Episode Overview

Title: Chase the Sun: The Entrepreneur’s Blueprint for Where to Live
Host: Tai Lopez
Date: September 4, 2025
Episode #: 735

In this episode, Tai Lopez shares his personal blueprint for choosing the best places to live as an entrepreneur, guiding listeners through practical, psychological, and financial considerations for building a life across multiple locations. He challenges common ideas about travel, advocates for location rotation over traditional travel, and weighs the pros and cons of various cities around the world, especially for those seeking to optimize health, wealth, love, and happiness.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Philosophy of Rotating Locations vs. Traveling

• Quality of Life in U.S. Cities

  • Tai opens with a sharp critique of American cities for quality of life. He only considers San Diego a standout, noting most U.S. cities “suck you in and destroy your soul.” (00:01)
  • “The only good city in America is really San Diego.” (04:40)

• Rotation, Not Travel

  • Tai distinguishes between constant travel (which he finds exhausting and disruptive) and rotating among a few familiar homes.

    “Travel is like hotels… you gotta pack your stuff… you will burn out from traveling. Most people will burn out from traveling… My ideal travel schedule is zero.” (01:50)

  • He rotates between five residences: California, Utah, two farms, and Copenhagen—each equipped with essential personal belongings to minimize packing and maximize comfort.

• Advises Having Multiple Residences

  • Tai recommends every person, regardless of personality, should aim to have at least two homes to boost happiness and flexibility.

    “I think every human, even if you hate travel, you should have two homes.” (03:25)

  • Suggests high-dopamine, change-seeking people may need three locations for optimal satisfaction.

"Chase the Sun": Weather & Seasonal Strategy

• Chasing Sunlight
  • Tai shares a family tradition inspired by his German grandmother:

    “If I had any religion, I’d be like the Egyptians and I would worship the sun. Because without the sun, human life ends overnight, right? So I think you should chase the sun.” (08:50)

  • He has a deliberate plan to maintain access to sunlight all year:
    • Southern California for constant sun
    • Copenhagen for culture/contrast
    • Brazil for the southern hemisphere during U.S. winters (12:30)
  • "Danish people get depressed in November, December, January, February. It's pretty dark here. ...I only come for like three weeks and then I leave." (12:40)

Comparing Global Cities: Pros, Cons, and Cautions

U.S. Cities

• San Diego: Best weather, lots of sun, internet marketing roots, proximity to LA, friendly vibe (16:00)
• Miami: Tax benefits, pro-business, but odd culture, bad weather. “Miami is like a no state tax version of California. It's what California should be.” (18:30)
• New York:

  “New York's actually a boring place... If you’re an adult, what are you going to do in New York? …You're not going to make friends in New York, really.” (17:00)

• Vegas, Dallas: Criticizes for lacking culture or walkability; warns visitors about negative influences and health risks.

Dubai

• Regarded as "cultureless" and only useful for tax benefits or “ruthless greed stage.”

  “I think for tax benefits, Dubai can help you... But for social life… be careful, cultureless places… They suck you in and destroy your soul.” (25:40)

• Extremely safe but authoritarian:
  • "In Dubai… you have less chance that somebody on the street will steal your bicycle... but let me tell you the downside of authoritarian places." (29:50)
  • Warns about excessive penalties for minor offenses.
  • “Why you want to live, you want to play with fire?” (31:00)

Copenhagen & Denmark

• “Two in the morning, you go. If you’re a woman, you go walk home. This is the second safest city in the world now, I think.” (23:10)
• Advocates buying a small farm near the city for a blend of work, tranquility, and nature.

South America & Portugal

• Brazil: “Nicest people… Brazil is a great place to have a kid… My son is half Brazilian. Brazilians are like… even their parents never yelled.” (55:20)
• Portugal:
  • “Lowest mental illness countries in the world. What do you think it is? Brazil and Portugal.” (48:30)
  • Advocates for the happiness and ease of both places, referencing studies on mental health.

Security, Relationships, and Social Dynamics

• Economic Inequality & Safety

  • Explains the Gini Index and why countries with higher inequality (India, Brazil, South Africa) are riskier for wealthy individuals.

    “You got to be careful in all those Jenny Index fucked up places... How many rich guys have been kidnapped in Copenhagen in the last year? Just how many in Brazil? Why do you think all the billionaires have left Brazil?” (35:50)

• Dating and Social Markets

  • Cautions men with money to be aware of local dating cultures and “gold diggers.”

    “Charlie Munger says the most dangerous thing for a wealthy man is a pretty face… make sure it’s in the right country.” (41:00)

  • “Copenhagen—there’s no gold diggers here… For Americans, can’t fathom Danish girls themselves are not gold diggers.” (42:00)
  • On New York’s dating scene:

    “New York is ranked the worst dating city in America… when a good looking dude who has everything meets a bad market for dating, the bad dating market always wins.” (44:15)

• Health, Happiness, and the Amish

  • Shares his practice of spending time with the Amish for their community values and wellbeing.

    “The nicest people in the world is Amish. Then maybe Brazilians… Thai people… every time I go there in like five days, I'm happier.” (52:00)

Strategy: Quantifying Your Choices and Playing the Odds

• “Millionaires use words a lot. Billionaires are just numbers guys. They're quantifying everything. Quantifying every part of their life.” (66:00)
• Advocates a probability-focused mindset for locations, relationships, and business, referencing the limitations of intuition and emphasizing data over tone or surface impressions.
• On business:

  “Business is 60% skill, 30% luck, 10% pure randomness… I'm just the probability guy.” (62:40)

Raising Kids as a Global Citizen

• Argues strongly for giving children an international, rotational upbringing—combining exposure to multiple languages, cultures, and tutors.

  “I asked ChatGPT this question the other day... number one was moving to multiple countries, continually rotating and them having like private tutors... gave it like a 98 out of 100 that... regular school gets like a 70.” (77:00)

• Advocates for structured extracurricular routines to balance homeschooling’s social limitations:

  “Just every day have them in Brazilian jiu jitsu on Monday, football on Tuesday. You can just put them in clubs. Sports, that’s the best.” (79:00)

• Cites Aristotle mentoring Alexander the Great as a template for raising extraordinary children.

  "Aristotle was the mentor of Alexander the Great. Alexander the Great had a good life… His dad hired the smartest human on earth… and he traveled from age 14, personally teaching and training him." (80:00)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Travel is like hotels… you will burn out from traveling. My ideal travel schedule is zero.” (01:50)
• “If I had any religion, I’d be like the Egyptians and I would worship the sun… you should chase the sun.” (08:50)
• “Miami is slightly a strange place if you live there.” (18:45)
• “Cultureless cities… they suck you in and destroy your soul.” (25:40)
• “Dubai… the car just goes, I ain’t gonna fucking drive. Just turns off.” (47:30)
• “You’re not above the natural influence of the marketplace.” (50:30)
• “The nicest people in the world is Amish.” (52:00)
• “Billionaires are just numbers guys… quantifying every part of their life.” (66:00)
• “What does it profit a man to gain the world if he loses everything else?” (54:15)

Important Timestamps

• 00:01 – Opening critique of American cities
• 01:50 – Idea of rotation vs. traditional travel
• 08:50 – Tai’s ‘chase the sun’ philosophy
• 16:00 – Case for San Diego
• 18:45 – Miami’s pros and cons
• 25:40 – Dangers of “cultureless” cities (Dubai, Miami, Vegas)
• 29:50 – Safety vs. authoritarianism in Dubai
• 35:50 – Consequences of economic inequality: Gini Index
• 42:00 – Dating culture in Copenhagen vs. Dubai/New York
• 48:30 – Mental illness rates by country
• 52:00 – The Amish as case study in happiness
• 62:40 – Playing the odds: Probability-based decision making
• 66:00 – The ‘numbers guy’ mindset
• 77:00 – Rotating education for children
• 80:00 – Aristotle and global tutoring model

Tone

Tai is pragmatic, direct, and peppered with humor and provocative statements. The episode blends street-smart realism with deep statistical reasoning, aiming to challenge listeners to quantify their choices, pursue happiness, and structure their lives—and their children's lives—strategically across multiple geographies.