3 Months Inside Network School: Balaji’s Frontier Society

"Community for techno-optimists near Singapore"

I’ve spent 3 months at Network School so far — first in March, extended till end of April, and then again in August. Since I chose to go back, I’m basically a retainer user, and someone who’s seen it evolve over time. So expect lots of tiny details :)))

What even is Network School?

Network School is Balaji’s passion project. If you know him, you probably know about his book The Network State — where he talks about a decentralized, digital-first nation for like-minded people. NS is sort of a pilot for that.

He first did a 3-month cohort in Sept–Nov 2024 with ~200 people. After its success, he opened it again in March 2025. This time it’s more open-ended: apply, get selected, and come stay. Minimum stay is 1 month, but you can extend as much as you like. That said, the whole idea really only works when people stick around long-term, so the focus is usually on folks who want to stay more than just a month.

How I Discovered NS

This is actually my favorite question because it follows a funny pattern: on the 1st, mid-month, and end of every month at NS, there’s always the same few questions floating around — “How did you discover NS?” being one of them.

For me, I got to know about it through a friend/mentor. I was hunting for co-living communities where I could meet interesting people — builders, artists, entrepreneurs. That’s when NS popped up.

Honestly, it looked super crypto-heavy and kind of scammy at first (lol), since barely any info existed online. But I applied anyway. The form just asked a few questions about me and how long I’d stay. I picked 2 months. They got back the next day, I paid the $1500 membership, booked a flight to Singapore, and that was that.

NS itself isn’t in SG though — it’s a 45-min drive into Malaysia, in this place called Forest City. Which is a whole story on its own: Chinese developers built it for hundreds of thousands of residents, but it never took off, so now it’s at like 2% occupancy. Kinda ghost-town vibes. And yet, perfect for NS because the project brings the community with it.

Who Actually Comes to NS?

Short answer: Balaji’s Twitter fans. So yes, lots of crypto people.

Balaji, btw, if you don’t know, was CTO of Coinbase, made a ton of early Bitcoin calls that turned out right, and is held in godlike regard in the crypto world.

In March, out of ~150 people, around 100 were crypto folks. The rest were… let’s say “life explorers” (I was in this group haha).

Nationality-wise: about 15 Indians, lots of Chinese & Americans, then Europeans, Australians, SG folks, even folks from Kyrgyzstan.

Professionally:

• ~50% = people who wanted to build but hadn’t started yet

• ~25% = already building something

• ~25% = digital nomads/freelancers

By August though, the vibe shifted. Crypto folks dropped to ~30%. Out of ~180 people, 50 were Indians. Digital nomads/agency folks went up to ~40%. Confused-but-curious types were ~40%. Actual builders were maybe 20%.

So yeah — it’s changing.

A Day at NS

Your day looks however you want. Think: living in Bangalore or any other city, but instead of traffic, pollution, and chaos, you’ve got:

• clean air

• healthier food

• daily workouts

• high-agency people within 100 metres

If I had to sketch a “dream NS-ian” day:

• Wake up at 7, hit burn session at 8, then hotel buffet breakfast.

  Chat with whoever’s at the table — from China trade, tariffs to Indian politics to love life lol.

• 10am onwards → check Lu.ma (event listing platform). Options range from Balaji’s talks, guest sessions, hackathons, robotics workshops, to bachata, yoga, poker, chess. Some are team-led, some community-organized.

  

• Slot in your work hours at the co-working space (1km away) or NS Café (open till midnight).

• Wrap by 10pm with workshops, convos, and sunset dinners.

The Food (aka Bryan Johnson Diet)

In March, food was… bland af. By August they added sauces, so now it’s at least edible. Non-Indians loved it, Indians struggled.

Setup:

• Breakfast: hotel-style, standard. Veg options limited.

• Lunch (ready by 11:30am): fridge boxes — vegan, soy-free, beef, chicken. Comes with nutty pudding + banana yogurt (Bryan Johnson’s signature).

• Dinner (6–8pm): buffet on the terrace, sunset views.

Snacking wasn’t encouraged, but KK Mart (Malaysian supermarket chain) was everywhere. Indians figured out workarounds — dosa/maggi joints near coworking, Goldy’s, Vannakam on Grab.

Tbh food was a challenge. But I never felt bloated, had insane energy, and looked healthier than ever. So net positive.

The Gym

The gym is insane. I’m not a gym person, but NS gym made me go 55/60 days. Burn sessions with Sam (legend) were like Cult classes but more fun because you knew everyone there.

What worked for me:

1. Streaks — every session gave you an NFT + calendar mark. Missing felt painful.

2. Accountability — people actually noticed if you skipped.

3. Motivation — non-Indians are too fit, lol.

4. Sam — full of life, made workouts addictive.

For someone who used to never go, it was wild to suddenly see muscles. Massive confidence boost.

How Long Do People Stay?

Typical stays (what actually happens)
Most people come for the minimum — one month — to test the vibe. Practically speaking, though, one month is more “orientation” than real time to get value. The average ends up being closer to two months: first month to settle, second month to actually do work, connect, and see results. Some people do the move-in-test-move-out cycle repeatedly (month on, month off), others treat it like a retreat and stay 2–6 months. Then there’s the small-but-growing cohort of people who signed up to be long-termers — the ~100 folks who committed to 12+ months.

Why people sign up long-term?
There are clear incentives to staying 12+ months

• Deep relationships — friendships, collaboration, accountability that just don’t exist after a single month.

• Cost/comfort math — long-termers get better housing (4BHKs shared between two people) for the same $1500 price point that short-stayers pay for a hotel dorm room, so per-privacy and per-comfort value goes up.

• Exclusive access — weekly lunches with Balaji, special gym programmes, monthly trips, & more. These are the kind of small frictions that accumulate into real advantage.

• Economic upside — NS POINTS!!! (top secret, go to find out :P)

• Focus & identity — long-termers behaviorally “lock in”: they stop refreshing Lu.ma for FOMO and start doing the work. The social norms shift from sampling to building.

What Balaji and the team have tried to increase retention
They experimented a lot early on. A few highlights: offering jobs and internships to retain talent; matchmaking experiments (yes, actual matchmaking - they’re actively looking for a Seema Aunty btw); launching NS fellowships to raise quality; and rolling out long-term perks that are both pragmatic (housing upgrades, NS Points) and symbolic (green t-shirt, exclusive rituals). The referral program for long-termers is a genius growth loop — long-termers recruit long-termers (and get $1000), which improves cohesion and raises the bar of who decides to stay.

Why staying is still hard
It’s not all perfect. Real obstacles: isolation (Forest City is remote), cost ($1500+ is meaningful for many), visa/travel logistics, family/responsibility constraints, and the psychological hit of committing to an “island life.” Plus, the crypto/points angle is a barrier for non-crypto people who don’t get the upside. So the place works best for people who can trade mobility for focus and have the financial bandwidth or a comp plan that supports short-term location freedom.

So what did I learn at NS

Honestly, that’s a tough one. When April ended, I asked myself the same thing — and sure, I picked up small things here and there, but the bigger shift was mindset. Every time I come back from NS, I feel more confused (in a good way) because I realize just how big the world outside my little bubble actually is. There are so many opportunities waiting if you just look.

NS really feels like a frontier society. All the cool stuff lands there first — chess robots, people vibe-coding, founders chasing longevity, someone always cooking up wild experiments. And at the same time, everyone’s also talking about family and kids. It’s this mix of hyper-futuristic ambition and very human grounding.

For me, the biggest “learning” was that I felt like I belonged — properly belonged — for the first time in a long while. That alone made me happier and more motivated than ever. It pushed me to stop dragging baggage, to start making real decisions, to actually do the things I want in life. I left feeling excited about work, relationships, health, ambition — all of it.

So yeah, maybe I can’t put it into a neat bullet list. But if you can live anywhere in the world, why not live in a high-energy society like this and avoid brain rot? If you’re in New York or SF, sure, that’s different. Otherwise, NS honestly feels like the next best option.

Will I go back?

YES — but for longer this time.

Last time I had a full-time job, and it ate up a lot of my headspace. Cool ideas would pop up at NS, but I just didn’t have the time or mental energy to chase them properly. In March/April I barely managed, August was better, but still — I often felt like I wasn’t doing full justice to the place.

Next time, I’d love to go without a job. Before NS, the thought of being jobless scared me — I’d wonder what would make me get out of bed, what would give me purpose. But now I know places like NS exist, I feel like it’d be fine. You don’t get lost, you just plug into the energy around you. And that makes all the difference.

The Network I Built

Yes, 100%. I left with real friends across continents. People I can text to jam on ideas, play sports, or just chat.

From March/April: Jasmine (my roommate from Sweden), Elvira (my second roommate from Kyrgyzstan), Mivin (a very sporty and crazy positive Indian-Australian), Noah (Texas), Sam (my ++fav), Yash (the og core team), Kovid Waris, Sahil, Akshay, Dhairya, Leo, Lucas

From August: Kush (building On device AI), Raghav (the most excited and energetic person you’d meet), Deepanshi (a solid solid product designer), Anshika, Aishwarya, Pratham + his high-energy gang, Holly (NY, 20 yrs old, my roommate), Dawn (ex-McKinsey, my forever crush lol), and more.

It’s lovely to know I can learn from and lean on them anytime.

Final Thoughts

Know why you’re going. Otherwise it risks becoming just a summer camp. Go with intention, say yes to things, and let the place surprise you.

I’d fully recommend NS — but only if you know your why

Plugging in the video i made in March/April - glimpse on what you can expect

My Experience at Network School

ALSO - if new societies are being prototyped, wouldn’t you want to at least visit one once in your life? use my referral if you go haha, you get 25% off!

https://ns.com/aditi_tibarewal/invite