10 years in America | Swizec Teller

10 years ago yesterday I moved to America with 1.5 suitcases, ~2k in the bank, a place to crash, and a freelancing client lined up. A few thoughts.

10 years ago today,
moving to USA with nowt but a freelancing client, 1.5 suitcases, ~2k in the bank, and a place to crash

wild pic.twitter.com/cSTwknZJhx

— Swizec Teller (@Swizec) April 4, 2025

Right now is a strange moment to be writing this. Lots changed in just the past few weeks. Markets are crashing, trade wars are starting, things are looking bad out there.

The vibes are off.

10 years ago America still had that Land of Milk and Honey brand. The place you go to make dreams come true. That brand feels gone. Or I’ve been here too long and have lost my outsider perspective.

In truth America, Silicon Valley/SFBA especially, has always been a bit cyberpunk – a thriving society built on the backs of a disposable workforce. But you don’t see that until you move here. You don’t grok the disparity until you see a $300,000 McLaren sports car parked next to a person sleeping on the sidewalk.

But as Freakonomics once said about America:

Our worst critics prefer to stay.

I agree.

Honestly, a bit of a grind. Starting a new life in a hyper competitive part of the world (SFBA) where you don’t know anyone, don’t really belong, and have zero recognizable credentials is hard.

If you’ve seen a movie where a talented young star goes to Hollywood and has their ego shattered because everyone there is a local talent like them … that’s how it feels. You come here and holy shit. Dozens, hundreds, of people running around with twice your talent and drive.

Like I put in a HackerNews comment recently:

Turns out there are faster kids, they just aren’t at your school

Moving from Slovenia to SFBA in my mid 20’s (~2015) was … super fun like that. Sooo many people here are that most brilliant super talented engineer/founder/whatever from their home locale. But here we are just the norm.

In truth it’s only the last few years that it feels like I’ve even reached the start line for the big career marathon. After running full tilt for years, I now get the same opportunities as a kid who just graduated from a recognizable american college.

Pencilsword: On a Plate describes the effect perfectly.

You don’t even notice how credentialism-based the tech world is until you do. It’s all about back room deals, access, and brands on your resume.

This can be manufactured with hard work, but for people with the right background it comes so easy they don’t even notice. You don’t have that background as an immigrant.

Yes. Like I wrote before, the Fire Under Ass is unreal and the people encouraging.

You say “Omg huge win I just …” and everyone goes “Wow nice! Why not more?”. Whereas in Europe the reaction is more tall poppy syndrome, blatant disbelief, or just bad vibes.

If we compare raw numbers: my savings now make more in annual interest than I made in freelancing revenue back in 2014. America is a great place to build your career.

The agglomeration effects are hard to grok from afar.

The level of talent and the amount of investment dollars sloshing around boggle the mind. In 2024 Silicon Valley alone had more startup investment than all of Europe combined.

All that investment activity shows up in a flexible job market, higher salaries, and fun work to do. It’s like a high multiplication factor on your efforts.

Plus it’s kinda cool how many globally recognized brands are just like “Oh yeah friend of mine works there”. Just your friendly neighborhood firm powering half the world’s something something.

Everyone always asks “Would you do it again?”

Hard to say. I now know too much about what it takes. This sort of thing, you gotta just go for it and not think too hard. Keep enough cash for a ticket back home and figure things out as they come.

Cheers,
~Swizec

PS: the nice thing is that after a few years Americans accept you as one of theirs. You don’t get that in most places.