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Comment by withinboredom | Hacker News Reader

> orders of magnitude more demanding than selecting another operating system

Having switched from Apple to Microsoft Phone to Android and back to Apple ... I disagree. In that time, I've moved states and even countries. Moving is far less demanding than switching operating systems. Moving is pretty simple: you pack, move, then unpack; and you even get to keep all your stuff! Switching operating systems requires researching for similar apps, purchasing them again, potentially copying music/photo libraries using sketchy tools, hunting down tutorials for how to do things you don't know how to do, etc.

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I don’t agree: Specifically if you live somewhere with only a single food store, there’s a decent likelihood that you’re either heavily invested in the area (farming, forestry, …) or that you can’t afford to live anywhere else.

More generally, moving means leaving friends, forcing kids to change schools, and if moving far, learning new laws and customs. Not to mention that packing and moving all that stuff takes days and/or costs thousands of moneys. Extracting files from Google Drive and iCloud is a pain, but is it _that_ bad?

> More generally, moving means leaving friends, forcing kids to change schools, and if moving far, learning new laws and customs.

Moving the goalpost are we? Sure, if you keep moving it far enough, long enough, then yeah, you'll find a set of conditions where this is no longer true (such as having a family, friends, changing schools, etc).

> Extracting files from Google Drive and iCloud is a pain, but is it _that_ bad?

I take it you haven't done it. Put your money where your mouth is and just switch. It's that easy, right?

If you're moving far enough to have "access to other supermarkets" you by definition don't have access to the same school and friends anymore

> It's that easy, right?

I've used... six mobile operating systems in the last ten years. Some learnings:

1. There are cross-platform alternatives for file storage. Consider using them for important things. 2. For work things and organized volunteerism you'll use the tools of the company/organization anyway. 3. Backups help when migrating. You need backups anyway, so make use of them. 4. Only migrate things you actually care about. Screenshots from last year or that draft email to the electrician who installed your fridge? Let them burn

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