USMB Coffee Shop IV

[Ringel05]

The wife just got a call from the job in El Paso....... they want her to come down for a panel interview at the hospital basically doing what she was doing here. Uummmmm, El Paso......... Ummmmmm.........

Is that good or bad?

Kind of an unknown, El Paso is undisguisedly desert country, it's only 3500 feet above sea level and the highest peak is around 7200 feet. El Paso has been listed as one of the safest cities to live in four years in a row. As for the interview it almost sounds like a technicality as they also want to give her a tour of the city and are offering to reimburse us for the trip to the interview. Yes, the cost of living (housing) is very low, the house we're in right now in Trinidad (cheap rent) would be about 20% less in El Paso so definitely more bang for the buck. With the extra income we could seriously enlarge our nest egg while living in a larger home with a pool.........
Kinda leaning in that direction.

 

[ChrisL]

The wife just got a call from the job in El Paso....... they want her to come down for a panel interview at the hospital basically doing what she was doing here. Uummmmm, El Paso......... Ummmmmm.........

Is that good or bad?

Kind of an unknown, El Paso is undisguisedly desert country, it's only 3500 feet above sea level and the highest peak is around 7200 feet. El Paso has been listed as one of the safest cities to live in four years in a row. As for the interview it almost sounds like a technicality as they also want to give her a tour of the city and are offering to reimburse us for the trip to the interview. Yes, the cost of living (housing) is very low, the house we're in right now in Trinidad (cheap rent) would be about 20% less in El Paso so definitely more bang for the buck. With the extra income we could seriously enlarge our nest egg while living in a larger home with a pool.........
Kinda leaning in that direction.

That sounds great. I hope it all works out for you.

Gosh, if you could see the prices here in Massachusetts. Even just to rent, it is outrageous. I pay $1200 a month and that is the going rate for just an apartment in my location. My townhouse is two floors with an attic but very small. I've been checking out prices on Craig's List down south, like Tennessee, and I cannot believe how cheap! It blows my mind!

 

[Ringel05]

The wife just got a call from the job in El Paso....... they want her to come down for a panel interview at the hospital basically doing what she was doing here. Uummmmm, El Paso......... Ummmmmm.........

Is that good or bad?

Kind of an unknown, El Paso is undisguisedly desert country, it's only 3500 feet above sea level and the highest peak is around 7200 feet. El Paso has been listed as one of the safest cities to live in four years in a row. As for the interview it almost sounds like a technicality as they also want to give her a tour of the city and are offering to reimburse us for the trip to the interview. Yes, the cost of living (housing) is very low, the house we're in right now in Trinidad (cheap rent) would be about 20% less in El Paso so definitely more bang for the buck. With the extra income we could seriously enlarge our nest egg while living in a larger home with a pool.........
Kinda leaning in that direction.

That sounds great. I hope it all works out for you.

Gosh, if you could see the prices here in Massachusetts. Even just to rent, it is outrageous. I pay $1200 a month and that is the going rate for just an apartment in my location. My townhouse is two floors with an attic but very small. I've been checking out prices on Craig's List down south, like Tennessee, and I cannot believe how cheap! It blows my mind!

I spent 35 years in Northern Virginia, Fairfax county, second wealthiest county in the nation, $1200 a month would have gotten you a bedroom in the "slums"........

 

[Foxfyre]

The wife just got a call from the job in El Paso....... they want her to come down for a panel interview at the hospital basically doing what she was doing here. Uummmmm, El Paso......... Ummmmmm.........

Is that good or bad?

Kind of an unknown, El Paso is undisguisedly desert country, it's only 3500 feet above sea level and the highest peak is around 7200 feet. El Paso has been listed as one of the safest cities to live in four years in a row. As for the interview it almost sounds like a technicality as they also want to give her a tour of the city and are offering to reimburse us for the trip to the interview. Yes, the cost of living (housing) is very low, the house we're in right now in Trinidad (cheap rent) would be about 20% less in El Paso so definitely more bang for the buck. With the extra income we could seriously enlarge our nest egg while living in a larger home with a pool.........
Kinda leaning in that direction.

El Paso does have a reputation for being a safe city which surprises me because the violent crime rate is higher than the national average last time I looked. Oddly enough property crime is well below the national average though.

Mild winters-- you will see a dusting of snow every few years, but virtually no severe weather--triple digit highs during most of the summer though. You'll be something over 100 miles from the nearest surface water except for the Rio Grande which isn't so grande and xeroscaping is the norm for residential properties. Some very nice day trips are available into New Mexico though. Lots of good restaurants but cuisine was very limited the last time we were there. Not much choice of music on the radio. Do have a responsible and trusted guide with you if you decide to venture into Cuidad Juarez or any other part of Mexico in that area though. It is NOT safe there.

Almost 80% Hispanic and English friendliness has decreased significantly in the past decade so knowing some Spanish is really advisable. Do some really serious research before deciding where to buy a house if that is the plan.

We've worked a lot in El Paso and it was once the church hub for our church denomination when Hombre and I were still active doing regional church work so we spent a lot of time there. I think El Paso is one of those places you either love or hate. Those who love it really love it. But I've never found anybody who lived there who really wanted to go back.

But what do you have to lose?

 

[Foxfyre]

Good night darlinks. I love you guys.

And we're still keeping vigil for

Harper (Save's granddaughter),
Sunshine,
Pogo’s friend Pat and special comfort for Pogo,
TK, and TK's grandma,
Sheila’s friend Shirley,
Spoonie, Ringel, 007, and Sheila's sore backs,
Sherry’s Mom,
Hombre,
Pix,
Becki and Becki’s hubby,
Sheila and son Andrew,
Noomi’s Auntie Marj and Nana,
Sheila's sore foot post surgery healing,
Complete healing for Mrs. Ringel and the Ringels in difficult transition,
Pogo's aunt,
Ollie and Mrs. O for a complete recovery,
GW's student/friend Sean, his injured brother, and their family,
Tresha and hubby,
All of us and those we care about who are looking for work,
Safe travels for those traveling,
All who are dealing with colds and flu,
And all others we love and hold in concern.

And the light is on awaiting the return of Oddball, Sunshine, Jughead, Sheila, and Becki and all the others who have been MIA lately. We hope everyone is okay.

 

[Ernie S.]

The wife just got a call from the job in El Paso....... they want her to come down for a panel interview at the hospital basically doing what she was doing here. Uummmmm, El Paso......... Ummmmmm.........

Is that good or bad?

Kind of an unknown, El Paso is undisguisedly desert country, it's only 3500 feet above sea level and the highest peak is around 7200 feet. El Paso has been listed as one of the safest cities to live in four years in a row. As for the interview it almost sounds like a technicality as they also want to give her a tour of the city and are offering to reimburse us for the trip to the interview. Yes, the cost of living (housing) is very low, the house we're in right now in Trinidad (cheap rent) would be about 20% less in El Paso so definitely more bang for the buck. With the extra income we could seriously enlarge our nest egg while living in a larger home with a pool.........
Kinda leaning in that direction.

That sounds great. I hope it all works out for you.

Gosh, if you could see the prices here in Massachusetts. Even just to rent, it is outrageous. I pay $1200 a month and that is the going rate for just an apartment in my location. My townhouse is two floors with an attic but very small. I've been checking out prices on Craig's List down south, like Tennessee, and I cannot believe how cheap! It blows my mind!

Here in South Alabama, you can buy a house with 3 or 4 acres and pay half of your current rent as a mortgage payment.
My house has nearly doubled in value in the 4 years I've owned it and I pay under $300/year in property taxes.
Of course, employment opportunities are not exactly Boston, but there are jobs and I believe the unemployment rate is comparable. (5.5% Mass. 5.8% Alabama)

 

[007]

BBD, looks like we got quite a blizzard headed our way now. They're saying 3-6 inches for my part of SW Wisconsin, but I see you're in a winter storm warning zone to the south of me. You could get dumped on pretty good. Better make sure you're stocked up on milk, bread and eggs!

EDIT: Just said on TV that the National Weather Service is predicting 8.8 INCHES of snow for Madison, WI. I'm not all that far away due west of Madison so, we'll probably get the same here. But look out down below where you're at. You're supposed to get hit harder than we do. Chicago could get a foot or more.

 

[peach174]

We have been getting rain since Thursday night and it has not stopped nor let up.
This is very unusual here.
Everybody here in our little neighborhood did not go to work yesterday, it's too muddy.
It's our version of a snow day (without the cold)

 

[saveliberty]

The snow starts late tonight and through Sunday afternoon. Probably stop just in time for me to shovel all through the Super Bowl.

 

[Big Black Dog]

While having my first cup of coffee this morning I saw on the news that we are supposed to get a bunch of snow. Then I read 007's message above. Maybe I will just go back to bed today and wake up tomorrow...

 

[Ringel05]

BBD, looks like we got quite a blizzard headed our way now. They're saying 3-6 inches for my part of SW Wisconsin, but I see you're in a winter storm warning zone to the south of me. You could get dumped on pretty good. Better make sure you're stocked up on milk, bread and eggs!

EDIT: Just said on TV that the National Weather Service is predicting 8.8 INCHES of snow for Madison, WI. I'm not all that far away due west of Madison so, we'll probably get the same here. But look out down below where you're at. You're supposed to get hit harder than we do. Chicago could get a foot or more.

It's supposed to be : Bread, milk and toilet paper........
You guys do use toilet paper up there, right? Not corncobs.......

 

[Ringel05]

The snow starts late tonight and through Sunday afternoon. Probably stop just in time for me to shovel all through the Super Bowl.

Don't forget to stock the outhouse with corncobs, and do it for BBD, he'll be asleep.

 

[Foxfyre]

Good morning all. Wet morning for us but no snow overnight--it was just too warm. Still a bit of snow on edges of unheated rooftops (garages) and patches on grassy or rocky areas of the ground but most of yesterday's snow has melted with light rain still falling here too. And with Peach reporting rain in her area still, it could continue here for some time. But we desert dwellers love the rain, and here in the city, we don't have to contend with mud.

But you guys up there in the heavy snow bands, I would stock up on TP, hot chocolate mix, and some stuff you can eat if you lose power.

 

[Ringel05]

Good morning all. Wet morning for us but no snow overnight--it was just too warm. Still a bit of snow on edges of unheated rooftops (garages) and patches on grassy or rocky areas of the ground but most of yesterday's snow has melted with light rain still falling here too. And with Peach reporting rain in her area still, it could continue here for some time. But we desert dwellers love the rain, and here in the city, we don't have to contend with mud.

But you guys up there in the heavy snow bands, I would stock up on TP, hot chocolate mix, and some stuff you can eat if you lose power.

We only picked up about an inch, they predicted up to 4 inches. It's melting rapidly now.

 

[007]

Where's Spoonman? He splits and stacks a lot of wood. Thought he might like this...

 

[alan1]

Fascinating! Your man cave sounds extremely interesting.

I'll probably be adding to my collection next weekend when I visit the Caskey Lees Tribal and Textile show in San Francisco Caskey Lees Antiques Fine Art Shows
I skip the textiles and drool over the tribal stuff.
Plus, I'll see my parents and their collection of tribal artifacts is over 400 items. I've already purchased a few things from my parents, but my dad won't let me take physical possesion of them until he dies.
Hehe, the only thing my dad let me take possesion of is a fantastic African Massai war shield and that was only because he wanted my Philippine Ifugao Igorot war shield that was unlike any Philippine shield he had ever seen, so we traded. It's funny, I snagged that Ifugao shield on an ebay auction for $500 not knowing how much it might actually be worth. I bought it because I liked it. The Massai shield my dad traded for it is appraised at about $4500. My dad had an appraisel done on the Ifugao shield and it was valued at $4,000 to $5,000. My dad originally bought the Massai shield for $500 about 20 years ago. The Massai shield was the first shield my dad ever bought and the Ifugao shield was the first shield I ever bought. That makes it a fair trade in more ways than one.

One more funny thing about the Ifugao shield. I actually bought it from a guy in the Philippines and when he sent it to me, the Philippines postal service lost it. Two months after I paid for it, we initiated a postal insurance claim for the lost shield. About 20 days after initiating the claim the Philippine postal service located it. It was on a cargo ship headed to the middle east, then to a few European countries, then to New York. It took over 5 months for me to get that shield after I paid for it when it only should have taken about a month to get it.

 

[007]

Good morning all. Wet morning for us but no snow overnight--it was just too warm. Still a bit of snow on edges of unheated rooftops (garages) and patches on grassy or rocky areas of the ground but most of yesterday's snow has melted with light rain still falling here too. And with Peach reporting rain in her area still, it could continue here for some time. But we desert dwellers love the rain, and here in the city, we don't have to contend with mud.

But you guys up there in the heavy snow bands, I would stock up on TP, hot chocolate mix, and some stuff you can eat if you lose power.

We only picked up about an inch, they predicted up to 4 inches. It's melting rapidly now.

They just changed us from Winter Storm Watch to Winter Storm Warning. Now they're saying we could get up to 9 inches of snow. Guess I'll find out how well that new John Deere pushes snow. Put the chains on it the other night. Have the Click-N-Go attachment with the weight bracket ordered. Won't do me much good tomorrow but, at least it'll be on the way in case I need it. I'm SURE it won't hurt. I can add up to six 43 pound iron suitcase weights to the bracket.

 

[ChrisL]

Fascinating! Your man cave sounds extremely interesting.

I'll probably be adding to my collection next weekend when I visit the Caskey Lees Tribal and Textile show in San Francisco Caskey Lees Antiques Fine Art Shows
I skip the textiles and drool over the tribal stuff.
Plus, I'll see my parents and their collection of tribal artifacts is over 400 items. I've already purchased a few things from my parents, but my dad won't let me take physical possesion of them until he dies.
Hehe, the only thing my dad let me take possesion of is a fantastic African Massai war shield and that was only because he wanted my Philippine Ifugao Igorot war shield that was unlike any Philippine shield he had ever seen, so we traded. It's funny, I snagged that Ifugao shield on an ebay auction for $500 not knowing how much it might actually be worth. I bought it because I liked it. The Massai shield my dad traded for it is appraised at about $4500. My dad had an appraisel done on the Ifugao shield and it was valued at $4,000 to $5,000. My dad originally bought the Massai shield for $500 about 20 years ago. The Massai shield was the first shield my dad ever bought and the Ifugao shield was the first shield I ever bought. That makes it a fair trade in more ways than one.

One more funny thing about the Ifugao shield. I actually bought it from a guy in the Philippines and when he sent it to me, the Philippines postal service lost it. Two months after I paid for it, we initiated a postal insurance claim for the lost shield. About 20 days after initiating the claim the Philippine postal service located it. It was on a cargo ship headed to the middle east, then to a few European countries, then to New York. It took over 5 months for me to get that shield after I paid for it when it only should have taken about a month to get it.

Very nice. I wonder how much it will be worth in another 20 years? Glad that you ended up getting and it didn't get lost forever.

 

[Ringel05]

Good morning all. Wet morning for us but no snow overnight--it was just too warm. Still a bit of snow on edges of unheated rooftops (garages) and patches on grassy or rocky areas of the ground but most of yesterday's snow has melted with light rain still falling here too. And with Peach reporting rain in her area still, it could continue here for some time. But we desert dwellers love the rain, and here in the city, we don't have to contend with mud.

But you guys up there in the heavy snow bands, I would stock up on TP, hot chocolate mix, and some stuff you can eat if you lose power.

We only picked up about an inch, they predicted up to 4 inches. It's melting rapidly now.

They just changed us from Winter Storm Watch to Winter Storm Warning. Now they're saying we could get up to 9 inches of snow. Guess I'll find out how well that new John Deere pushes snow. Put the chains on it the other night. Have the Click-N-Go attachment with the weight bracket ordered. Won't do me much good tomorrow but, at least it'll be on the way in case I need it. I'm SURE it won't hurt. I can add up to six 43 pound iron suitcase weights to the bracket.

I just hire some neighborhood kids......... I wish.......

 

[ChrisL]

Sorry, I'm a little out of it today, guys. I'm pretty sure I have the flu. I feel absolutely rotten and out of it. I'll be sick as a dog tomorrow for the Superbowl. Yay.