Escape from CA Part 2 FS: 100% off gear!

Discussion in 'Closed (Archived) Sales' started by purr1n, Nov 29, 2020.

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  1. ufospls2

    ufospls2 Friend

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    Good luck with the move Marv, hope everything goes smoothly for you and your fam :)
     
  2. Elysian

    Elysian Friend

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    Congratulations and best of luck with your move Marv! Completely agree with everything in your assessment about living in California. I'm looking forward to hearing where you've decided to move with your family and how life is like compared to Socal.

    Now that we're all locked in our homes again, I wonder how different life would be like in one part of the country than another. You're selling at a great time. Somehow house prices in the Bay Area suburbs have gone up this year and I see most listings sell under two weeks.
     
  3. Cspirou

    Cspirou They call me Sparky

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    i've spent a significant amount of time in College Station and the Woodlands and I really can't stand either. First all culture revolves around the Aggies. Also the university doesn't really contribute to the community since 30% of the city lives under the poverty line. Bryan nearby isn't much better.

    Woodlands was a community that popped up due to white flight and it shows. It was my reference for a boring planned community until I moved to Irvine.
     
  4. Cspirou

    Cspirou They call me Sparky

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    If you really do like LA though, I think the closest in Texas is Houston. First thing that struck me about visiting LA was how similar it felt like Houston. Extremely diverse city which also has a significant Asian presence (important for me).

    Hot and humid weather is the worst though and you'll be trading in wildfires for hurricanes and flooding.
     
  5. crazychile

    crazychile Eastern Iowa's Spiciest Pepper

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    I left CA in 2003. I even lived in a relatively affordable area - Near Eureka in Humboldt Co. Home prices were reasonable by CA standards, but like Purr!n mentioned the extras that get tacked on to every day living were bad even then. Plus in Humboldt you didn't even get the benefit of cultural experiences. The culture was you either grew weed, worked at a saw mill or timber industry, or something government related. Business start up costs were bad from all the regulations. It was like having the mob nickel and dime you for breathing. There was really no future there.

    The thing that finally broke me was when I realized how horrible the schools were. I knew several kids that could barely read after graduating high school. Many had rarely traveled outside of the area and it was like they were living 20 yrs in the past. I just couldnt raise my kids there. So when my oldest was coming up on pre-school, we got the hell out and came back to the Midwest. Iowa has little culture but it's a great place to raise a family. Most of the schools are good and average home price in my city is around $175k.

    I haven't been to Texas since the 1980's but I loved it. A couple of high school buddies moved there. People were very friendly, the hospitality/service industry set the bar pretty high, and I never saw so many insanely hot women in my life.
     
  6. Senorx12562

    Senorx12562 Case of the mondays

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  7. Syzygy

    Syzygy Friend

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    I grew up in Texas, and yes we do have a different attitude here. We're pretty independent, and generally don't want the government or others intruding in our business. Because of that we're also big on personal responsibility. But we're also friendly—men still open doors for women and offer assistance with heavy & bulky things, even strangers. We like independent thinkers, so welcome Marv, you'll do just fine!

    Of course all that's a generalization, so untrue in specific cases, and when you're behind the wheel in the city it's all thrown out the window. We expect slower drivers to move to the rightmost lanes to allow the speed demons to get by. Also another unwritten rule of the road in Texas: the largest vehicle has the right-of-way. You'll see what I mean.

    As for hot women, the TCU area in Fort Worth is very nice.
     
  8. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    ^ All that was very evident. Folks who have met me in person know that I am well mannered and polite. I felt that I would feel safe in Texas opening doors for people in wheelchairs, instead of the person in the wheelchair giving me some sort of glare "how dare you think I'm helpless" - this by the way has happened to me in California. I've already been reminding my kids to respond with sir and ma'am. Texas is Texas, but it's still the South.

    Out the boonies and smaller cities, CC included, it was refreshing that folks on the road weren't in a rush. Traffic still flows and if one wanted to drive fast, it never was a problem. Here in El Lay, wife and I are always on high alert for the douch in the BMW or Hyundai who couldn't wait and just had to jam his car in front of us from the right lane. Or some other dude wanting to be on our tail like Robert Patrick in Terminator 2 because we are driving to slow in the right lane. In CC, whenever we made turns onto a street from a parking lot, we were a bit taken back that we didn't have to rush to complete the turn. I swear, in California, when people on the main road see that you want to turn into the road in front of them, they intentionally speed up so they don't have to be bothered. From San Antonio down to CC (we took both the backroads and highway routes) there seemed to be a inherent understanding with drivers that there are actually other human beings on the road! Wow, what a concept.

    In respect to personal responsibility, these very steep steps on the USS Lexington (in CC) struck me as being very different from my tour on the USS Iowa (in California). It's not that the Iowa tour didn't have a few of these, it's just that the Lexington had a ton of them with very few warning signs. There's lip around the hatch which could cause people to trip and one could very easily bonk their heads on the hatch going up or down. I can't remember exactly, but I'm sure the Iowa had modifications around the hatches to make it safer. Bottom line is that In California, we've never see stuff like this because of lawsuits. I figure Texas allows Darwin to do its job, and that's fine by me.

    PXL_20201125_171424264.jpg

    And BTW at the beach, a random dude, with a beer in his hand, and who looked like a more straggly version of Mathew McConaughey, seeing that I was taking photos, just ran up to us and offered to take a photo of my son and I. That never happens in California.

    Oh, yeah, lots of big trucks, F250s, SIlverados. Probably explains why people don't drive like shit.
     
    Last edited: Dec 4, 2020
  9. rhythmdevils

    rhythmdevils MOT: rhythmdevils audio

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    I hope you don’t join the “secede from the union” movement. Jesus. There are some fucked up angles to Texas as well. But lots of good too from what I know. I wish you all the best.

    One of the most beautiful women (inside and out) I’ve ever met was from Texas. I’m still madly in love with her. I think I always will be.
     
  10. imackler

    imackler Key Lime Pie Infected Aberdeen Wings Spy

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    Although I've yet to meet you in person, @purr1n, a perk of moving back to SoCal was the SBAF community. You're leaving is a loss for the SBAF SoCal community, but let's be honest: It's a loss for California. You represent so many who would rather stay... under different circumstances. I've made other friends since being here who are looking to leave as well. Best of luck. Maybe Texas will be the new SBAF hub in coming years. "Texas: Where you can afford gear... and a home!"
     
  11. Bobcat

    Bobcat Friend

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    I once tried to hold a door open for a woman in California and was called a "male chauvinist pig" for my efforts. She caught me in a bad mood so she got called a "chauvinist sow" and closed the door in her face. Didn't feel a bit guilty, either.

    After six years in the Navy, I still have a few scars on my shins from too quickly hurrying through hatches and catching the coamings. That said, that netting didn't exist on the ladder hand rails, which were polished steel on my ships. We'd just slide down rather than walk. Or some of them were actually chains (no sliding on that!). Or there was always a grab bar above the ladder. Mostly we'd grab that, swing out and just drop to the deck below. Navy ships aren't designed for non-sailors. Whenever we had a day in port where civilians were allowed on board, someone was always posted to help people down the ladders since they're much steeper than stairs.

    Rob
     
    Last edited: Dec 4, 2020
  12. Merrick

    Merrick A lidless ear

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    While I could never live in TX due to the weather (half the reason I left SoCal was the heat), I understand the impulse to get out of CA. I was born and raised in Los Angeles and if I were single I'd probably still be living there. When my wife and I decided we wanted kids we knew we had to leave CA for so many reasons. We'd never be able to afford a house, even on two good salaries like we had, and no way would we even consider sending our kids to LAUSD. We ended up in Oregon which has its pros and cons like anywhere else, but we're happier here than we would have been if we were still in LA.

    One of the things that really struck us when we moved was the quality of facilities at state parks and recreational areas. In CA all the facilities at parks are run down to shit, probably ran out of funding in the '90s. Bathrooms have no toilet paper or paper towels and have shit stains permanently embedded in the walls, locks torn out of the stall doors, etc. Oregon public restrooms at parks are so well maintained, we couldn't believe it. Says something about the state's priorities.

    Best of luck to you with the move! I only wish you had left the state before me because I would have scooped up so much of the gear you're offloading. :)
     
    Last edited: Dec 4, 2020
  13. Lyander

    Lyander Official SBAF Equitable Empathizer

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    And here I had you pegged as being stodgy and traditional, the type who'd spit at the ground after a pretty lady named Austin. Look at you being all progressive and shit ;) (I'm being facetious)

    Sweet baby gibblets, I have heard of but never understood this. Holding the door open just comes naturally when there's someone right behind me or a few feet away, it just makes sense to wait a bit unless you're in a massive hurry. Doesn't matter what they look like unless I'm worried they might try to stab me or something.

    Door in face aside, yeah I would have gone with "misandrist bigot" myself but either works.
     
  14. Azimuth

    Azimuth FKA rtaylor76, Friend

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    Almost the same thing happened to us in California actually. Me and my wife stopped on Highway 1 form San Fran to Santa Barbra to a picture of the Highway 1 sign on the side of the road and this nice lady farmer stopped to offer to take our picture next to the sign. So just because it did not happen in El Lay, don't think it does not happen at all in California.

    There will still be asshole drivers in BMW's or other sports cars. Maybe just not as many and not everyday. And wait until you see some truck nuts. Welcome to the south.

    And to the other comments in the thread, I remember getting strange looks from people in New York City when I would try to hold the door behind so it did not hit them in the face when exiting a building or holding the door for them and letting them get in front of me when entering. They were more confused than anything and no "thank you's"...just funny looks.
     
  15. YMO

    YMO Chief Fun Officer

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    Fun fact 1: We don't like nice southern folks like you being nice to us because we think you are a pansy. ;)

    Fun fact 2: Most NY'ers think southern culture is retarded and full of idiots. Watch when they are talking with their native selves without any other southern folks around, like I hear this often in FL. They don't mind being serve by southern folks, but don't always want to be near them.

    This is pretty true in FL the further south you go. If you want to get the most out of the south in FL, stay in North FL on or near I-10 and parts of rural North Central FL that is north of Tampa and Oralndo. I'm being serious.
     
  16. Azimuth

    Azimuth FKA rtaylor76, Friend

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    You can call it pansy, we call it the golden rule.

    Most southerners think NY'ers are fast talking assholes who only think of themselves and already know everything. Look at every bad boyfriend in Hallmark Christmas movies. Drive fast, talk fast, rude, etc. I am not trying to be mean, just pointing out a stereotype.

    And yes, the southern stereotype is that we are a bunch of mouth breathin' hicks. I get it. I mean, most our politicians are. (See Louie Gohmert, Marsha Blackburn, Matt Gatez, and Tom Cotton). Sorry...did't mean to get political. I digress. I work with a girl that calls everyone "darlin'"...yes it is true. There are real people who exist that really do have the personality of Dolly Parton besides just Dolly. (And yes, we love Dolly)

    North of Tampa and Orlando might as well be southern Georgia.

    PS - At least we are polite and have good fried chicken and BBQ.
     
  17. YMO

    YMO Chief Fun Officer

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    Release the anger @rtaylor76, you know where I live. ;)
     
  18. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    There are historical reasons why Texas is called the Lone Star state. Having once been an independent republic after fighting Mexico which moved away from a federalist to a centralized model of governance, the rationale for secession is quite distinct from the rest of the South. Most Texans wanted to join the USA after the offer was made anyway.

    PXL_20201125_200830549.jpg

    My son and I will watch a John Wayne film about this tonight.
     
  19. Vtory

    Vtory Audiophile™

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    What are told for CA or El-lay reminded me of north IL (specifically Chicago). All the big city stereotypes were frequently observed.

    Then moved to north TX (Fort Worth), where folks were impressively kind and relaxed (maybe too much for the latter). People nearly always hold doors for the next person. I also internalized that practice myself.

    Now I'm living in PA (Philadelphia). Kinda in-between. But closer to TX I think.

    All above are about hospitality, but funnily enough I can draw similar spectrum regarding living costs. lol.
     
  20. rhythmdevils

    rhythmdevils MOT: rhythmdevils audio

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    @purr1n i should add that while I’m sad to see you move so far away I think it’s commendable that you’re taking action on a situation that has been making you unhappy. Not many people do that especially as they get older (not that you’re old but you have surely grown roots there and have a very stable routine by now which scares most people to break once they’ve settled into it). Most people wind up growing old grumbling on the rocking chair on the front porch instead of making changes to make their lives better and happier. I hope the change does that for you.

    \/|{
     
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