
    > Companies and individuals frequently have an address in high-profile locations while most of the work gets down elsewhere. You're forgetting that a lot of clients want to tell their clients that they have a NY or SF based team working on such and such. Renting a virtual address in NY or SF is not the same thing as telling your clients you're based in those locations or have teams there. Pretending you're based in a place you're not is not only deceptive, it's a great way to find yourself dealing with painful tax and legal issues you don't want.

Much of my professional network moved during covid. I keep an address in the bay area to keep up appearances with clients. I fly into town when nessary. Life is cheaper and better.

DevKoala 5y ago

Yeah I have been thinking of doing this. I was thinking of going to Nevada or another state without capital gains to finally start cashing out.

LurkingPenguin 5y ago
If you have a non-negligible amount of money on the line, you'll want to leave sooner than later and plan very carefully. California is aggressive in going after people who leave the state, even years later, especially if you have a liquidity event shortly thereafter and/or plan to maintain ties to California. Keeping an address, coming back regularly to meet clients, etc. are all precisely the things the FTB uses to argue that people are still California residents.
- tharne 5y ago
  You know you're failing politically when you start resorting to punitive measures to keep people from leaving. During the cold war, Ronald Reagan correctly pointed out that one of the clearest indicators the Soviet Union and their allies were in the clutches of a failing ethos, was that they had to build walls to keep their own people in rather than to keep their enemies out.
  - LurkingPenguin 5y ago
    While California absolutely is overzealous in looking at people who leave the state, it's also reality that plenty of people don't really leave or blur the lines to the point where there's a legitimate question as to their residency. If you're going to leave California, leave. Don't keep a California address, tell clients you're based in California, come back all the time to do business, etc.
- DevKoala 5y ago
  I have been studying the law and will consult with tax professionals soon. Starting next year I will not need to do business in California anymore; my next full time employer is not CA based and none of my current clients are either. I just feel uneasy leaving most of my professional network behind. Sometimes even the most trivial social interactions end up turning into very lucrative opportunities.
testesttest 5y ago
I didn't do it for tax reasons but for quality of life reasons. Be careful moving to "cash out". Do your research.

LurkingPenguin 5y ago

> I keep an address in the bay area to keep up appearances with clients. If you have to be deceptive about where you are living because you think it's the only or primary validator of your value to clients (in terms of $ rate), it's not a good thing. I know multiple freelancers and consultants who left places like the Bay Area and NY and their clients didn't suddenly seek to reduce their rates because they went to lower COL locations. It's a dangerous thing for your rate to be based on your location and not the value you provide.

tharne 5y ago
There's nothing dubious about this. Companies and individuals frequently have an address in high-profile locations while most of the work gets down elsewhere. You're forgetting that a lot of clients want to tell their clients that they have a NY or SF based team working on such and such. Marketing is, always has been, about image and spin.
- LurkingPenguin 5y ago
  > Companies and individuals frequently have an address in high-profile locations while most of the work gets down elsewhere. You're forgetting that a lot of clients want to tell their clients that they have a NY or SF based team working on such and such. Renting a virtual address in NY or SF is not the same thing as telling your clients you're based in those locations or have teams there. Pretending you're based in a place you're not is not only deceptive, it's a great way to find yourself dealing with painful tax and legal issues you don't want.