Why a California Utopia Backed by Billionaires Won’t Save You (And What Will)
Living on a tree-lined street near cafes and restaurants is a lovely idea. But it's no substitute for inner work.
Dear friends,
Welcome to another edition of Beyond Self Improvement! If you missed it, here’s last week’s article: The Curious Paradox of Yearning to Stand Out While Longing to Fit In.
Today's essay examines the harsh truths behind the glitzy $900 million "California Forever" utopian city plan, showing why such outward ideals of walkable perfection cannot substitute for the rigorous inner work required to find deep meaning and lasting happiness. If you’re new, consider subscribing below to join our growing community and get the next essay direct to your inbox:
In 2017, a mysterious land buyer began secretly acquiring parcels of land halfway between San Francisco and Sacramento, the state capitol, at inflated prices.
Little did locals know, this was the first phase of an ambitious $900 million project bankrolled by Silicon Valley's elite, a "who's who" including Mike Moritz, Laurene Powell Jobs, Marc Andreessen, and Reid Hoffman, who have a combined net worth of $23 billion.
Their vision?
To build "California Forever,” a new urban utopia promising affordable "middle-class homes in safe, walkable neighborhoods" with nearby jobs, amenities, green spaces, and public transit. The brainchild is Czech-born Jan Sramek, a London School of Economics graduate and former Goldman Sachs trader who touts his European upbringing as giving him the urban planning chops to pull this off.
On the surface, the renderings paint an idyllic picture—vibrant brownstone-like communities, tree-lined walkable neighborhoods, and people strolling and biking instead of being trapped in cars. Could a group of billionaires finally solve the California dream of affordable housing, environmental sustainability, and a high quality of life?
Urban planning experts like Zachary Lamb of UC Berkeley are skeptical: "The feasibility of realizing a vision like what we've seen in those renderings, to me, strikes me as quite low."
The Impossible Dream of Utopian Cities
The idea of creating the perfect community has been introduced previously. For decades, people have fled crowded, expensive cities for the idealized "quiet little town" with more space, nature, and a simpler life, as the famous 70s song "Baker Street" pined.
The 60s counterculture dreamed of utopian hippie communes to escape society's ills. One infamous example is the ill-fated Rajneesh Movement, which devolved into chaos and criminality despite its peaceful ideals.
Recently, people have tried shortcutting their way to private utopias, like when an entrepreneur bought land outside San Francisco for his tech friends to enjoy nature... after first killing all the mosquitos to make it more comfortable.
My journey took me to Boulder, Colorado, in my early 30s. I managed to "live the dream” by walking to my six-figure tech job, surrounded by nature, while climbing in the Rocky Mountains on the weekends. Yet, despite having it all, I was profoundly dissatisfied and disillusioned. As the U2 song goes, "We ate the food, we drank the wine/Everybody having a good time/Except you/You were talking about the end of the world.”
The Hard Truth About Utopias
The intricate dance of our inner landscape shapes our reactions and relationships with ourselves, others, and the world. It influences our choices, coloring our existence in subtle and profound ways. Amidst the allure of walkable neighborhoods and picturesque urban visions, we must remember this fundamental truth: Happiness is an inside job. Outer circumstances cannot fully address our inner struggles, no matter how idyllic.
While strolling down the street to pick up eggs is delightful, it won’t quell the existential dread of not knowing our life’s purpose. A safe bike lane for cycling is terrific, yet it won’t infuse our lives with the deep meaning we crave. Even a pedestrian-only street, while lovely, won’t end our inner struggles.
As Sramek himself admitted: "We have no plans to build any kind of utopia."
Creating an urban wonderland rivaling the best of Europe is highly complex and expensive, even for billionaires. Thinking you can blueprint the perfect community completely misses the core of why humans have struggled with profound existential dissatisfaction since the days of ancient philosophers.
The truth is that most of us operate from unhealed childhood wounds and unconscious conditioning that sabotage our ability to find inner peace and fulfillment. No matter how idealized our external circumstances are, we'll still wage the same inner war with ourselves that has plagued humanity for eons.
So What’s the Path Forward?
Rather than chase the mirage of an affordable romantic city, the path to true well-being lies in doing the rigorous inner work that spiritual masters have guided for thousands of years. Here’s what has been profoundly transformative for me:
Daily Meditation: Cultivate stillness and awareness.
Meditation Retreats: Sit with painful emotions for long periods.
Yoga: Unify mind, body, and spirit.
Men’s Groups: Share vulnerabilities and heal with others.
Breath Work: Calm the nervous system with conscious breathing.
Emotional Wisdom: Cultivate emotional awareness and resilience.
Therapy (like EMDR): Dissolve past traumas.
Workshops (like Deep Waters Experience): Heal core wounding.
Ancient Wisdom Traditions: Learn timeless insights and the laws that govern life.
Only when you wake up and heal your core wounds should you consider moving to a commune or any external utopia “to get away from it all.”
Where California Forever Falls Short
Don't get me wrong. Many aspects of the California Forever plan are favorable: walkable neighborhoods, access to nature, sustainable urban design, and community-oriented living. Who doesn’t want these?
The website boldly states: “We are proposing to build a dynamic new community with middle-class homes in safe, walkable neighborhoods, offering good-paying jobs…”
However, let’s put this in perspective: the typical couple would need to spend a staggering $860,000—equivalent to nine times their household income—to purchase a home anywhere in California. Will California Forever truly price homes at middle-class levels?
In an interview, Jan Sramek emphasized:
“California Forever is a place where your kids can walk to school, you can walk to a grocery store, or to a restaurant—ideally even to your workplace. It is designed to be environmentally friendly and sustainable, relying more on transit and less on cars, with a significantly smaller environmental footprint.”
But when he says “ideally even to your workplace,” it’s a subtle acknowledgment that, realistically, only a tiny percentage of residents will be able to walk to their jobs. And no amount of idyllic outdoor spaces can fully insulate people from the existential dread, lack of life purpose, and inner turmoil that plague so many of us.
The Likely Reality
While I doubt Sramek's ability to manifest a true urban utopia, the billionaire group will undoubtedly achieve wild financial success here, as in past business ventures. The project's early homebuyers also stand to gain from getting in early, similar to an IPO.
California Forever will likely be a lovely, upscale, planned community and pleasant place to live, at least in its early stages before growth and hype inevitably drive up costs and crowding. I may want to live there myself.
But luxury amenities, green spaces, quaint downtowns, and bike paths can only move the happiness needle so far. No Norman Rockwell-esque community, no matter how well-designed and well-intentioned, can spare us from doing the hard introspective work needed to resolve our core wounds and existential yearnings.
Remember this wisdom for anyone lured by California Forever's utopian vision: You can't outrun your unresolved past and unconscious patterns by changing your zip code and buying your way into an urban paradise.
Invest in your inner work first, then decide if an idyllic new community could enhance your life...or be a great place to keep living in “quiet desperation.”
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