This is really important! I think it definitely makes community building much, much harder when people leave. And I definitely have noticed the tendency to think that your community is worth building (vs. going to another place and doing community building there—which I think in many cases is probably more impactful and better for an individual’s career). n=2!
I do want to acknowledge (and I feel this is not really covered in your post) that it can be pretty emotionally difficult to accept—and I don’t think it’s just tribalism. I think it’s hard to accept that people like you in your city will probably (at least in the near future) just have a worse off experience finding EA than someone in a big hub or university. I feel this way about my own journey—I got lucky that there were a couple super EA people in my college, that I found them, and that we became good friends. These friends are a big reason I went to my first EAG, answered all my questions, sent me Forum posts, and got me involved in community building. But everyone won’t get such a supportive or smooth journey, and that makes me sad.
This is really important! I think it definitely makes community building much, much harder when people leave. And I definitely have noticed the tendency to think that your community is worth building (vs. going to another place and doing community building there—which I think in many cases is probably more impactful and better for an individual’s career). n=2!
I do want to acknowledge (and I feel this is not really covered in your post) that it can be pretty emotionally difficult to accept—and I don’t think it’s just tribalism. I think it’s hard to accept that people like you in your city will probably (at least in the near future) just have a worse off experience finding EA than someone in a big hub or university. I feel this way about my own journey—I got lucky that there were a couple super EA people in my college, that I found them, and that we became good friends. These friends are a big reason I went to my first EAG, answered all my questions, sent me Forum posts, and got me involved in community building. But everyone won’t get such a supportive or smooth journey, and that makes me sad.