I don’t think it’s a matter of reputation as much as a matter of socialization and network building. Humans are at their best when they’re interacting with other humans (generally speaking). If your actions based in EA motivations are hurting your personal relationships or your ability to socialize, either by constraining your living situation or by limiting your social interactions due to cost / time considerations, then they may be doing more harm than good. I think building a strong network of friends and colleagues is one of the highest-leverage things you can do, and shouldn’t be easily discounted for the sake of simply giving as much money as you can.
Similarly, while going overseas for vacation is expensive and bad for the environment, sometimes seeing another place or culture in real life can have a lot of altruism-related benefits.
I don’t mean this to disparage your particular life choices, but rather to say that a “typical” EA shouldn’t be expected to make the same choices, and it shouldn’t be implied that making those choices makes you more effective or more altruistic than somebody else who focuses more on network building and travel, for instance.
I don’t think it’s a matter of reputation as much as a matter of socialization and network building. Humans are at their best when they’re interacting with other humans (generally speaking). If your actions based in EA motivations are hurting your personal relationships or your ability to socialize, either by constraining your living situation or by limiting your social interactions due to cost / time considerations, then they may be doing more harm than good. I think building a strong network of friends and colleagues is one of the highest-leverage things you can do, and shouldn’t be easily discounted for the sake of simply giving as much money as you can.
Similarly, while going overseas for vacation is expensive and bad for the environment, sometimes seeing another place or culture in real life can have a lot of altruism-related benefits.
I don’t mean this to disparage your particular life choices, but rather to say that a “typical” EA shouldn’t be expected to make the same choices, and it shouldn’t be implied that making those choices makes you more effective or more altruistic than somebody else who focuses more on network building and travel, for instance.