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Bedivere
Why Do Witches Burn?



Joined: 25 Jul 2008
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Bedivere
Why Do Witches Burn?
PostWed Nov 20, 2019 2:14 am 
Ski wrote:
The reality is that automobile manufacturers have lots of advertising money, and they hire more competent and effective marketing people than city governments could ever hope to have on their payrolls, and they will prevail when it comes to keeping the American public behind the wheel of a new car.
My reality is that even with traffic as horrible as it is, my car is still a far better option than the existing public transit infrastructure. I can leave right from my house and return right to my house without having to walk 10+ minutes to/from a bus stop only to wait for the bus to arrive and then sit on it along with smelly, weird, and often obnoxious people as the bus takes a ridiculously convoluted route with many stops to take me somewhere sort of near where I actually want to go in twice the time. Nope, instead I can take ten steps from my door, get in my car with no one but myself, listen to music or the news on the nice stereo I installed in it and get to where I'm going in half the time. I can also make stops or side-trips along the way if I need/want to. It's usually cheaper, too. No way a trip into downtown costs $3.00 in my car. I own 4 vehicles. The newest is a 2005. The auto makers aren't making anything off me. I don't drive my personal vehicle because of marketing, I do it because it's 1000% more convenient and pleasant than a bus even with the city planners doing their damnedest to convince me otherwise.

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RichP
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PostWed Nov 20, 2019 8:20 am 
OP, keep us informed on your fact finding tour. I left the Puget Sound area due to the high cost of living. I do miss it but there are other places to live with the things you are looking for which are important for many of us as well. No place will be perfect but it should be an improvement over "the armpit of Ga." I have a brother in Brantley County, Ga and he thinks it's heavenly. I often visited an aunt in Lyons as a child so am very familiar with Vidalia if that's where you live. The quote at the bottom of your post is so true. Best of luck with that.

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Waterman
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PostWed Nov 20, 2019 8:43 am 
PM sent

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,I took the one less traveled by. And that has made all the difference. Robert Frost
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Cyclopath
Faster than light



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Cyclopath
Faster than light
PostWed Nov 20, 2019 11:34 am 
Ski wrote:
MtnGoat wrote:
(They're trying to force people onto buses and trains because not enough of pesky little people will choose them on their own. )
^ This was one of the primary reasons I moved OUT of West Seattle and BACK to Tacoma
The horror, having to be around other people!! What if they want to TALK to you?

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Ski
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PostWed Nov 20, 2019 12:02 pm 
I talk to people all the time. Why would you assume that because I have NO use for mass-transit systems that somehow equates to my not wanting to interact with other people? And how does this benefit the OP, who's asking for advice about moving here?

"I shall wear white flannel trousers, and walk upon the beach. I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each."
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Schroder
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PostWed Nov 20, 2019 12:59 pm 
Interesting perspectives. I live further out in the sticks than I'm sure most of you that are anti-transit and I use it all the time. Going to Sea-tac or downtown Seattle I head for the nearest light rail station - currently UW but soon to be Northgate and have an easy, quick ride to my destination with no worries about parking. If I want to get to Paine field, I walk to the end of my street, hop on an Island bus and ride directly to the airport. I could also hop on a free bus to the ferry, walk on, and then walk a block to the Amtrack/Sounder terminal. Transit as it should be. Everything else, except to the mountains, I use my electric car.

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MtnGoat
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PostWed Nov 20, 2019 2:18 pm 
Ski wrote:
I talk to people all the time. Why would you assume that because I have NO use for mass-transit systems that somehow equates to my not wanting to interact with other people? And how does this benefit the OP, who's asking for advice about moving here?
It's all part of the ball of assumptions which result in his dismissal of what someone else prefers.

Diplomacy is the art of saying 'Nice doggie' until you can find a rock. - Will Rogers
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MtnGoat
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PostWed Nov 20, 2019 2:21 pm 
Schroder wrote:
I live further out in the sticks than I'm sure most of you that are anti-transit and I use it all the time.
I dispute that it's accurate to describe our arguments as anti transit per se. I am anti coerced transit, for example *intentionally* reducing road capacity.

Diplomacy is the art of saying 'Nice doggie' until you can find a rock. - Will Rogers
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Randito
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Randito
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PostWed Nov 20, 2019 4:58 pm 
MtnGoat wrote:
I am anti coerced transit, for example *intentionally* reducing road capacity.
You are making a big assumption about the motivations of the traffic engineering rational for "traffic calming" measures. As I understand the engineering goals of "traffic calming" have little to do with "forcing people on to transit" , more to do with reducing collisions, injuries and death.

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neek
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PostWed Nov 20, 2019 5:32 pm 
Vidalia wrote:
I can't think of a better group to ask for opinions
Well, I guess you're getting what you asked for wink.gif But after 15 years of hanging out here you probably knew what to expect. I do hope you follow up when the final decision is made!

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Brushwork
Food truck



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Brushwork
Food truck
PostThu Nov 21, 2019 12:14 am 
My only advise would be to rent before you buy.... I know someone who sold his Condo, moved to another country and bought a house. In a short while realized it wasn’t going to work. Sometimes you don’t know things till you actually live there...., Good luck in finding a location!

When I grow up I wanna play.
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treeswarper
Alleged Sockpuppet!



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treeswarper
Alleged Sockpuppet!
PostThu Nov 21, 2019 10:08 am 
This is quite odd. I've been labeled several times as being "brown" and I've always walked or biked to work when it was feasible. I just got back from biking to the clinic in 27 degree weather. Part of my reason to move back here was the convenience of having things within walking or biking distance and public transportation for when I got too old to drive. Wenatchee has the problem of being hemmed in by the hills. It's getting filled up with houses. There was an article on how the last orchard in town had finally sold out and was going to be turned into houses. I grew up there. It was a mixture of agriculture and neighborhoods. Even then there would be traffic problems at the bridge. As far as getting around in town goes, one of the alternate used by locals route has been blocked by a hotel. I've seen Wenatchee Ave change over and over. Right now it is a beast to back out of the diagonal parking. You can't see if any traffic is coming unless you have a tiny car parked next to you. I'm not sure that's an improvement from the old parallel parking system. I read an article where they now want another bridge across the Wenatchee River. Unfortunately, the plan would take out the bike path and part of Confluence Park.

What's especially fun about sock puppets is that you can make each one unique and individual, so that they each have special characters. And they don't have to be human––animals and aliens are great possibilities
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Anne Elk
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Anne Elk
BrontosaurusTheorist
PostThu Nov 21, 2019 4:34 pm 
I wouldn't put down permanent tent stakes anywhere (ie, home purchase) until I'd hung out in a place long enough to be sure I really wanted to live there. Years ago a co-worker bought a place in Arizona and moved there after she retired - it wasn't long (<2 yrs) before she was homesick for the PNW. You'll get as many opinions as there are posters here re the relative merits of geography, amenities, and all the other things you mentioned, but another consideration is your age and health. It gets harder to form a solid network of friends the older you get, hiking pals you might make thru NWH notwithstanding. Don't care? A real loner? OK. With no immediate family nearby, it's gonna get considerably tougher in 10 years or less if you need help with ... anything. Consequently, keep in mind distance to good medical care, and possibly even decent retirement communities. I've seen these considerations eventually become issues for a number of folks older than me.

"There are yahoos out there. It’s why we can’t have nice things." - Tom Mahood
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grannyhiker
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grannyhiker
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PostMon Nov 25, 2019 10:32 am 
Anne Elk is so right! You have to consider that old age is coming! I'm getting to the stage now where the issues she describes are serious concerns. There is also the issue of driving which Treeswarper mentions. I already find that driving long distances is too fatiguing, and my night vision has deteriorated so that I can no longer drive after dark. While 5 years ago driving from east of Portland to Seattle with the threat of snow was not an issue, today I'm seriously considering cancelling my Thanksgiving trip. And I expect that within the next 3-4 years, I'll probably have to give up driving. Public transit involves a 2-mile round trip hike from my home to/from the nearest bus stop, and I know that by that time this distance will be a limiting issue, especially with a load of groceries. With my nearest family located north of Seattle and in the SF Bay area, I can't expect help unless I hire people and pay through the nose. Yet moving to either place (especially California!) involves a big increase in my cost of living as well as disruption (packing up after 30 years in one place) with which I'm becoming less able to cope. For most of us, especially since we on this forum lead active lifestyles, these factors are not issues at age 65, or even 75, but now that I'm well into my 80s, they are beginning to loom large. Please don't make the same mistake I made 20 years ago and ignore them when making retirement pans!

May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view.--E.Abbey
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Vidalia
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PostMon Nov 25, 2019 12:37 pm 
Thanks, Montana is on my short list. I've suffered through Georgia steamy summers all my life and have enjoyed every snowy adventure and cold day spent in mountains or on trails. Rain is just water so that part doesn't phase me at this point.

The most difficult thing in life is making a decision to do something..... the rest is only mechanics!
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