Yes, this is a companion thread for "Are you happy with the state/province/country you live in? (https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=36501)". This is coming from the perspective that yes, you generally like (or even perhaps love) the place where you are currently live in, but since no area is perfect, there are probably a few things you dislike. Maybe it's the traffic, it's the weather, it how close shopping is, whatever. Just remember, what you may dislike may be someone else's like.
As for me, yes, I have stated that I prefer living in North Dallas, Texas verses Sacramento, California, there are a few dislikes that I don't mind working around. These are:
- Property taxes! Because Texas does NOT have a state income tax, the property taxes for properties is much higher. At least the money stays local. Because the property values have gone up 50 percent in the past six years, they have been running against the 10 percent increase limit of the assessed value of your primary home per the homestead exemption (if you filed one). However, rental homes and apartments do not have a homestead exemption, so the increased is passed along in rent.
- Humid summers! I know that summers are a bit more humid in the south than they are in Sacramento (but not Houston Humid). That makes the heat a bit hotter, but at least I have a money pit called a swimming pool in my backyard.
- SNOW! Unless you live in the panhandle area of Texas, snow is a rarity in Texas. However, every year since the 2021 Texas Snowmageddon, there has been one-two days of snow which shuts down the DFW metropolis. Because of the rarity, there are no snowplows outside of DFW International and Dallas Love Field. All the cities can do is lay down some sand or dirt on the major roads and cross their fingers. However, I don't think this will occur again for the next few years as I now have a snow shovel and a bucket of ice melt (https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=36501) in my shed.
- Road Construction! I think the traffic cone is the unofficial flower of East Texas as there are multiple multi-year road expansion projects going on in the area. Thank goodness I avoid the I-635 freeway between US-75 and Interstate-30, although there are several Interstate-30 projects going on. Then, there is the US-75 expansion north of where I live.
- Eastbound I-635 to Northbound US-75 exit! A congestion point no matter what day it is or what hour of the day.
Bug season during early Spring in San Joaquin Valley sucks. At times it reminds me of the Everglades with how much bug splatter ends up on my windshield. Sugar ants try to invade everything until it gets hot enough for them to die.
When people think of bad things about NY, they think taxes. Median income versus taxes are above average, but still should be better. Still, it doesn't bug me that much given all there is to do here.
Probably what ticks me off the most is the New Yorker tendency to destroy natural beauty by bringing the City to it. Niagara Falls was an early version of this, which was eventually corrected with the state park. However, the central Adirondacks, around the unprotected numbered lakes (First, Second, Third, etc.) have essentially been destroyed, with people cramming a cabin on whatever 1/10 of an acre they can get their hands on.
A focus on accomodations or civilizing nature has invaded Letchworth, which is literally being trampled to death and then Thacher Park's abomination of a visitor center ruined a key part of the cliff view from the traditional overlook.
You find more and more people with no etiquette in the parks or on the trail, blasting bluetooth speakers or trampling off-trail or ignoring signs. The unique bacterial reef in Green Lakes is more and more endangered because of people's arrogance and entitlement, ignoring the signs that say to stay off of it to preserve it.
Like I said in my positive take on NY, the diversity of experiences are unmatched. It's just such a pity that classless visitors are destroying it when given the opportunity and when not prevented through enforcement.
The main thing I dislike about Pennsylvania is the weather can be rough at times. Too hot, too cold, too cloudy, too rainy, too snowy. Winter weather is the worst here. In addition, Philadelphia is full of the typical big city problems such as crime and urban decay.
Weather mostly. Also my vote not meaning anything kind of sucks.
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on September 14, 2025, 09:38:22 PMWeather mostly. Also my vote not meaning anything kind of sucks.
What, in MA? That makes what you wrote a very interesting statement.
Quote from: Rothman on September 14, 2025, 09:43:34 PMQuote from: Roadgeekteen on September 14, 2025, 09:38:22 PMWeather mostly. Also my vote not meaning anything kind of sucks.
What, in MA? That makes what you wrote a very interesting statement.
I generally do agree with politics in Massachusetts (not exclusivly) but as a politics nerd I guess it would be more cool to have some competitive races on the ballot.
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on September 14, 2025, 09:50:35 PMQuote from: Rothman on September 14, 2025, 09:43:34 PMQuote from: Roadgeekteen on September 14, 2025, 09:38:22 PMWeather mostly. Also my vote not meaning anything kind of sucks.
What, in MA? That makes what you wrote a very interesting statement.
I generally do agree with politics in Massachusetts (not exclusivly) but as a politics nerd I guess it would be more cool to have some competitive races on the ballot.
I do like the fact I moved from a blue district to a purple district, in which my vote then helped flip from a GOP representative (for very specific reasons other than party affiliation; if we're ever at a meet together, I'll tell you the whole story. Let's just say if I knew the same thing about a Dem rep, I'd vote against them, too). Anyway, in this case it was very satisfying.
Wonder if western MA is becoming more purple, though. Amherst certainly isn't the progressive liberal bastion it once was (Northampton's kept its vibe, though...). Springfield looks like Biff's Hill Valley, complete with the casino right in the middle of it.
So, stay in western MA. :D
Quote from: Rothman on September 14, 2025, 10:07:32 PMQuote from: Roadgeekteen on September 14, 2025, 09:50:35 PMQuote from: Rothman on September 14, 2025, 09:43:34 PMQuote from: Roadgeekteen on September 14, 2025, 09:38:22 PMWeather mostly. Also my vote not meaning anything kind of sucks.
What, in MA? That makes what you wrote a very interesting statement.
I generally do agree with politics in Massachusetts (not exclusivly) but as a politics nerd I guess it would be more cool to have some competitive races on the ballot.
I do like the fact I moved from a blue district to a purple district, in which my vote then helped flip from a GOP representative (for very specific reasons other than party affiliation; if we're ever at a meet together, I'll tell you the whole story. Let's just say if I knew the same thing about a Dem rep, I'd vote against them, too). Anyway, in this case it was very satisfying.
Wonder if western MA is becoming more purple, though. Amherst certainly isn't the progressive liberal bastion it once was (Northampton's kept its vibe, though...). Springfield looks like Biff's Hill Valley, complete with the casino right in the middle of it.
So, stay in western MA. :D
What? I never realized Amherst was moving right? It seemed very left when I was there (I graduated in May). The South Coast seems to be trending right though.
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on September 14, 2025, 10:10:00 PMQuote from: Rothman on September 14, 2025, 10:07:32 PMQuote from: Roadgeekteen on September 14, 2025, 09:50:35 PMQuote from: Rothman on September 14, 2025, 09:43:34 PMQuote from: Roadgeekteen on September 14, 2025, 09:38:22 PMWeather mostly. Also my vote not meaning anything kind of sucks.
What, in MA? That makes what you wrote a very interesting statement.
I generally do agree with politics in Massachusetts (not exclusivly) but as a politics nerd I guess it would be more cool to have some competitive races on the ballot.
I do like the fact I moved from a blue district to a purple district, in which my vote then helped flip from a GOP representative (for very specific reasons other than party affiliation; if we're ever at a meet together, I'll tell you the whole story. Let's just say if I knew the same thing about a Dem rep, I'd vote against them, too). Anyway, in this case it was very satisfying.
Wonder if western MA is becoming more purple, though. Amherst certainly isn't the progressive liberal bastion it once was (Northampton's kept its vibe, though...). Springfield looks like Biff's Hill Valley, complete with the casino right in the middle of it.
So, stay in western MA. :D
What? I never realized Amherst was moving right? It seemed very left when I was there (I graduated in May).
Pfft. You weren't there in the 1980s, youngin', before Romney forced UMass to increase its enrollment and before Amherst got rid of its Town Meeting. Your concept of "very left" is red-shifted. :D
I think you were also at UMass during the controversy surrounding the transphobia/LGBTQ bullying by certain staff at ARJHS...(2023 or so?)
I think the demise of the grand hippiedom of Amherst was when they tore down the Carriage Shops and put up that monstrosity of an office building. Judie's closing also was a sign of the times...Of course, some real Leftists would point out the closing of The Drake in the 1980s as the beginning of the end.
SAVE THE DRAKE! FOR WILLY FOR HUMANITY!
Quote from: Rothman on September 14, 2025, 10:11:36 PMQuote from: Roadgeekteen on September 14, 2025, 10:10:00 PMQuote from: Rothman on September 14, 2025, 10:07:32 PMQuote from: Roadgeekteen on September 14, 2025, 09:50:35 PMQuote from: Rothman on September 14, 2025, 09:43:34 PMQuote from: Roadgeekteen on September 14, 2025, 09:38:22 PMWeather mostly. Also my vote not meaning anything kind of sucks.
What, in MA? That makes what you wrote a very interesting statement.
I generally do agree with politics in Massachusetts (not exclusivly) but as a politics nerd I guess it would be more cool to have some competitive races on the ballot.
I do like the fact I moved from a blue district to a purple district, in which my vote then helped flip from a GOP representative (for very specific reasons other than party affiliation; if we're ever at a meet together, I'll tell you the whole story. Let's just say if I knew the same thing about a Dem rep, I'd vote against them, too). Anyway, in this case it was very satisfying.
Wonder if western MA is becoming more purple, though. Amherst certainly isn't the progressive liberal bastion it once was (Northampton's kept its vibe, though...). Springfield looks like Biff's Hill Valley, complete with the casino right in the middle of it.
So, stay in western MA. :D
What? I never realized Amherst was moving right? It seemed very left when I was there (I graduated in May).
Pfft. You weren't there in the 1980s, youngin', before Romney forced UMass to increase its enrollment and before Amherst got rid of its Town Meeting. Your concept of "very left" is red-shifted. :D
It's still 90-10 Democrat. Maybe it's less "leftist". IDK.
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on September 14, 2025, 10:15:23 PMQuote from: Rothman on September 14, 2025, 10:11:36 PMQuote from: Roadgeekteen on September 14, 2025, 10:10:00 PMQuote from: Rothman on September 14, 2025, 10:07:32 PMQuote from: Roadgeekteen on September 14, 2025, 09:50:35 PMQuote from: Rothman on September 14, 2025, 09:43:34 PMQuote from: Roadgeekteen on September 14, 2025, 09:38:22 PMWeather mostly. Also my vote not meaning anything kind of sucks.
What, in MA? That makes what you wrote a very interesting statement.
I generally do agree with politics in Massachusetts (not exclusivly) but as a politics nerd I guess it would be more cool to have some competitive races on the ballot.
I do like the fact I moved from a blue district to a purple district, in which my vote then helped flip from a GOP representative (for very specific reasons other than party affiliation; if we're ever at a meet together, I'll tell you the whole story. Let's just say if I knew the same thing about a Dem rep, I'd vote against them, too). Anyway, in this case it was very satisfying.
Wonder if western MA is becoming more purple, though. Amherst certainly isn't the progressive liberal bastion it once was (Northampton's kept its vibe, though...). Springfield looks like Biff's Hill Valley, complete with the casino right in the middle of it.
So, stay in western MA. :D
What? I never realized Amherst was moving right? It seemed very left when I was there (I graduated in May).
Pfft. You weren't there in the 1980s, youngin', before Romney forced UMass to increase its enrollment and before Amherst got rid of its Town Meeting. Your concept of "very left" is red-shifted. :D
It's still 90-10 Democrat. Maybe it's less "leftist". IDK.
Evidently not.
Heh. Come to think of it, you don't even know the UMass that had a Frat Row! :D
Quote from: Rothman on September 14, 2025, 10:16:41 PMQuote from: Roadgeekteen on September 14, 2025, 10:15:23 PMQuote from: Rothman on September 14, 2025, 10:11:36 PMQuote from: Roadgeekteen on September 14, 2025, 10:10:00 PMQuote from: Rothman on September 14, 2025, 10:07:32 PMQuote from: Roadgeekteen on September 14, 2025, 09:50:35 PMQuote from: Rothman on September 14, 2025, 09:43:34 PMQuote from: Roadgeekteen on September 14, 2025, 09:38:22 PMWeather mostly. Also my vote not meaning anything kind of sucks.
What, in MA? That makes what you wrote a very interesting statement.
I generally do agree with politics in Massachusetts (not exclusivly) but as a politics nerd I guess it would be more cool to have some competitive races on the ballot.
I do like the fact I moved from a blue district to a purple district, in which my vote then helped flip from a GOP representative (for very specific reasons other than party affiliation; if we're ever at a meet together, I'll tell you the whole story. Let's just say if I knew the same thing about a Dem rep, I'd vote against them, too). Anyway, in this case it was very satisfying.
Wonder if western MA is becoming more purple, though. Amherst certainly isn't the progressive liberal bastion it once was (Northampton's kept its vibe, though...). Springfield looks like Biff's Hill Valley, complete with the casino right in the middle of it.
So, stay in western MA. :D
What? I never realized Amherst was moving right? It seemed very left when I was there (I graduated in May).
Pfft. You weren't there in the 1980s, youngin', before Romney forced UMass to increase its enrollment and before Amherst got rid of its Town Meeting. Your concept of "very left" is red-shifted. :D
It's still 90-10 Democrat. Maybe it's less "leftist". IDK.
Evidently not.
Heh. Come to think of it, you don't even know the UMass that had a Frat Row! :D
I guess we didn't have a per say frat row, but we did have an area where the Frats were mostly concentrated in, in the area just south of campus.
Pretty telling, though, that the argument is basically "maybe it used to be even more blue".
Quote from: kphoger on September 14, 2025, 10:49:10 PMPretty telling, though, that the argument is basically "maybe it used to be even more blue".
I'm pretty sure Amherst is about as blue as it ever was.
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on September 14, 2025, 11:13:53 PMQuote from: kphoger on September 14, 2025, 10:49:10 PMPretty telling, though, that the argument is basically "maybe it used to be even more blue".
I'm pretty sure Amherst is about as blue as it ever was.
And you are absolutely wrong, as someone who has had many, many more years in the area than you.
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on September 14, 2025, 10:47:35 PMQuote from: Rothman on September 14, 2025, 10:16:41 PMQuote from: Roadgeekteen on September 14, 2025, 10:15:23 PMQuote from: Rothman on September 14, 2025, 10:11:36 PMQuote from: Roadgeekteen on September 14, 2025, 10:10:00 PMQuote from: Rothman on September 14, 2025, 10:07:32 PMQuote from: Roadgeekteen on September 14, 2025, 09:50:35 PMQuote from: Rothman on September 14, 2025, 09:43:34 PMQuote from: Roadgeekteen on September 14, 2025, 09:38:22 PMWeather mostly. Also my vote not meaning anything kind of sucks.
What, in MA? That makes what you wrote a very interesting statement.
I generally do agree with politics in Massachusetts (not exclusivly) but as a politics nerd I guess it would be more cool to have some competitive races on the ballot.
I do like the fact I moved from a blue district to a purple district, in which my vote then helped flip from a GOP representative (for very specific reasons other than party affiliation; if we're ever at a meet together, I'll tell you the whole story. Let's just say if I knew the same thing about a Dem rep, I'd vote against them, too). Anyway, in this case it was very satisfying.
Wonder if western MA is becoming more purple, though. Amherst certainly isn't the progressive liberal bastion it once was (Northampton's kept its vibe, though...). Springfield looks like Biff's Hill Valley, complete with the casino right in the middle of it.
So, stay in western MA. :D
What? I never realized Amherst was moving right? It seemed very left when I was there (I graduated in May).
Pfft. You weren't there in the 1980s, youngin', before Romney forced UMass to increase its enrollment and before Amherst got rid of its Town Meeting. Your concept of "very left" is red-shifted. :D
It's still 90-10 Democrat. Maybe it's less "leftist". IDK.
Evidently not.
Heh. Come to think of it, you don't even know the UMass that had a Frat Row! :D
I guess we didn't have a per say frat row, but we did have an area where the Frats were mostly concentrated in, in the area just south of campus.
The real Frat Row was demolished in 2006, all along North Pleasant St. There's a reason why there's this grassy area along it: https://maps.app.goo.gl/6Cd8EkSJvjX1Twj58
Then again, Southwest has always been Southwest. Ah, the days of elevator surfing are long gone...the risk of death probably had something to do with that...
Quote from: Rothman on September 14, 2025, 11:20:17 PMQuote from: Roadgeekteen on September 14, 2025, 11:13:53 PMQuote from: kphoger on September 14, 2025, 10:49:10 PMPretty telling, though, that the argument is basically "maybe it used to be even more blue".
I'm pretty sure Amherst is about as blue as it ever was.
And you are absolutely wrong, as someone who has had many, many more years in the area than you.
I mean, Bill Clinton got under 80% in Amherst in 1996 while Harris got almost 90%. Practically, it has never been more DEMOCRAT, not necessarily "left". It's because many moderate educated Republicans in the area now probably vote blue.
Quote from: Rothman on September 14, 2025, 11:23:08 PMQuote from: Roadgeekteen on September 14, 2025, 10:47:35 PMQuote from: Rothman on September 14, 2025, 10:16:41 PMQuote from: Roadgeekteen on September 14, 2025, 10:15:23 PMQuote from: Rothman on September 14, 2025, 10:11:36 PMQuote from: Roadgeekteen on September 14, 2025, 10:10:00 PMQuote from: Rothman on September 14, 2025, 10:07:32 PMQuote from: Roadgeekteen on September 14, 2025, 09:50:35 PMQuote from: Rothman on September 14, 2025, 09:43:34 PMQuote from: Roadgeekteen on September 14, 2025, 09:38:22 PMWeather mostly. Also my vote not meaning anything kind of sucks.
What, in MA? That makes what you wrote a very interesting statement.
I generally do agree with politics in Massachusetts (not exclusivly) but as a politics nerd I guess it would be more cool to have some competitive races on the ballot.
I do like the fact I moved from a blue district to a purple district, in which my vote then helped flip from a GOP representative (for very specific reasons other than party affiliation; if we're ever at a meet together, I'll tell you the whole story. Let's just say if I knew the same thing about a Dem rep, I'd vote against them, too). Anyway, in this case it was very satisfying.
Wonder if western MA is becoming more purple, though. Amherst certainly isn't the progressive liberal bastion it once was (Northampton's kept its vibe, though...). Springfield looks like Biff's Hill Valley, complete with the casino right in the middle of it.
So, stay in western MA. :D
What? I never realized Amherst was moving right? It seemed very left when I was there (I graduated in May).
Pfft. You weren't there in the 1980s, youngin', before Romney forced UMass to increase its enrollment and before Amherst got rid of its Town Meeting. Your concept of "very left" is red-shifted. :D
It's still 90-10 Democrat. Maybe it's less "leftist". IDK.
Evidently not.
Heh. Come to think of it, you don't even know the UMass that had a Frat Row! :D
I guess we didn't have a per say frat row, but we did have an area where the Frats were mostly concentrated in, in the area just south of campus.
The real Frat Row was demolished in 2006, all along North Pleasant St. There's a reason why there's this grassy area along it: https://maps.app.goo.gl/6Cd8EkSJvjX1Twj58
Then again, Southwest has always been Southwest. Ah, the days of elevator surfing are long gone...the risk of death probably had something to do with that...
The craziest thing I saw in Southwest was of my friends freshman year punching the ceiling in our dorm lobby and breaking it.
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on September 14, 2025, 11:24:21 PMQuote from: Rothman on September 14, 2025, 11:20:17 PMQuote from: Roadgeekteen on September 14, 2025, 11:13:53 PMQuote from: kphoger on September 14, 2025, 10:49:10 PMPretty telling, though, that the argument is basically "maybe it used to be even more blue".
I'm pretty sure Amherst is about as blue as it ever was.
And you are absolutely wrong, as someone who has had many, many more years in the area than you.
I mean, Bill Clinton got under 80% in Amherst in 1996 while Harris got almost 90%. Practically, it has never been more DEMOCRAT, not necessarily "left". It's because many moderate educated Republicans in the area now probably vote blue.
You're discounting the Nader votes... :D
But, I think we can agree that Amherst has shifted right, no matter which party is being voted for.
You don't have people living naked in trees any more in the area...
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on September 14, 2025, 11:25:32 PMQuote from: Rothman on September 14, 2025, 11:23:08 PMQuote from: Roadgeekteen on September 14, 2025, 10:47:35 PMQuote from: Rothman on September 14, 2025, 10:16:41 PMQuote from: Roadgeekteen on September 14, 2025, 10:15:23 PMQuote from: Rothman on September 14, 2025, 10:11:36 PMQuote from: Roadgeekteen on September 14, 2025, 10:10:00 PMQuote from: Rothman on September 14, 2025, 10:07:32 PMQuote from: Roadgeekteen on September 14, 2025, 09:50:35 PMQuote from: Rothman on September 14, 2025, 09:43:34 PMQuote from: Roadgeekteen on September 14, 2025, 09:38:22 PMWeather mostly. Also my vote not meaning anything kind of sucks.
What, in MA? That makes what you wrote a very interesting statement.
I generally do agree with politics in Massachusetts (not exclusivly) but as a politics nerd I guess it would be more cool to have some competitive races on the ballot.
I do like the fact I moved from a blue district to a purple district, in which my vote then helped flip from a GOP representative (for very specific reasons other than party affiliation; if we're ever at a meet together, I'll tell you the whole story. Let's just say if I knew the same thing about a Dem rep, I'd vote against them, too). Anyway, in this case it was very satisfying.
Wonder if western MA is becoming more purple, though. Amherst certainly isn't the progressive liberal bastion it once was (Northampton's kept its vibe, though...). Springfield looks like Biff's Hill Valley, complete with the casino right in the middle of it.
So, stay in western MA. :D
What? I never realized Amherst was moving right? It seemed very left when I was there (I graduated in May).
Pfft. You weren't there in the 1980s, youngin', before Romney forced UMass to increase its enrollment and before Amherst got rid of its Town Meeting. Your concept of "very left" is red-shifted. :D
It's still 90-10 Democrat. Maybe it's less "leftist". IDK.
Evidently not.
Heh. Come to think of it, you don't even know the UMass that had a Frat Row! :D
I guess we didn't have a per say frat row, but we did have an area where the Frats were mostly concentrated in, in the area just south of campus.
The real Frat Row was demolished in 2006, all along North Pleasant St. There's a reason why there's this grassy area along it: https://maps.app.goo.gl/6Cd8EkSJvjX1Twj58
Then again, Southwest has always been Southwest. Ah, the days of elevator surfing are long gone...the risk of death probably had something to do with that...
The craziest thing I saw in Southwest was of my friends freshman year punching the ceiling in our dorm lobby and breaking it.
<.<
If this is the craziest thing you saw in Southwest, Amherst has certainly become a lot tamer than the days of ZooMass. ;D
Quote from: Rothman on September 14, 2025, 11:27:42 PMQuote from: Roadgeekteen on September 14, 2025, 11:25:32 PMQuote from: Rothman on September 14, 2025, 11:23:08 PMQuote from: Roadgeekteen on September 14, 2025, 10:47:35 PMQuote from: Rothman on September 14, 2025, 10:16:41 PMQuote from: Roadgeekteen on September 14, 2025, 10:15:23 PMQuote from: Rothman on September 14, 2025, 10:11:36 PMQuote from: Roadgeekteen on September 14, 2025, 10:10:00 PMQuote from: Rothman on September 14, 2025, 10:07:32 PMQuote from: Roadgeekteen on September 14, 2025, 09:50:35 PMQuote from: Rothman on September 14, 2025, 09:43:34 PMQuote from: Roadgeekteen on September 14, 2025, 09:38:22 PMWeather mostly. Also my vote not meaning anything kind of sucks.
What, in MA? That makes what you wrote a very interesting statement.
I generally do agree with politics in Massachusetts (not exclusivly) but as a politics nerd I guess it would be more cool to have some competitive races on the ballot.
I do like the fact I moved from a blue district to a purple district, in which my vote then helped flip from a GOP representative (for very specific reasons other than party affiliation; if we're ever at a meet together, I'll tell you the whole story. Let's just say if I knew the same thing about a Dem rep, I'd vote against them, too). Anyway, in this case it was very satisfying.
Wonder if western MA is becoming more purple, though. Amherst certainly isn't the progressive liberal bastion it once was (Northampton's kept its vibe, though...). Springfield looks like Biff's Hill Valley, complete with the casino right in the middle of it.
So, stay in western MA. :D
What? I never realized Amherst was moving right? It seemed very left when I was there (I graduated in May).
Pfft. You weren't there in the 1980s, youngin', before Romney forced UMass to increase its enrollment and before Amherst got rid of its Town Meeting. Your concept of "very left" is red-shifted. :D
It's still 90-10 Democrat. Maybe it's less "leftist". IDK.
Evidently not.
Heh. Come to think of it, you don't even know the UMass that had a Frat Row! :D
I guess we didn't have a per say frat row, but we did have an area where the Frats were mostly concentrated in, in the area just south of campus.
The real Frat Row was demolished in 2006, all along North Pleasant St. There's a reason why there's this grassy area along it: https://maps.app.goo.gl/6Cd8EkSJvjX1Twj58
Then again, Southwest has always been Southwest. Ah, the days of elevator surfing are long gone...the risk of death probably had something to do with that...
The craziest thing I saw in Southwest was of my friends freshman year punching the ceiling in our dorm lobby and breaking it.
<.<
If this is the craziest thing you saw in Southwest, Amherst has certainly become a lot tamer than the days of ZooMass. ;D
UMass is certainly more tame than it used to be. There was also a girl who threw all of her roomates' stuff out of a high rise after her boyfriend cheated on her with her roommate.
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on September 14, 2025, 11:31:07 PMQuote from: Rothman on September 14, 2025, 11:27:42 PMQuote from: Roadgeekteen on September 14, 2025, 11:25:32 PMQuote from: Rothman on September 14, 2025, 11:23:08 PMQuote from: Roadgeekteen on September 14, 2025, 10:47:35 PMQuote from: Rothman on September 14, 2025, 10:16:41 PMQuote from: Roadgeekteen on September 14, 2025, 10:15:23 PMQuote from: Rothman on September 14, 2025, 10:11:36 PMQuote from: Roadgeekteen on September 14, 2025, 10:10:00 PMQuote from: Rothman on September 14, 2025, 10:07:32 PMQuote from: Roadgeekteen on September 14, 2025, 09:50:35 PMQuote from: Rothman on September 14, 2025, 09:43:34 PMQuote from: Roadgeekteen on September 14, 2025, 09:38:22 PMWeather mostly. Also my vote not meaning anything kind of sucks.
What, in MA? That makes what you wrote a very interesting statement.
I generally do agree with politics in Massachusetts (not exclusivly) but as a politics nerd I guess it would be more cool to have some competitive races on the ballot.
I do like the fact I moved from a blue district to a purple district, in which my vote then helped flip from a GOP representative (for very specific reasons other than party affiliation; if we're ever at a meet together, I'll tell you the whole story. Let's just say if I knew the same thing about a Dem rep, I'd vote against them, too). Anyway, in this case it was very satisfying.
Wonder if western MA is becoming more purple, though. Amherst certainly isn't the progressive liberal bastion it once was (Northampton's kept its vibe, though...). Springfield looks like Biff's Hill Valley, complete with the casino right in the middle of it.
So, stay in western MA. :D
What? I never realized Amherst was moving right? It seemed very left when I was there (I graduated in May).
Pfft. You weren't there in the 1980s, youngin', before Romney forced UMass to increase its enrollment and before Amherst got rid of its Town Meeting. Your concept of "very left" is red-shifted. :D
It's still 90-10 Democrat. Maybe it's less "leftist". IDK.
Evidently not.
Heh. Come to think of it, you don't even know the UMass that had a Frat Row! :D
I guess we didn't have a per say frat row, but we did have an area where the Frats were mostly concentrated in, in the area just south of campus.
The real Frat Row was demolished in 2006, all along North Pleasant St. There's a reason why there's this grassy area along it: https://maps.app.goo.gl/6Cd8EkSJvjX1Twj58
Then again, Southwest has always been Southwest. Ah, the days of elevator surfing are long gone...the risk of death probably had something to do with that...
The craziest thing I saw in Southwest was of my friends freshman year punching the ceiling in our dorm lobby and breaking it.
<.<
If this is the craziest thing you saw in Southwest, Amherst has certainly become a lot tamer than the days of ZooMass. ;D
UMass is certainly more tame than it used to be. There was also a girl who threw all of her roomates' stuff out of a high rise after her boyfriend cheated on her with her roommate.
Dude...this is common... :D
Quote from: Rothman on September 14, 2025, 11:31:51 PMQuote from: Roadgeekteen on September 14, 2025, 11:31:07 PMQuote from: Rothman on September 14, 2025, 11:27:42 PMQuote from: Roadgeekteen on September 14, 2025, 11:25:32 PMQuote from: Rothman on September 14, 2025, 11:23:08 PMQuote from: Roadgeekteen on September 14, 2025, 10:47:35 PMQuote from: Rothman on September 14, 2025, 10:16:41 PMQuote from: Roadgeekteen on September 14, 2025, 10:15:23 PMQuote from: Rothman on September 14, 2025, 10:11:36 PMQuote from: Roadgeekteen on September 14, 2025, 10:10:00 PMQuote from: Rothman on September 14, 2025, 10:07:32 PMQuote from: Roadgeekteen on September 14, 2025, 09:50:35 PMQuote from: Rothman on September 14, 2025, 09:43:34 PMQuote from: Roadgeekteen on September 14, 2025, 09:38:22 PMWeather mostly. Also my vote not meaning anything kind of sucks.
What, in MA? That makes what you wrote a very interesting statement.
I generally do agree with politics in Massachusetts (not exclusivly) but as a politics nerd I guess it would be more cool to have some competitive races on the ballot.
I do like the fact I moved from a blue district to a purple district, in which my vote then helped flip from a GOP representative (for very specific reasons other than party affiliation; if we're ever at a meet together, I'll tell you the whole story. Let's just say if I knew the same thing about a Dem rep, I'd vote against them, too). Anyway, in this case it was very satisfying.
Wonder if western MA is becoming more purple, though. Amherst certainly isn't the progressive liberal bastion it once was (Northampton's kept its vibe, though...). Springfield looks like Biff's Hill Valley, complete with the casino right in the middle of it.
So, stay in western MA. :D
What? I never realized Amherst was moving right? It seemed very left when I was there (I graduated in May).
Pfft. You weren't there in the 1980s, youngin', before Romney forced UMass to increase its enrollment and before Amherst got rid of its Town Meeting. Your concept of "very left" is red-shifted. :D
It's still 90-10 Democrat. Maybe it's less "leftist". IDK.
Evidently not.
Heh. Come to think of it, you don't even know the UMass that had a Frat Row! :D
I guess we didn't have a per say frat row, but we did have an area where the Frats were mostly concentrated in, in the area just south of campus.
The real Frat Row was demolished in 2006, all along North Pleasant St. There's a reason why there's this grassy area along it: https://maps.app.goo.gl/6Cd8EkSJvjX1Twj58
Then again, Southwest has always been Southwest. Ah, the days of elevator surfing are long gone...the risk of death probably had something to do with that...
The craziest thing I saw in Southwest was of my friends freshman year punching the ceiling in our dorm lobby and breaking it.
<.<
If this is the craziest thing you saw in Southwest, Amherst has certainly become a lot tamer than the days of ZooMass. ;D
UMass is certainly more tame than it used to be. There was also a girl who threw all of her roomates' stuff out of a high rise after her boyfriend cheated on her with her roommate.
Dude...this is common... :D
Somewhere a goat is very happy with the path of this thread.
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on September 14, 2025, 11:35:02 PMQuote from: Rothman on September 14, 2025, 11:31:51 PMQuote from: Roadgeekteen on September 14, 2025, 11:31:07 PMQuote from: Rothman on September 14, 2025, 11:27:42 PMQuote from: Roadgeekteen on September 14, 2025, 11:25:32 PMQuote from: Rothman on September 14, 2025, 11:23:08 PMQuote from: Roadgeekteen on September 14, 2025, 10:47:35 PMQuote from: Rothman on September 14, 2025, 10:16:41 PMQuote from: Roadgeekteen on September 14, 2025, 10:15:23 PMQuote from: Rothman on September 14, 2025, 10:11:36 PMQuote from: Roadgeekteen on September 14, 2025, 10:10:00 PMQuote from: Rothman on September 14, 2025, 10:07:32 PMQuote from: Roadgeekteen on September 14, 2025, 09:50:35 PMQuote from: Rothman on September 14, 2025, 09:43:34 PMQuote from: Roadgeekteen on September 14, 2025, 09:38:22 PMWeather mostly. Also my vote not meaning anything kind of sucks.
What, in MA? That makes what you wrote a very interesting statement.
I generally do agree with politics in Massachusetts (not exclusivly) but as a politics nerd I guess it would be more cool to have some competitive races on the ballot.
I do like the fact I moved from a blue district to a purple district, in which my vote then helped flip from a GOP representative (for very specific reasons other than party affiliation; if we're ever at a meet together, I'll tell you the whole story. Let's just say if I knew the same thing about a Dem rep, I'd vote against them, too). Anyway, in this case it was very satisfying.
Wonder if western MA is becoming more purple, though. Amherst certainly isn't the progressive liberal bastion it once was (Northampton's kept its vibe, though...). Springfield looks like Biff's Hill Valley, complete with the casino right in the middle of it.
So, stay in western MA. :D
What? I never realized Amherst was moving right? It seemed very left when I was there (I graduated in May).
Pfft. You weren't there in the 1980s, youngin', before Romney forced UMass to increase its enrollment and before Amherst got rid of its Town Meeting. Your concept of "very left" is red-shifted. :D
It's still 90-10 Democrat. Maybe it's less "leftist". IDK.
Evidently not.
Heh. Come to think of it, you don't even know the UMass that had a Frat Row! :D
I guess we didn't have a per say frat row, but we did have an area where the Frats were mostly concentrated in, in the area just south of campus.
The real Frat Row was demolished in 2006, all along North Pleasant St. There's a reason why there's this grassy area along it: https://maps.app.goo.gl/6Cd8EkSJvjX1Twj58
Then again, Southwest has always been Southwest. Ah, the days of elevator surfing are long gone...the risk of death probably had something to do with that...
The craziest thing I saw in Southwest was of my friends freshman year punching the ceiling in our dorm lobby and breaking it.
<.<
If this is the craziest thing you saw in Southwest, Amherst has certainly become a lot tamer than the days of ZooMass. ;D
UMass is certainly more tame than it used to be. There was also a girl who threw all of her roomates' stuff out of a high rise after her boyfriend cheated on her with her roommate.
Dude...this is common... :D
Somewhere a goat is very happy with the path of this thread.
Have to say I'm quite happy with the paths of the threads. Given other discussions I've seen out there on the Interwebs, AARoads, for once and as an exception, has been a breath of fresh air.
Quote from: Rothman on September 14, 2025, 11:37:12 PMQuote from: Max Rockatansky on September 14, 2025, 11:35:02 PMQuote from: Rothman on September 14, 2025, 11:31:51 PMQuote from: Roadgeekteen on September 14, 2025, 11:31:07 PMQuote from: Rothman on September 14, 2025, 11:27:42 PMQuote from: Roadgeekteen on September 14, 2025, 11:25:32 PMQuote from: Rothman on September 14, 2025, 11:23:08 PMQuote from: Roadgeekteen on September 14, 2025, 10:47:35 PMQuote from: Rothman on September 14, 2025, 10:16:41 PMQuote from: Roadgeekteen on September 14, 2025, 10:15:23 PMQuote from: Rothman on September 14, 2025, 10:11:36 PMQuote from: Roadgeekteen on September 14, 2025, 10:10:00 PMQuote from: Rothman on September 14, 2025, 10:07:32 PMQuote from: Roadgeekteen on September 14, 2025, 09:50:35 PMQuote from: Rothman on September 14, 2025, 09:43:34 PMQuote from: Roadgeekteen on September 14, 2025, 09:38:22 PMWeather mostly. Also my vote not meaning anything kind of sucks.
What, in MA? That makes what you wrote a very interesting statement.
I generally do agree with politics in Massachusetts (not exclusivly) but as a politics nerd I guess it would be more cool to have some competitive races on the ballot.
I do like the fact I moved from a blue district to a purple district, in which my vote then helped flip from a GOP representative (for very specific reasons other than party affiliation; if we're ever at a meet together, I'll tell you the whole story. Let's just say if I knew the same thing about a Dem rep, I'd vote against them, too). Anyway, in this case it was very satisfying.
Wonder if western MA is becoming more purple, though. Amherst certainly isn't the progressive liberal bastion it once was (Northampton's kept its vibe, though...). Springfield looks like Biff's Hill Valley, complete with the casino right in the middle of it.
So, stay in western MA. :D
What? I never realized Amherst was moving right? It seemed very left when I was there (I graduated in May).
Pfft. You weren't there in the 1980s, youngin', before Romney forced UMass to increase its enrollment and before Amherst got rid of its Town Meeting. Your concept of "very left" is red-shifted. :D
It's still 90-10 Democrat. Maybe it's less "leftist". IDK.
Evidently not.
Heh. Come to think of it, you don't even know the UMass that had a Frat Row! :D
I guess we didn't have a per say frat row, but we did have an area where the Frats were mostly concentrated in, in the area just south of campus.
The real Frat Row was demolished in 2006, all along North Pleasant St. There's a reason why there's this grassy area along it: https://maps.app.goo.gl/6Cd8EkSJvjX1Twj58
Then again, Southwest has always been Southwest. Ah, the days of elevator surfing are long gone...the risk of death probably had something to do with that...
The craziest thing I saw in Southwest was of my friends freshman year punching the ceiling in our dorm lobby and breaking it.
<.<
If this is the craziest thing you saw in Southwest, Amherst has certainly become a lot tamer than the days of ZooMass. ;D
UMass is certainly more tame than it used to be. There was also a girl who threw all of her roomates' stuff out of a high rise after her boyfriend cheated on her with her roommate.
Dude...this is common... :D
Somewhere a goat is very happy with the path of this thread.
Have to say I'm quite happy with the paths of the threads. Given other discussions I've seen out there on the Interwebs, AARoads, for once and as an exception, has been a breath of fresh air.
Hi, goat. Are you happy now?
Anyways, I will shit on Québec City now, since this is the goal of the thread. The cyclists here are so incredibly suicidal, everytime I go out they surprise me.
Bad things about living in Las Vegas:
- The summer heat, of course. This year wasn't as bad as last year, but...
- ...electricity is expensive (thanks, Berkshire Hathaway!), so if you want to afford your power bill in the summer you have to turn the thermostat up. I have to keep it set to 75°F because my office tends to run 5° hotter than whatever the thermostat is set to. I tried setting it to 80°F once and I hated my decision.
- I do sort of miss thunderstorms. (This is not the desert's fault, of course, but I was told there'd be monsoons. Where are the monsoons?!)
- The water in the Colorado River is so hard that I have to keep various forms of acid around to mitigate the calcium buildup. About once a month I have to soak my dishes in vinegar to get the calcium off.
- There is some sort of belief on the city's part that the primary cause of mosquitos is stagnant pools, so Code Enforcement appears to fly a drone around looking for pools with green water. Given that this is my first year owning a non-salt pool and I've having to learn how to keep the chemicals balanced, this has been incredibly anxiety inducing.
- Las Vegas is a notoriously transient city. Thus there isn't a lot of civic pride, which is probably why there's a lot of litter and graffiti. It is hard to make friends since so many people are just here "for the time being" and don't have any interest in putting down roots.
- Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department is worse than useless; they tend to ignore most sorts of reported crime in progress in lieu of promising to send an officer around to do a report later (who then never shows). They will, however, send SWAT to destroy your garage door if the person who lived there five years before you has a warrant out. They offer zero traffic enforcement, so there are lots of people driving around running red lights with no insurance and no license plates. Packages get stolen all the time (fortunately it seems like it's not bad where I live now, but when I lived off of Rainbow and Charleston we had stuff go missing all the time).
- There are not really any nearby cities. Once you get outside the LV Valley your options are...Pahrump, Boulder City, and Laughlin/Bullhead/Kingman, or else drive for a few hours to somewhere like St. George or Barstow. Even Beatty and Tonopah, in the next county over, are hours away. None of these cities are anywhere near the size of LV, so it's kind of hard to even scrounge up a reason to want to do a short-ish road trip after you've already run up the score on Travel Mapping. You may as well just stay home until you can put aside enough time for a multi-day trip to California or Utah.
- This is a me-specific problem and not a Las Vegas problem, but...judging from my kitchen and shower, my house was designed by someone no more than five feet tall who ordered takeout every day.
So this is what I'm getting out of the thread lately:
Quote from: LilianaUwU on September 14, 2025, 11:41:29 PMQuote from: Rothman on September 14, 2025, 11:37:12 PMQuote from: Max Rockatansky on September 14, 2025, 11:35:02 PMQuote from: Rothman on September 14, 2025, 11:31:51 PMQuote from: Roadgeekteen on September 14, 2025, 11:31:07 PMQuote from: Rothman on September 14, 2025, 11:27:42 PMQuote from: Roadgeekteen on September 14, 2025, 11:25:32 PMQuote from: Rothman on September 14, 2025, 11:23:08 PMQuote from: Roadgeekteen on September 14, 2025, 10:47:35 PMQuote from: Rothman on September 14, 2025, 10:16:41 PMQuote from: Roadgeekteen on September 14, 2025, 10:15:23 PMQuote from: Rothman on September 14, 2025, 10:11:36 PMQuote from: Roadgeekteen on September 14, 2025, 10:10:00 PMQuote from: Rothman on September 14, 2025, 10:07:32 PMQuote from: Roadgeekteen on September 14, 2025, 09:50:35 PMQuote from: Rothman on September 14, 2025, 09:43:34 PMQuote from: Roadgeekteen on September 14, 2025, 09:38:22 PM
Quote from: kphoger on September 15, 2025, 09:41:29 AMSo this is what I'm getting out of the thread lately:
Quote from: LilianaUwU on September 14, 2025, 11:41:29 PMQuote from: Rothman on September 14, 2025, 11:37:12 PMQuote from: Max Rockatansky on September 14, 2025, 11:35:02 PMQuote from: Rothman on September 14, 2025, 11:31:51 PMQuote from: Roadgeekteen on September 14, 2025, 11:31:07 PMQuote from: Rothman on September 14, 2025, 11:27:42 PMQuote from: Roadgeekteen on September 14, 2025, 11:25:32 PMQuote from: Rothman on September 14, 2025, 11:23:08 PMQuote from: Roadgeekteen on September 14, 2025, 10:47:35 PMQuote from: Rothman on September 14, 2025, 10:16:41 PMQuote from: Roadgeekteen on September 14, 2025, 10:15:23 PMQuote from: Rothman on September 14, 2025, 10:11:36 PMQuote from: Roadgeekteen on September 14, 2025, 10:10:00 PMQuote from: Rothman on September 14, 2025, 10:07:32 PMQuote from: Roadgeekteen on September 14, 2025, 09:50:35 PMQuote from: Rothman on September 14, 2025, 09:43:34 PMQuote from: Roadgeekteen on September 14, 2025, 09:38:22 PM
Yes
Denver area dislikes:
Cost of living
Traffic
"Crowdedness" of outdoor spaces near town
Strip mall architecture
Covid killed downtown
Homeless issues (although the mayor of Denver is trying at least...)
Wildfire smoke from time to time
Minneapolis:
-The provincialism. We have this annoying fixation on people who are "one of us" and news aggregators are full of random stories stretching MN ties to an event, like "this major newsworthy person lived in MN for five minutess" or "this newsworthy person had a second cousin's best friend who knew someone from Minnesota". People who move here have said it's virtually impossible to make new friends because no one wants to expand their circle beyond whoever they knew at the end of high school. What outsiders don't understand is that "Minnesota Nice" is not meant to be an endearing term.
-The rural/urban antagonism from outstate.
-Because summer lasts five minutes, every nice day is crowded wherever you go.
-Increased wildfire smoke issues.
Country — USA
It's so big, that a trip to some other part of the country takes at least a day or two of driving.
Other than a few cities, public transportation is inadequate, especially on the week-ends.
Widespread belief, even if unconscious or unspoken, that America is the only country that really matters.
The cost of healthcare, especially for anything beyond routine care.
State — Kansas
Cold winters, although I realize half the country is even colder.
The nearest coast is a full day's drive away.
City — Wichita
Mosquitoes are out during the few weeks of truly pleasant weather for being outside.
A few:
- Traffic. I think a key to living in the DC area is to know multiple routes to your destination, especially routes that don't use the highway, and to be prepared to change routes on the spur of the moment when something happens to mess up the traffic. But you still have to factor travel time, including traffic backups and long traffic lights. Put differently, it's about 11 miles to the golf course I play the most often. I allow 25 minutes to get there (and that's using the HO/T lanes, too). The District of Columbia is also making every effort to make driving more and more miserable (removing lanes, banning right on red, etc.).
- High subway fares. The fares vary by distance and time of day. At rush hour, it's $6.75 one-way from the stop nearest our house to downtown (plus $4.95 to park).
- Rude people. There is a difference between "New York rude," which to me generally manifests itself as impatience with stupidity or indecisiveness, and "DC rude," which is more of being rude just for the sake of it. There can be a mile of open space behind you on the road and the guy in the other lane will be desperate to get in front of you to exit, rather than just falling in behind. You'll be tailgated no matter what lane you're using on the highway. I've had people pass me in the bike lane, or over the double yellow line, even when I was already going over the speed limit. As to non-road issues, I think of people in our neighborhood who race to put out their recycling even on windy days so that it blows all over the place into everyone else's yard (but do the culprits ever clean it up? Of course not.).
- Related to "rude people," there is also this attitude that some people have of "this is how we do it where I came from, so all the rest of you are wrong." That comes from DC being the seat of the federal government and drawing residents from all over the country.
- Summertime heat and humidity, although this year wasn't nearly as bad as many other years (at least, August sure wasn't).
- Real estate taxes. While I appreciate our high property values, I don't like the way the real estate tax works. We get our assessed value in February, but you can't use that to determine the tax. The county board of supervisors establishes the budget for the year and then sets the real estate tax rate, usually sometime in May, based on how much money they decide they need.
- Personal property tax. It's due in a lump sum every year on October 5. For some reason, Fairfax County refuses to split it up into two installments, which some other Virginia counties do (and which Fairfax does for real estate tax). It doesn't sting me all that much right now because the highest car tax we owe is on my wife's 2015 Acura TLX and the amount is around $300, but if you have multiple newer cars the tax can hit you fairly hard. I've long thought that one reason everyone hates that tax so much is the lump-sum requirement.
- Single-party government in Fairfax County due to too many automatons who vote solely on party lines instead of qualifications.
Regarding the Albany area, the tourist traffic on I-87 is really annoying, especially during track season (which has gotten longer in the time I've lived here). And there's no Wegmans. I also miss Lake Ontario.
On the state level, I don't like how NY has the speed limit capped at 65. Every other state our size or larger has 70+, why don't we? The Thruway is a very long drive at 65. We're also the largest state still using (mostly) sequential exit numbers.
Quote from: TheHighwayMan3561 on September 15, 2025, 11:44:05 AMMinneapolis:
-The provincialism. We have this annoying fixation on people who are "one of us" and news aggregators are full of random stories stretching MN ties to an event, like "this major newsworthy person lived in MN for five minutess" or "this newsworthy person had a second cousin's best friend who knew someone from Minnesota". People who move here have said it's virtually impossible to make new friends because no one wants to expand their circle beyond whoever they knew at the end of high school. What outsiders don't understand is that "Minnesota Nice" is not meant to be an endearing term.
-The rural/urban antagonism from outstate.
-Because summer lasts five minutes, every nice day is crowded wherever you go.
-Increased wildfire smoke issues.
Agreed on all counts, though I would argue (especially as of recently) the weather tends to be fair enough for almost all summer activities from mid-April to late October.
Quote from: thspfc on September 15, 2025, 03:08:39 PMQuote from: TheHighwayMan3561 on September 15, 2025, 11:44:05 AMMinneapolis:
-The provincialism. We have this annoying fixation on people who are "one of us" and news aggregators are full of random stories stretching MN ties to an event, like "this major newsworthy person lived in MN for five minutess" or "this newsworthy person had a second cousin's best friend who knew someone from Minnesota". People who move here have said it's virtually impossible to make new friends because no one wants to expand their circle beyond whoever they knew at the end of high school. What outsiders don't understand is that "Minnesota Nice" is not meant to be an endearing term.
-The rural/urban antagonism from outstate.
-Because summer lasts five minutes, every nice day is crowded wherever you go.
-Increased wildfire smoke issues.
Agreed on all counts, though I would argue (especially as of recently) the weather tends to be fair enough for almost all summer activities from mid-April to late October.
As a native Minnesotan, I think Minnesota's weather is a bit overstated. I prefer Minneapolis' to Kansas City's for instance.
In the Lake Tahoe Basin in Douglas County, NV:
1. There's a lot of hypocrisy in moving to a high-tourism area and then complaining about how many tourists come here, but after 16 years of it, that's my #1 irritation. Weekend traffic in an area with a very limited road network (basically one road around the rim of the lake, most of it 2 lanes) makes me very hesitant to go anywhere on Saturday or Sunday. Fourth of July in particular, everybody in Northern California and Northern Nevada comes to have a noisy drunken party and who cares how that impacts the residents, they're paying money for hotels/vacation rentals and restaurants and they will enjoy themselves as they damn well please. I spend my own money to leave the area for several days to get away from that.
2. As you get older, snow becomes more of a hindrance. Mostly because it's difficult to maintain a regular outdoor exercise schedule in the winter. I do have an indoor exercise bike, but that's just too boring to do enough work on that to make any difference. I don't actually mind the shoveling and snowblowing as that gives me some outdoor exercise, but older people get hurt and have heart attacks doing that. This is why Florida is full of geezers.
3. Insurance coverage with a Nevada HMO ends at the state line for the most part. Services in South Lake Tahoe, CA, just a few miles away, are unavailable because they are out-of-network. I have to drive about 25 miles to Carson City for health care; if you have an appointment in the winter and the weather is bad you notice the inconvenience.
One thing that does NOT bother me is the local political persuasion. Our county always votes about 65% for the candidate of one of the major parties. I'm definitely in the other 35%. I think living here has made me more tolerant of political viewpoints that I don't subscribe to, and has made me realize that all the national political warfare doesn't really affect my life on a daily basis. I care about living in a nice, safe neighborhood, enjoying the recreational opportunities in a beautiful natural environment, keeping track of what businesses I patronize or might patronize are opening and closing, those are the things that matter every day. All that stuff that Fox News or CNN or somebody named Charlie Kirk talk about, I just tune it out.
Quote from: TheHighwayMan3561 on September 15, 2025, 11:44:05 AMWhat outsiders don't understand is that "Minnesota Nice" is not meant to be an endearing term.
It's also not true, in my experience. Maybe I was in MSP the wrong day, or maybe Burnsville (where I stayed the night) is just like that, but I found people there to be rude as hell.
Quote from: gonealookin on September 15, 2025, 06:10:25 PMIn the Lake Tahoe Basin in Douglas County, NV:
1. There's a lot of hypocrisy in moving to a high-tourism area and then complaining about how many tourists come here, but after 16 years of it, that's my #1 irritation. Weekend traffic in an area with a very limited road network (basically one road around the rim of the lake, most of it 2 lanes) makes me very hesitant to go anywhere on Saturday or Sunday.
From my experience, the casinos were a bit nicer in South Lake Tahoe than in North Lake Tahoe. The Lakeshore Inn was a nice place to play and stay, but permanently shut down due to Covid and has been torn down and is being replaced by Barton Health. Has that been completed?
Since we're whining about tourists... les Îles de la Madeleine have the same problem. The road infrastructure is built for the 12k or so people that live there year round but during summer those numbers balloon up to 75k or even 100k. It results in massive traffic jams and, due to the place being in the middle of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, leaves locals with empty shelves in grocery stores no matter how many trips the cargo ferry does to resupply.
Of course, this also applies to Québec City, but that has the benefit of being an actual city that's not in the middle of the ocean, so the problems aren't as major.
Quote from: ZLoth on September 15, 2025, 08:00:14 PMFrom my experience, the casinos were a bit nicer in South Lake Tahoe than in North Lake Tahoe. The Lakeshore Inn was a nice place to play and stay, but permanently shut down due to Covid and has been torn down and is being replaced by Barton Health. Has that been completed?
The site has been cleared and the Barton Hospital proposal is in the extensive process of environmental review (https://www.trpa.gov/major-projects/#barton). That will be lengthy, as there has been little all-new commercial development on that scale anywhere in the Tahoe Basin in recent decades. We wouldn't see a new hospital opening until the 2030s.
As to the casinos, the ones at Stateline have gotten various refurbishings in connection with re-brandings. The one formerly known as "Harvey's" is now a "Caesar's Republic" and is currently getting a lot of remodeling, likewise with the one that was originally the Sahara Tahoe, was most recently a Hard Rock Resort and is now a Golden Nugget.
Dislikes about living in Indiana:
1. Lake-effect snow (winter weather in general)
2. Two different time zones (scheduling doctor's appointments in Indy, living in La Porte)
For Massachusetts:
I like pretty much everything, but here are the exceptions I can think of:
- Transit doesn't cover the entire Greater Boston area. My area (Lowell/Lawrence/Haverhill) has very good transit, as does anything inside 128, but if I wanted to get to North Reading or Middleton (halfway in between), I have no options.
- Housing costs are too high, and for some reason, people aren't building more housing to offset this. I've even seen signs saying "minimal compliance" for a new law requiring denser housing near MBTA stops.
- The disparity in education between towns is too high.
- If you're not on a freeway, you won't be going quickly, with a select few exceptions.
- New Hampshire refuses to cooperate. The Lowell Line commuter rail doesn't go to Nashua or Manchester. No buses go from here to Manchester NH, either. There are some long-distance buses (e.g. Concord Coach Lines) that do so, but it would require backtracking to Boston.
- Official signs are in English only, even in majority non-English places (e.g. Lawrence). You can tell the majority language isn't English by the signs on businesses.
- Neighborhood walking shortcuts aren't really a thing; some other places allow walking between neighborhoods in ways that cars can't. There's also nothing saying you can walk on someone else's property just to pass through if you're not interacting with them in the way e.g. the UK has.
- Salem for Halloween is too overrated — the historical event itself has nothing to do with Halloween and lasted several months.
- We don't round to the nearest five cents yet. No state currently does this, but there's no federal law preventing it, so why not start?
- Our state is preventing the $1 bill from being phased out because the company that makes the paper is based here.
- I'm in favor of legal prostitution, as it would decrease rape. It's legal in New Zealand, some Australian states, and Washtenaw County MI has simply said they're not enforcing the law as long as it's consensual. Massachusetts hasn't legalized it yet.
- Similarly, no state has done it yet, but Massachusetts should allow their state police to arrest any ICE officer who arrests someone who is here legally.
Quote from: hotdogPi on September 16, 2025, 09:37:01 AMFor Massachusetts:
Official signs are in English only, even in majority non-English places (e.g. Lawrence). You can tell the majority language isn't English by the signs on businesses.
Isn't this totally normal everywhere?
Quote from: kphoger on September 16, 2025, 09:43:51 AMQuote from: hotdogPi on September 16, 2025, 09:37:01 AMFor Massachusetts:
Official signs are in English only, even in majority non-English places (e.g. Lawrence). You can tell the majority language isn't English by the signs on businesses.
Isn't this totally normal everywhere?
Everywhere in the US, sure. Everywhere in the world, certainly not.
Quote from: JayhawkCO on September 16, 2025, 10:14:08 AMEverywhere in the US, sure. Everywhere in the world, certainly not.
So, in other countries, official signage changes language from neighborhood to neighborhood? Interesting.
Quote from: kphoger on September 16, 2025, 10:16:24 AMQuote from: JayhawkCO on September 16, 2025, 10:14:08 AMEverywhere in the US, sure. Everywhere in the world, certainly not.
So, in other countries, official signage changes language from neighborhood to neighborhood? Interesting.
I've seen plenty of places with English signage only in places where tourists may be and then only the local language elsewhere, for instance.
Quote from: JayhawkCO on September 16, 2025, 10:18:08 AMI've seen plenty of places with English signage only in places where tourists may be and then only the local language elsewhere, for instance.
Ah, yes, signage for tourists. I've seen that too. But I considered that to be a separate matter from what |hotdogPi| called "the majority language".
Quote from: kphoger on September 16, 2025, 10:34:32 AMQuote from: JayhawkCO on September 16, 2025, 10:18:08 AMI've seen plenty of places with English signage only in places where tourists may be and then only the local language elsewhere, for instance.
Ah, yes, signage for tourists. I've seen that too. But I considered that to be a separate matter from what |hotdogPi| called "the majority language".
Another example would be in countries with almost not government issued, "official" signage. Any signs put up would be done by the locality and inherently in the local language. Obviously this is likely to be more regionally specific as opposed to neighborhood specific, which is the point you're making of course.
For Seattle, it's the constant cloudy/rainy days (and late fall/early winter is the absolute worst time for it!), high taxes (though not nearly as bad as when I lived in L.A.), and, of course, the traffic. And also, when the Nisqually earthquake of 2001 struck, that was another negative, mainly because I thought I had gotten away from it when I moved some 1,100 miles up I-5, but I apparently have not.
Quote from: Henry on September 16, 2025, 10:46:45 AMFor Seattle, it's the constant cloudy/rainy days (and late fall/early winter is the absolute worst time for it!)
When I lived there briefly, it didn't bother me as much as I thought it would. I kind of liked walking to work with a little drizzle. I also don't get affected by SAAD, so that helps. The short days in the winter were more of an issue than the cloud cover.
Quote from: JayhawkCO on September 16, 2025, 10:48:57 AMQuote from: Henry on September 16, 2025, 10:46:45 AMFor Seattle, it's the constant cloudy/rainy days (and late fall/early winter is the absolute worst time for it!)
When I lived there briefly, it didn't bother me as much as I thought it would. I kind of liked walking to work with a little drizzle. I also don't get affected by SAAD, so that helps. The short days in the winter were more of an issue than the cloud cover.
I put a 20-year limit on living at Tahoe, and it's been over 16 years now. I'm done with big cities so Seattle is out, as alluded to in my previous post I'll want to get away from the tourist crowd, but still keep a beautiful natural environment, and plan on reducing the snow (but that's obviously anywhere coming from Tahoe). I've scouted Bellingham and that's on the short list for my upcoming years of decrepitude.
Another negative of the Albany area I forgot to mention, though this one is fairly me-specific: the 225 mile drive each way I have to take to attend every family gathering. It takes what is, for most of the family, a relatively simple matter of doing something on a weekend and turns it into a roadtrip that requires me to take a day or two off work, and no matter how much I try to make said trips relaxing, I seem to always be extra tired the following week until I can have a low-key weekend to sleep in and "crash". In many ways, life would be much easier if I lived in Rochester or even Syracuse or Buffalo. Especially as once every month or two is about the limit between number of times I can take that 200 mile trip on the Thruway without it dragging too much. Even then, I generally find the driving to be most enjoyable when after one of the longer gaps (so, Thanksgiving and Easter, usually), even if I'm usually going stir-crazy from missing my parents at that point.
Quote from: kphoger on September 16, 2025, 10:34:32 AMQuote from: JayhawkCO on September 16, 2025, 10:18:08 AMI've seen plenty of places with English signage only in places where tourists may be and then only the local language elsewhere, for instance.
Ah, yes, signage for tourists. I've seen that too. But I considered that to be a separate matter from what |hotdogPi| called "the majority language".
Ontario posts bilingual signage in areas that have large amount of francophones. French may be an official language of Canada, but it isn't of Ontario (French is only an official provincial language in Québec and New Brunswick).
Quote from: vdeane on September 16, 2025, 01:00:04 PMAnother negative of the Albany area I forgot to mention, though this one is fairly me-specific: the 225 mile drive each way I have to take to attend every family gathering.
Something I have learned about traffic is that in many cases you have to manage it in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic instead of beat it.
I am pretty sure that I deal with much worse traffic concerns (I-81 and I-95) when going to visit my parents than you do, but I will never beat it by being strict and being unable to adjust on the fly. (And of course, paying up for the HOT lanes in Northern VA is always an option now for me too.)
Quote from: 74/171FAN on September 16, 2025, 01:50:27 PMQuote from: vdeane on September 16, 2025, 01:00:04 PMAnother negative of the Albany area I forgot to mention, though this one is fairly me-specific: the 225 mile drive each way I have to take to attend every family gathering.
Something I have learned about traffic is that in many cases you have to manage it in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic instead of beat it.
I am pretty sure that I deal with much worse traffic concerns (I-81 and I-95) when going to visit my parents than you do, but I will never beat it by being strict and being unable to adjust on the fly. (And of course, paying up for the HOT lanes in Northern VA is always an option now for me too.)
The Washington Post's now-retired second Dr. Gridlock columnist (Robert Thomson) wisely commented that on a trip of any distance up or down the East Coast, unless it's a weekend you're going to hit someone's rush hour and it's just a question of whose rush hour it is and how you manage that (e.g., adjusting the timing of your departure and stops, taking a different route, just sticking it out, etc.). Sooner or later you're going to encounter traffic somewhere.
Quote from: 1995hoo on September 16, 2025, 03:04:34 PMThe Washington Post's now-retired second Dr. Gridlock columnist (Robert Thomson) wisely commented that on a trip of any distance up or down the East Coast, unless it's a weekend you're going to hit someone's rush hour and it's just a question of whose rush hour it is and how you manage that (e.g., adjusting the timing of your departure and stops, taking a different route, just sticking it out, etc.). Sooner or later you're going to encounter traffic somewhere.
Even the Sunday after Thanksgiving is not much of an issue for me mainly because I spend the day roadgeeking (AKA more secondary routes in Northern VA) instead of trying to slog home quickly on the interstates.
Quote from: 1995hoo on September 16, 2025, 03:04:34 PMThe Washington Post's now-retired second Dr. Gridlock columnist (Robert Thomson) wisely commented that on a trip of any distance up or down the East Coast, unless it's a weekend you're going to hit someone's rush hour
... and on the weekends, you're going to hit
everyone's rush hour.
I'll posit my dislikes of both the Tulsa area and the Houston area:
Tulsa
- Once you get outside of town, there's literally not that much to do or sights to see. Sure, there are a lot of random hidden gems, but the Oklahoma countryside is literally just a grid of modestly hilly farmsteads. And if I'm a little honest, Tulsa can feel like that as well, only urban instead of rural.
- From what I understand schools and hospitals are not very good around here. Well, primary and secondary schools. I like my university.
- I wish we had a UFL/XFL football team.
- I like that the weather changes often to keep it interesting, but the extremes sometimes get annoying.
Houston
- Weather is absolutely atrocious. I don't like it. It's too hot and humid and for too long each year. It rains so much it floods. And when it isn't hot, it's usually either hurricane season or mosquito season. And even when none of those things are present, the nice days only last for a week usually before grosser weather takes over.
- Traffic and road construction are sometimes very annoying in Houston, but I guess they aren't bad compared to other major US cities.
- Houston is very far away from any interesting vacation destinations (except for maybe the beach, but would you want to swim in the brown chemical plant water in Galveston?). Also, its location makes it far away from many roadgeeking destinations in the US.
- Along those lines, the scenery is probaly the worst in the US. Road infrastructure, while impressive, is ugly, and new construction gets moldy and gross quickly due to the weather. And it's flatter than a pancake.
- Also along those aforementioned lines, there are no theme parks nearby, which is almost inexcusable for a city Houston's size. The closest things it has to a proper theme park are Pleasure Pier in Galveston and the Kemah Boardwalk.
- Walking infrastructure is almost completely nonexistent. To a lesser extent, this is also true of rail infrastructure in Houston.
Quote from: CoreySamson on September 16, 2025, 05:50:02 PM- Houston is very far away from any interesting vacation destinations (except for maybe the beach, but would you want to swim in the brown chemical plant water in Galveston?).
Seems to echo Charles Barkley's opinion.
Quote from: gonealookin on September 16, 2025, 07:22:20 PMQuote from: CoreySamson on September 16, 2025, 05:50:02 PM- Houston is very far away from any interesting vacation destinations (except for maybe the beach, but would you want to swim in the brown chemical plant water in Galveston?).
Seems to echo Charles Barkley's opinion.
:-D :-D :-D
Quote from: vdeane on September 16, 2025, 01:00:04 PMAnother negative of the Albany area I forgot to mention, though this one is fairly me-specific: the 225 mile drive each way I have to take to attend every family gathering. It takes what is, for most of the family, a relatively simple matter of doing something on a weekend and turns it into a roadtrip that requires me to take a day or two off work, and no matter how much I try to make said trips relaxing, I seem to always be extra tired the following week until I can have a low-key weekend to sleep in and "crash". In many ways, life would be much easier if I lived in Rochester or even Syracuse or Buffalo. Especially as once every month or two is about the limit between number of times I can take that 200 mile trip on the Thruway without it dragging too much. Even then, I generally find the driving to be most enjoyable when after one of the longer gaps (so, Thanksgiving and Easter, usually), even if I'm usually going stir-crazy from missing my parents at that point.
Could always put in for a transfer.
Quote from: 74/171FAN on September 16, 2025, 01:50:27 PMQuote from: vdeane on September 16, 2025, 01:00:04 PMAnother negative of the Albany area I forgot to mention, though this one is fairly me-specific: the 225 mile drive each way I have to take to attend every family gathering.
Something I have learned about traffic is that in many cases you have to manage it in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic instead of beat it.
I am pretty sure that I deal with much worse traffic concerns (I-81 and I-95) when going to visit my parents than you do, but I will never beat it by being strict and being unable to adjust on the fly. (And of course, paying up for the HOT lanes in Northern VA is always an option now for me too.)
In this case, I wasn't thinking of traffic (although I have gotten sick enough of it to avoid travel on Labor Day and the end of a July 4 long weekend, and also Memorial Day and the Sunday after Thanksgiving if I have time) per se, more just the length, boredom, and time of driving 202 miles of Thruway each way. If I sleep in, do my usual morning routine, pack, get something to eat, drive, grab dinner, unpack, and do my usual evening routine, that's a full day. So for a three day weekend, it's two days devoted to travel, and one devoted to a family gathering. If I want a day to relax or do something else, it needs to be a four day weekend (one reason why it's not about traffic per se - I've gotten in the habit of extending
all trips like this, though I might have to curtail that next year; this also lets me get laundry done without either jamming it in on one side or skipping a week). Plus the traffic is less than on the Northeast Corridor - the Thruway doesn't get congestion-related delays on I-90 between Rochester and Albany, but it can grind to a halt in the event of an incident, which is not uncommon on peak travel days.
Since it's a (close to) 3.5 hour drive each way, that does leave me tired afterwards. After an 8 hour drive from a daytrip or roadmeet, I try to have a day off afterwards to sleep in and "crash", but even that doesn't fully help, and I can't justify doing that after all family gatherings anyways. I did at least have success with only taking two hours off after the Maine trip (I think - we had a field trip at work that week, so the data is skewed), so I might experiment with that next year, at least for meets, but it would still add up too much to do for family gatherings. There's a reason why I try to avoid going on trips two weekends in a row - I find that I'm extremely tired and irritable the week after if I do.
Quote from: Rothman on September 16, 2025, 09:23:28 PMQuote from: vdeane on September 16, 2025, 01:00:04 PMAnother negative of the Albany area I forgot to mention, though this one is fairly me-specific: the 225 mile drive each way I have to take to attend every family gathering. It takes what is, for most of the family, a relatively simple matter of doing something on a weekend and turns it into a roadtrip that requires me to take a day or two off work, and no matter how much I try to make said trips relaxing, I seem to always be extra tired the following week until I can have a low-key weekend to sleep in and "crash". In many ways, life would be much easier if I lived in Rochester or even Syracuse or Buffalo. Especially as once every month or two is about the limit between number of times I can take that 200 mile trip on the Thruway without it dragging too much. Even then, I generally find the driving to be most enjoyable when after one of the longer gaps (so, Thanksgiving and Easter, usually), even if I'm usually going stir-crazy from missing my parents at that point.
Could always put in for a transfer.
I might have to keep an eye on the postings. Region 3 in particularly might be a good compromise between how centralness to driving different places and proximity to Rochester. I've also been thinking it might come down to a hardship transfer once my parents are at the point where they can't live independently anymore.
Quote from: 74/171FAN on September 16, 2025, 03:13:15 PMQuote from: 1995hoo on September 16, 2025, 03:04:34 PMThe Washington Post's now-retired second Dr. Gridlock columnist (Robert Thomson) wisely commented that on a trip of any distance up or down the East Coast, unless it's a weekend you're going to hit someone's rush hour and it's just a question of whose rush hour it is and how you manage that (e.g., adjusting the timing of your departure and stops, taking a different route, just sticking it out, etc.). Sooner or later you're going to encounter traffic somewhere.
Even the Sunday after Thanksgiving is not much of an issue for me mainly because I spend the day roadgeeking (AKA more secondary routes in Northern VA) instead of trying to slog home quickly on the interstates.
I haven't gone further than my mother's house in Fairfax for Thanksgiving since 2018. We used to go to Florida some years, but since my father died it doesn't feel right to leave my mom alone for Thanksgiving or Christmas.
Quote from: vdeane on September 16, 2025, 10:03:09 PMPlus the traffic is less than on the Northeast Corridor - the Thruway doesn't get congestion-related delays on I-90 between Rochester and Albany, but it can grind to a halt in the event of an incident, which is not uncommon on peak travel days.
We can't complain about traffic, I'll definitely give you that. However the long-term lane closures on the Thruway between exits 44 and 45 have been problematic on major travel days. Labor Day in particular was so bad that westbound was backed up almost to Exit 43 from the merge at Exit 44. And it does seem like more often than not there are slowdowns on the major post-holiday travel days, as it's busy enough that even minor incidents can slow traffic for miles, especially between Rochester and Syracuse. The Exit 42 merge westbound can also cause issues, as it's situated at the bottom of a significant grade which slows truck traffic. I recall last year on the Sunday after Thanksgiving which was also a Bills game day, there was an incident near Exit 41 and after it was cleared, the ensuing slowdown at Exit 42 persisted for hours.
Quote from: hotdogPi on September 16, 2025, 09:37:01 AMI'm in favor of legal prostitution, as it would decrease rape. It's legal in New Zealand, some Australian states, and Washtenaw County MI has simply said they're not enforcing the law as long as it's consensual. Massachusetts hasn't legalized it yet.
I am surprised you overlooked a rather large and well-known example for this list.
Quote from: vdeane on September 16, 2025, 10:03:09 PMIf I sleep in, do my usual morning routine, pack, get something to eat, drive, grab dinner, unpack, and do my usual evening routine, that's a full day.
You're doing it wrong, then, I see.
1. Don't sleep in. Duh.
2. Pack the night before. Seriously, I
never pack the day of.
3. Pack breakfast and/or lunch the night before too. Cereal bars, squeezable yogurt, sandwiches, string cheese, dried fruit, etc: all easy to pack in a sack or lunchbox.
Rednecks, the politics, draconian religion, racism, intolerance, terrible roads, low average intelligence and a ton of other things.
Quote from: bugo on Today at 10:10:01 AMterrible roads
See, I
knew you were from Oklahoma!