Bitcoin didn't fix anything: Another "Crypto Utopia" bites the dust....
Original post: https://x/[Fuck Elon Musk].com/jordanurbs/status/1933707720525586913
Jordan Urbs @jordanurbs
WHY I LEFT EL SALVADOR (long-form edition)
TLDR: The type of "development" happening in El Salvador isn't for me. I learned a lot, I'm grateful for the experience, but I've chosen to move on for reasons I'll explain in this post.
I would make the argument that much of what is happening in El Salvador (especially in the realm of fake beaches and middle class spending) is about an illusion of quality.
Very high prices for low quality results.
Maybe it's to be expected. Late stage capitalism, Latin America kind of thing.
(And there are obviously exceptions to my generalization, so take my perspective for what it's worth before you raise your pitchforks. This is a post about my personal experience and you don't have to agree.)
But in moving to ES, we weren't signing up to be surrounded by more fiat lifestyle. We thought we'd see "progress" and development happen in more... Proof-of-Work ways.
Or at least we thought we'd witness a transition in that direction.. obviously, societal transformations take time.
Even after visiting 3x before moving there in summer '24, there was HOPE in the air. It wasn't so obvious where things were headed, it felt like there was still time.
We wanted to contribute to the revolution. We felt alive.
And little did I know what moving into a brand new neighborhood in the suburbs of El Salvador would teach me about the country's actual trajectory.
Instead of there being a transition towards sound money principles, all signs pointed in the opposite direction:
High prices, poor quality.
Fiat.
Even before we moved there, when we were just visitors, it wasn't so obvious that this country's "development" would just mean more corporate strip malls... the same Super Selectos, the same fried chicken fast-food joints, the same Dollar City at every corner. High rises blocking views of the volcanoes or ocean.
The argument is "jobs, better for the economy, etc."
But it doesn't take much to see that the poor are struggling just as hard, if not more, as prices rise. (and it ain't cuz of gringos moving in that prices are rising)
In fact, as the development continues, it became very difficult to fathom how things turn out awesome for most people there.
All of this development is just more destruction of the natural beauty to make spending places for more consumers.
(and anyone trying to build with the natural beauty having to do so outside the watchful eye of bureacracy, from whence are delivered the construction permits.)
We rented a brand new ugly little box tract home in the burbs for an astounding $2400/mo. It cost the owners almost $400k.
Because the contractor cut corners, we had nothing but problems in that house for the first 6 months. Most did, in our neighborhood. Workers coming in and out of the house with muddy shoes to fix molding drywall and leaking pipes on the second story.
And our neighborhood wasn't the only one.
At least if you live on the beach, or anywhere else where prices are more reasonable and the house is older; at least then you know what you're getting into.
In these cases, there's no illusion of quality: WYSIWYG.
But living at the beach, or rurally, comes with other trade-offs. For example, if you want to live somewhere accessible to schools, a place to buy healthy food products, and have good home internet, well... you're pretty much limited to the [sub]urban areas.
In my experience from living in ES for a year, we Bitcoiners all shared a mission but had different reasons we came to live there. More exposure to IRL Bitcoin adoption, for example. More "non-fiat" lifestyle happening on a social scale since it was "Bitcoin Country." Living in the tropics and building a farm. Learning Spanish. Etc.
So where you live in ES plays a big role in your goals.
For us, we just wanted to build a simple life. Good school for the kids. A business. Beach on weekends.
To this end, we lived around the city--where the fiat development is in full swing--so the kids could go to a school with values we aligned with. (THIS was a huge blessing and we will forever be grateful for that school.)
Living in this place also helped me be close enough to be involved with the Bitcoin movement (ex-pat driven, obviously), even though the traffic eventually discouraged me from leaving my shell much.
But in living in that area, we learned that that there is a growing lifestyle of materialism that honestly felt much stronger to me than that of middle class USA where I'm from, the suburban America I grew up in. Maybe it's just my own bias. But I think this is an epidemic of fiat development.
And personally, I wasn't expecting it.
As someone who's tried so hard to avoid that lifestyle for so long, I had no idea I'd be diving headfirst into that when we signed the lease in that central American neighborhood.
So with all that in mind, after the IMF loan was approved, I was left examining my priorities in this life.
Do I double down or re-evaluate?
We thought we were joining the "rising tide lifts all boats" story. We thought Bitcoin would be a core part of the country's future at a State-level, which would trickle down economically, socially, whatever. We thought that all the people having "jobs" meant the poor were not going to get poorer.
In short, we bought into a marketing campaign.
I think the dream did exist at one point, and even thrived, for a while. It was an awesome feeling, riding that wave while I was there for it. Adopting Bitcoin 2024 for me encapsulated that experience. The energy of our BIES retreats captured that energy.
But with time, the whole narrative of what was happening in ES started feeling more & more like a façade that you weren't allowed to mention.
A veil felt lifted as big decisions were made and loud voices stayed silent. Lots of talk, not much walk. Cheerleaders at every corner acting like everything was dandy, that no one in a position of influence could ever be lying about what was going on; that everything was still peachy for the principled despite all outward appearances.
And I felt all but forced to self-censor, because every time one speaks anything remotely negative about their experience with El Salvador or how they view the administration's policies, the masses of X bring out the torches.
I ended up not posting at all on X anymore because I couldn't stomach trying to sell or even talk about ES after everything I'd been witnessing there.
"...is this really how I want to live?" I would ask myself at night.
Mad props to the hardcore bitcoiners in ES like @Myfirn that continue unphased; doing amazing work as grassroots movements, unsupported entirely and even fought by the government... the true mission-driven who aren't as bothered as I am by the development of corporate strip malls at every corner. Those who live for the mission.
YOU are the hope for the future. I believe in YOU and I still hope in years to come that I will be proven wrong about Bitcoin Country.
Same with you @MURP and those doing things like you in ES, doing God's work supporting local communities on the ground. This is the kind of energy that can transform a place in the non-fiat direction. I still believe in your mountain.
There are others, I'm not trying to exclude anyone, I just want to acknowledge that there is a lot of good happening in ES. It just wasn't compatible for me.
As for my reason for living there, I was trying to grow roots for my kids where I thought the future looked bright. I had no money to invest in a big (land) project, but lots of productivity to offer in a place that supposedly had a forward-thinking trajectory, trustworthy leadership, and a growing economy.
(and least of all, bitcoiner capital.)
But I left ES earlier this week feeling that this narrative had become a deception. There are non-profits doing amazing work, but the buck stops there.
Most bitcoiners (not all) still don't seem to be investing their coin in meaningful ways, many still hanging onto every sat out of fear of lack, or simply because the opportunity isn't there like they desire it to be--it's sad but it's true: the only impactful development happening in ES is the big money developers, the bankers, the financiers, the corporate strip malls popping up on every corner, rapidly homogenizing all aspects of life just as they did corporate America so many years ago... while making the poor of El Salvador even poorer.
Not to mention, it's still very inconvenient (not impossible) to live without a legacy bank account in ES.
Will it stop? I don't see how, but who knows. Maybe it will. It took a year for me to realize that it's so, so out of my control.
So that's the "Bitcoin Country" part of it. The story goes further for me, personally:
I want to live somewhere where I feel peace. I like nature. I like privacy. I want my kids to feel free to run, to explore without concrete walls blocking their path into the forest. I don't want my wife to have to stress out every week when she has to drive through latam traffic to 3+ "health" stores in different parts of town in order to get her celiac's food.
For the first 8 months living there, I convinced myself that it was all worth it, because "Bitcoin Country."
"But Jordan, you could just live somewhere else in ES."
Yeah, I could. But it's all trade-offs, like I mentioned: schools, food, utilities. (I'm a family man so I'm not even counting dating or nightlife, which is another factor for many.)
Unfortunately, in ES at this time, to achieve a good balance with as many of these boxes ticked as possible, there is but a small surface area available for one to make it happen.
Godspeed, if you can make it happen and stay peaceful. Especially with a family.
I couldn't.
My wife and I did our best, we stayed positive for as long as we could; but ultimately if a place doesn't contribute to a peaceful day-to-day existence and one can no longer reasonably hope for an aligned long-term future (I'm thinking of the ramifications of the IMF loan and the silent response by the cheerleaders).....
Well, one might finally start to think "hey, with all these things happening, maybe this isn't the place for us."
In my eyes, based on my overarching experience in ES, the fake beach is just symbolic of all that. A high asking price for continued low quality results. A story we're all telling ourselves because we want to have hope.
Sure, I'm biased. I probably belong in a jungle cave somewhere, away from civilization.
And hopefully I'm even wrong about this fake beach. Maybe it will be totally awesome, high quality, Singapore of central America, etc.
But either way, it's not for me. It's not what I'm after in this life.
So... Lesson learned.
It's on me now. Again. No State is going to save me, you, or the world. You gotta build your sovereignty on your own. Grow community, orange pill your neighborhood, learn to build & sell online, live abundantly and start providing value to others without concern of what you get in return.
It doesn't matter where you live.
...and if I've learned anything, it's that you DEFINITELY should not force yourself to do that in a place where you're uncomfortable or triggered by your day-to-day environment, just because you think the jurisdiction stands for what you believe in.
There are more important things in life than a potential future that may never come. Choose peace in the here & now.
So that's my story about living in El Salvador. There were some great times, I learned a LOT, I made some amazing friends and connections, and made giant strides in my life.
I have 0 regrets about living there. I imagine I'll be back to visit as a vacationing tourist.
But I don't desire to be present as the fake beaches and "Dubai-style" high rises start littering the countryside... I didn't know that's where it was headed when I moved there, and I'm blessed enough in this life to be able to decide that it's not for me.
Good luck to you all staying there, I'm rooting for you.