tcp/ip life

"No scripts, no cue cards. It isn’t always Shakespeare, but it’s genuine. It’s a life. And this is mine."

– The Truman Show

Hello Ji,

I am Sarthak, and it’s another late night in my room with my life revolving around tech. My laptop is open, hip-hop playing low in the background. A half-finished chai sits next to the keyboard. The rest of the house is asleep—code running, tabs piling up, another idea in the works.

But here’s the twist—I’m not in Bangalore nor in SF. I’m in Vadodara, a city that barely makes it onto the startup maps. And yet, I’m working with global teams, getting paid in USD ($), and building products that people from all over the world use.

This isn’t a fluke. It’s by design. It’s the TCP/IP Visa in action.

While the traditional route for many Indian developers is an H1B Visa to Silicon Valley, there’s another way—earning globally without leaving your hometown. This is the story of how I made it happen.

The TCP/IP Visa -

If the H1B visa is the golden ticket to working in the US, the TCP/IP visa is the passport to earning globally from anywhere. No embassies, no paperwork—just WiFi and a dream. The idea is simple: instead of relocating physically, you relocate digitally. Instead of working for a single company abroad, you work across multiple projects, often on your own terms. Instead of waiting years for approvals, you start today.

This concept isn’t new. But for developers, designers, and builders in tier-2 and tier-3 cities, it’s a banger. I chose this path, and now, when I talk to peers outside this bubble—people my age but from different industries—I see the gap. No one in their final year of college is thinking about global travel. Meanwhile, I just came back from Bangkok.

The odds? Grim. In fiscal year 2025, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) received 470,342 eligible H-1B registrations, but only 120,603 were selected—a mere 25.6% acceptance rate. Three out of four applicants were left behind. The visa lottery doesn’t reward merit, just luck.

Meanwhile, remote work is breaking barriers faster than any immigration policy ever could. As of 2024, 22.8% of U.S. employees work remotely at least part-time, totaling over 35 million people. Companies have realized something powerful: talent isn’t bound by geography anymore.

This is not a loophole; it’s the future. Unlike the H1B visa, which ties you to a single employer and a foreign land, the TCP/IP visa frees you to work with multiple companies, across industries, and on your own schedule. For someone like me—this changed everything.

The City -

Most people hear "Tier-2 City" and assume slow growth, limited opportunities, and a lack of network. But here’s the thing—Vadodara is built differently.

Vadodara, or Baroda as it was once called, has always been built to last. Forts and gateways surround the city, standing as reminders of the past. But what really makes it move is how connected everything is.

No big city can survive without a mass transit system, and Vadodara is no different. Ahmedabad? Just a quick drive away on National Expressway 1. NH 8 cuts right through the city, making sure it’s never too far from Mumbai or Delhi. The railway station? It never sleeps—trains coming and going, people moving in and out. Right next to it, the Central Bus Station, always buzzing. And if I need to get somewhere fast, the airport is right there, sending flights out to Mumbai, Delhi, and beyond. Everything flows. There’s no getting stuck, no feeling like you’re trapped. And trust me, in a country where traffic is almost a personality trait, that’s saying something. And because the whole city is connected by bridges, traffic is barely a thing here. No waiting, no endless jams—just smooth roads linking one place to another. Some cities are built for chaos, but Vadodara? It moves at its own pace.

It isn’t just a city, it’s a mix of everything—rivers, hills, old forts, and places where you can just chill or disappear into nature. You can touch grass, or go to a cafe, or anything.

And if the city gets too much? There are campsites just outside Vadodara where the night sky actually looks like something out of a wallpaper, not just a light-polluted blur. Game zones, weekend drives, chai breaks at roadside tapris—Vadodara’s got options. If I’m giving this much info, why not turn it into a proper guide for Vadodara? It’s not mandatory, but trust me, it’s worth a try!

Some people think small cities are slow, but the truth is, they just move differently.

Everyone here is searching for something—peace, success, or just a moment to breathe. Maybe that's our own version of kodawari (こだわり) [Japanese], the relentless pursuit of what matters, beyond what the world expects.

Vadodara isn’t a place you escape from. It’s a place you build from.

The Shift-

Most people living in tier-2 and tier-3 cities complain about not having a good peer group. But I see things differently. I’ve been around people at both ends—some who made it big, and some who gave up before even trying. I’ve seen friends let go of their dreams. Some didn’t know where to start. Some didn’t have access to the right resources. Some just let life take over.

I could’ve been one of them.

But here’s what I believe—the city doesn’t matter. What matters is your curiosity. And if even one person reads this and decides to get up and grind, the purpose of writing this blog is fulfilled - playing the Infinite Sum Games.

There were moments for me where things didn’t work out. Giving up would’ve been easier. But I had different plans. The goal was simple—”सर नीचे, काम ऊपर।” [Head down, work up.]— Just put your head down and let your work do the talking. That’s the only way things happen. Luckily, I met a few folks with the same mindset. People who don’t need external motivation because they’re already obsessed with what they’re doing. The kind of people who don’t just talk about ideas but execute them with a collective goal of building products from home and getting users worldwide. Operating at the top 1% level in India—all without leaving home.

But something was still missing. A workspace. A community.

And that is where a bunch of TCP/IP residents came together and opened Shipyard—a community-run space, just five minutes from my home. A place where people don’t just work, they build. Now, that’s where I work from.

But it wasn’t always like this.

Two Months Back, things were different. I worked from home. 16-hour days in front of a screen, grinding, debugging, figuring things out on my own. Burnouts happened. But that dream of doing something big—especially coming from a middle-class family—kept me going. In between all this, I built some cool stuff. Jumped into hackathons, won nearly 20 of them, paid my entire college fees, travelled to a bunch of places and saw friends around me winning too. The wins were great, but what made it even more satisfying was the process.

But working from home came with its own set of challenges.

Waking up in the afternoon only to be met with a scolding from mom had become a routine. My sleep schedule was completely messed up, and living in a dry state had its own classic struggles (you don’t even want to ask). People flex international travel. Bro, my timezone is international—working with folks across three different continents is no joke. But the biggest challenge? Finding a peer group that matched the same grind mindset. The kind of people who understood what it meant to obsess over a problem for hours, iterate over the smallest details, and push things live when the world was asleep. Luckily, Vadodara has a bunch of chad folks, and if you know, you know—the city name itself is enough.

But on a global scale, there are two kinds of people in Web3—those who only see numbers on a chart and those who see opportunities to contribute, earn, and grow. Superteam is full of the second kind. The ones who actually win in the long run.

Another reality of working from home—your schedule is not always in your control. There are other responsibilities, things that demand your attention, things that aren’t exactly planned but just happen. Balancing work and home isn’t always smooth, but you figure it out as you go.

Travel was another hurdle. For international flights, I had to take a road trip to Ahmedabad first, which is around 120 km away. And my health? Not in the best shape. Bad timezone habits, irregular meals, and long screen hours were catching up. Recently, I’ve been trying to fix that—hitting the gym in the evening since it’s just two minutes away, so no excuses anymore.

And then there’s getting paid. Currency conversion losses and Indian tax laws—just another part of the game, but knowing the system makes all the difference.

But the trade-offs were worth it.

Ghar ka khana, the kind of hospitality you only get at home, No overpriced rents eating up your paycheck and you getting to stay close to family. It’s hard to put a price on that. Late-night gedi with friends, drives with no destination — small things that hit different when you know what you’re working for. And if you ever need a reset, Vadodara has enough greenery to actually touch some grass. Fresh air, clean roads, and weather that doesn’t constantly try to kill you.

Some people have strict routines, but for me, it’s all about getting things done when the brain decides it’s time to work. Wake up at 7 AM, ask mom for breakfast, and hit the gym. Productive start to the day, right? Bruh, no. I literally wake up at 11. Then it’s work, calls, debugging, lunch (sometimes skipped, sometimes overdone), gym in the evening, and back to Shipyard. Some days end with chess, music, or just scrolling through camera reviews for that Sony Alpha IV that’s still on the wishlist. But don’t worry, I’m leveraging the lower cost of living to earn well and save more—so that dream setup isn’t too far away. :p

But beyond the daily grind, the biggest perk is having the time to build something of my own. In a world shifting towards the Internet Capital Market, where real value comes from owning what you create, this freedom is everything. No chasing short-term gigs, no middlemen eating into the upside—just me, my ideas, and the work that turns them into reality. It’s not always structured, and it’s definitely not easy, but that’s the trade-off. And honestly? It’s worth it.

The internet removes all borders. I get to contribute to organizations, work with some of the smartest people from different parts of the world, and still get recognized for the work I do. No matter where I am, my contributions speak for themselves.

Right now, I’m deep-diving into DeFi, researching, experimenting, and building something of my own. Can’t say much yet, but it’s coming soon and you aren’t ready for it yet! Meanwhile, I’ve worked on a bunch of side projects too—if you’re curious, check out my GitHub: Not-Sarthak.

Ahh enough of oversharing anon!

The journey has been good so far and I am telling you loudly and clearly right now:

TCP/IP residents don’t need visas—just WiFi and a dream.

This isn’t a zero-sum game. It never was. The real ones play for the long run—the infinite sum game. And if you’re still wondering whether it’s possible to make it from a tier-2 or tier-3 city, let me make it simple:

The internet doesn’t care where you’re from. It only cares about what you build.

See you on-chain. Feel free to reach out over here, if you’d like to connect.