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Within a few months I will be relocating from NYC to the west coast, in California somewhere. I am concerned about the viability of trading in a timezone that's three hours off from my typical timeframe, but I am aware that there are many traders on the forum that trade from the west coast successfully.
Currently, I mainly trade /NQ and /ES, which both open at 9:30. These would open at 6:30 on the west coast, and realistically, I don’t think I can consistently wake up that early and make sound decisions. I expect that I will have to change my trading instrument; I don’t know exactly what I'll be trading yet, but I do want to stick with futures.
So I come to you all; this is an open discussion, please share any ideas or tips, or things that you think I might be overlooking, especially if you reside in the west coast. All suggestions are welcome and appreciated- I will add to this post as I think of more questions.
Much appreciated. This move has definitely been on my mind, and has been really distracting me from trading for quite some time now. I can't wait to return to my journal once things cool off. In the meanwhile though, you keep up the good work; don’t think I'm not watching
If you are trading for a living, then this is just an adjustment you need to make. It is a pretty simple transition in my opinion. There are no tips, just get up earlier. It's as simple as that. Your job just relocated.
I am up at 4:40 MT every trading day and am at my station by 06:30 MT so I can prepare for the trading day. The bonus of being on PT and MT is the free afternoon that you gain. So just schedule a power nap after cash close.
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- Trade what you see. Invest in what you believe -
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Well damn, if you put it like that, then I guess its the only way to go. I do recall some west coast traders trading other markets that are better suited to the my timeframe though, and I would much rather trade those if the difference is negligible.
Yep I live on the west coast and trade oil rth for an hour before my real job every morning. For the ES you would even get another 30 min of sleep or more depening on your prep time needed. I'm sure you will adjust just fine.
Hey X! Welcome to CA! We have great weather, lots to do, great food, high property values, high taxes, and lately...lots of earthquakes (in So. Cal anyway). .
Oh yeah, we also have the Pacific Time zone too, so that's nice for us traders. If we want to trade the open out here we need to get up early. I make sure that I wake up early enough (a little before 5 am) to give myself enough time to clear the cobwebs so I can start thinking clearly. I actually developed a routine that is geared toward getting myself thinking clearly and in a positive disposition. And completing my routine has become critical to my trading performance.
I have found that things get awful quickly when I am not fully there in the morning.
Also, it seems like plenty of traders skip the open. If you're not a morning person you can just skip it and wake up at a reasonable time and trade on your own terms. Welcome to CA!