Hey — Leo here.
Real estate didn't pan out, so I'm heading home.
It's tough.
My Mom calls me everyday asking me if I have a job yet.
"To live your life for somebody else" always ends in disaster. But she has merit.
Beats being broke.
If I could have it my way, I'd work for an entrepreneur or in a creative enterprise. I love collaborative settings.
My dream is to create great content.
I'd love to start a newsletter about cities for young, aspiring travelers.
So maybe that's what I'll do.
Here are today's links:
A Primer on Climate. Finding good information is hard. That's why I love Chamath's 149-slide deck on global energy transition. It's long, dense, and starts from first principles. Save for future reference. Download it here.
Harry's Marketing Examples. Learn copywriting, emails, and social media. The case studies are a delight. One of my favorites.
Order Without Design. Alain and Marie-Agnes Bertaud are nomads. They raised 3 children in Yemen, Port-au-Prince, Bangkok, NYC, and Paris. In the podcast, they share city comparisons, urban-planning advice, and historical facts. Here are my favorite three:
I am shocked. Dogs outnumber children in many cities. San Francisco: 150,000 dogs, 115,000 children. US: 76M dogs, 73M children. A friend says, dogs are: So easy. So sweet. No backtalk. In a world where... populations are declining, smart women are postponing children for careers, 2 of 3 single women in Japan don't want kids — what does this say about our priorities?
You're dining with 4 friends. Only 3 of you leave. The Black Death killed 40% of Europe in five years (1347-1352). The labor shortage killed feudalism. It wasn't until after the Renaissance that people started getting healthier. Not due to new medicines, but the emergence of cotton underwear. Unlike linen/wool, cotton absorbs moisture and is easy to wash. Goodbye, parasites.
Abe, a Japanese citizen, pays a 10% residential tax to the city he lives in. For him, that is Tokyo. But there's a rule that says, "If you send 3% of the 10% back to your hometown, then you get a tax rebate on where you currently live." But "hometown" is defined fuzzily, and it turns out you don't actually have to be born there. So smaller towns began sending gifts to people who gave 3% back to them. Sometimes they'd be extraordinarily expensive. They might spend up to 2% (of the 3%) to buy you plane tickets to come visit your "hometown". Now there's a whole system where people would choose particularly idyllic towns that they have little connection to, so they can get a free vacation.
And so much more. You'll learn about Yemeni toilets, Haussman boulevards, lot sizes in China, the fall of supersonic planes, and the 15-minute city.
Listen: Apple | Spotify | Transcript
That’s all from me!
Until the 30th.
Leo
...i think you can pull it off Leo...only 3.99 million cities to go...