今日问答：

我在大城市工作，但总是常年出差，所以我很难有知心的朋友圈。我很想回我的家乡发展，因为那里有很多我的好朋友。但现在的老板对我很好，我觉得以后发展也会不错。我不太确定该怎么办，是回家乡还是继续在这里发展？

Today' Topic：

I took a job in a big city, but am always on business trips, which makes it difficult to build a close circle of friends.  I want to go back to my hometown where I have many good friends.  However, my current boss is great to me, and I can see the bright future here.  I'm not sure what to do.  Should I return to my hometown or stay where I am and continue my current job?

职商专家回答：

Zhishang Career Expert Answer：

其实，纵观我的职业生涯，我在8-9个城市生活过，其中包括费城、洛杉矶、波士顿、台北、香港、上海和北京。在我的经历中，每个地方都有很友善的人以及志同道合、背景相似的人。就算你来自小地方，和大城市的人没什么关系，你也能够找到和你相似的人，并在任何你去的地方交到朋友。只要你花些气力结识他们就可以了。

Actually, over my career, I've lived in 8-9 cities, including Philadelphia, L.A., Boston, Taipei, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Beijing. In my experience, every place has good people and people with similar interests and backgrounds as you. Even if you're a small town person who doesn’t relate to big city people, you can find others like you and make new friends wherever you go. You just have to put the effort into meeting them.

我对你的建议是，作为年轻人，你是值得花这个时间投资自己的未来的。大城市的环境更加专业和成熟。此外，总的来说，大城市的经历和机遇会好很多。而且，在人生的这个阶段，你需要更有冒险精神，并乐于尝试新事物。

My advice to you as a younger person is that it's worth taking this time to invest in your future.  Bigger city situations are more professional and mature, and the quality of your experience and opportunities are better overall.  This is also the time in your life when you should be more adventurous and open to try new things.  

相信我，如今你打的基础越好，今后你追求成功事业和未来的能力就会越强。随着事业和生活的发展，你会知道手上拥有好的选项是多么的难得。在拥有更强的能力和更多成就后，你就能决定你是想在小城市还是大城市，甚至是国外工作和生活。

Trust me, the better foundation you build today, the better your ability to pursue a good career and future for yourself.  As your career and life develops, you learn the value of having good options to choose from.  With stronger capabilities and achievements, you can then decide later on if you want to live and work in a smaller or bigger city, or even overseas.  

从我的个人经验来看，你可能会为自己今后的决定感到惊讶。你最后可能会选择大城市。你在一个地方呆得越久，你就会对那个地方越熟悉。你认识了更多人，事情也变得容易起来。比如，我是美国人，我可以告诉你，我从没想过我会在中国生活25年，而且现在也还在这儿（并且爱上了这）！

And from personal experience, you’ll be surprised where you may end up.  It may even be in a bigger city.  The longer you stay somewhere, the more familiar you become with that place.  You get to know more people and things get easier for you.   For instance, I’m from the U.S.  I can tell you that I could have never predicted that I’d spend 25 years (and counting) living in China (and loving it)!

无论你何时回去看望家乡的朋友，他们一直都在。而且，有了现在的科技，要想和远方的朋友保持亲密比以前简单多了。因此，我希望你能在现在生活的地方待得久一点。在这里，你能学到很多，你有一个很好的老板，而且能看到一个光明的未来。现实就是，如果你现在回到家乡，你的选择就会少很多。在3-4年后，就算你想回到大城市，你还有足够的竞争力吗？我可以向你保证，那会难得多。

Your hometown friends will be there whenever you want to go back and see them.   And with technology today, it’s much easier to remain close to people who are far away than before.  So I encourage you to stay where you are a little longer, where you’re learning a lot, have a good boss, and see a bright future. The fact is, if you go back to your hometown now, you’ll have fewer options tomorrow.  In 3-4 years, will you even be competitive in a bigger city, even if you wanted to go back again?  I guarantee you, it’ll definitely be more difficult.