This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Alexander Nguyen, a software engineer who moved from New York City to Seattle for a job at Amazon. It was his first job out of college, and he says it was the loneliest time of his life. Finally, after a three-month job search, things started looking up: I received a software-development-engineering job offer from Amazon in 2020. Back when I got the job at Amazon, all I was thinking about was my tech career and the $150,000 salary. Looking back now, I realize perhaps I should have looked a little bit harder for opportunities in New York before taking the first tech job that came my way.

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Persons: Alexander Nguyen, Boba Guys, —, Alexander Nguyen Nobody, it'd, I've, It's, I'm, it's, you've, Aria Yang Organizations: New York University, White Oaks, Amazon, Facebook, University District, NYU, CS, Netflix, Microsoft, Google Locations: New York City, Seattle, Greenwich Village, University, San Francisco, New York, ayang@insider.com