New England B.S. Thread

A life time of working outside in winter cured me of that stuff.

 

I enjoy that it gets cooler, but like - 40-50 is enough. RI is pretty good about that. We had a blizzard, 2 days later it was sunny and 50, I could see my grass within a couple more days. Piles/snowbanks, but the blankets of snow were gone. It's a little colder than I'd like here, but it's manageable.

We went between Xmas and New Years in 2019-2020, right before the 'rona. I mean, in the nice neighborhoods there were 1 mil houses sure, but I found a couple 1200 sq ft and 1/3 acre lots for 3-400k, more expensive than where we're at they'd run closer to 250k (at the time), but hey, it's Austin vs. Providence. Those same houses now are 1 m + and around here they're 375-425. Bonkers, everywhere.

....Considering they had an accident bad enough to shut 'em down, I doubt they were that good at making furniture

 

Yup, and it's already too hot here in the summer. Why would I want to move somewhere that's even hotter?

 

You are most likely not far from the truth there but idiots using power tools.....

Every time I complete a repair I find something else they did either wrong or sub standard. My favorite was where they put the toilet in the downstairs bathroom. They measured the entire length of the house, found the middle then built a wall dividing the two sides. It's time to put in a toilet and it needs to fit between where the dryer is going to be and the sink is going to be and it needs to be so many inches from the wall so it has to go right here(X marks the spot). Wait, there is a floor joist right where the toilet drain pipe needs to go. Oh my, what do we do? Let's just cut the joist and stick the pipe through, that will work. Should we sister the two joists on either side to make it sturdy again. Naw, no need to do that. And, instead of plywood let's use the sheets of particle board. When that stuff gets wet it holds up really well!

 

We checked house prices last November when we were there. A 3 bed, 2 bath ranch in a middle class neighborhood was going for about $1 Million. Some of those were torn down to be replaced with mansions. Even south Austin, long a poor area is being gentrified. For a while Pflugerville was a reasonable alternative, but a lot of people who fled Austin moved there and prices are high.

You have to go beyond Bastrop to find reasonable prices and that's going away fast. In other directions you need to go out to Hays County, Marble Falls, Williamson County, and other areas an hour or more away.

 

Last time I did wiring I found a neutral wire was purple on a light switch. It was one of those Schroedingers wiring moments. I reattached it as I found it and walked away. If it works, I am not going to futz with it. Because THAT feels like it'll be a ball of yarn if I kept going.

1955 construction, it has some....character.

That's what is going on in the entire Zilker neighborhood. I saw a 3 bed 1 bath going for a mil, they'll tear it down and build one of these f'in things, and sell it for 3.



They ALL look the same, way too much glass, you can see their ENTIRE house, insulation is piss poor, and they landscape with grass because F YOU water conservation in the desert.




If I was able to work from home I would ABSOLUTELY go somewhere near the Frio. I wouldn't care about being an hour away if I was only going into the city once a week or so. But the trails and whatnot are one of the huge draws so, why would I want to move all that way just for the winters to be warmer but just sit inside all the time anyway :|

Genuinely, RI is a huge difference even from central MA. I think I've shared this before. It's not gospel but, it's a huge difference. This has been enough for me so far, and I'm still close to family. The weather only makes my face hurt about 5-10 days a year down here, vs when I was at UMaine - one year the avg temp for Feb was -5. My record I saw was -35°, I went outside just to say I did. Bananas.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clima...dia/File:Köppen_Climate_Types_New_England.png

 

I'm not sure even eastern MA is humid sub tropical, well other than the last two weeks.

Lots of modern fugly buildings going up in Austin.

 

@GarlicFarts

Wiring...when we demo'd our main bath there was Romex inside the wall behind the shower wall...attached to nothing...and it was live

 

I'm not an electrician, but i am convinced that when a new house is built they just run wire from room to room using what ever circuit is nearby. I spent hours mapping out the circuit breakers in our house and was amazed at the randomness of it all.

 

Yeah, a lot of "modern". I dunno, felt weird. I liked it when we first went, then I went back and it felt..."California-ized". Like, I know TX as....TX...and I know Austin has always been the weird city too. But seeing all the McMansion style houses (PS that one I grabbed a rendering of was only "only" like 2300 sq ft, so not really a "mansion", that thing was 3m...), plastic surgery signs, etc etc. Just didn't feel "Texas".

BBQ game is on point though.

Oh that's fun! "Just in case!"

Wow. That's...Impressive.

 

Just as people from Louisiana say that New Orleans isn't Louisiana, people from TX say that Austin isn't TX. I've been to other parts of TX and the feel is different.

 

Fair point - I dealt with that BS in Maine. It's like a point of pride that you're from further north for some reason. And Orono "Isn't Northern Maine" ....



I mean I'm in a city now, Providence, and I don't see the same "city-ization"/"Californiacation" as Austin was getting.

 

There's not the money in Providence that there is in Austin. Boston is a lot more like Austin. Or Charlotte or Nashville for that matter.

 

It's all relative. Orono is northern Maine if you live in Kittery, or Portland, but not if you live in Caribou or Fort Kent.

 

Used to work with a guy from Madawaska...he'd agree

 

I was in Salem, NH - southern NH. I never said "Oh Manchester isn't SOUTHERN NH...I'm a REAL southern NH-er"

I couldn't stand that "Northern superiority" BS in Maine. I never got it. Once you get north of Orono it's all the same, woods. Whether you're an hour north or south, it's the same pine trees and everything. Just got really really annoying.

 

Oh, I never said I agree...just that opinions change based upon locations. Now if you want a fun debate, ask where the sun first rises in Maine?

Edit: It is a BIG state. If you are in Kittery it takes less time to get to New Jersey then it does to get to Fort Kent.

 

I thought the big debate in Maine was flannel vs. camo

 

Most likely, just not in my household.

 

Machias vs Cadillac I assume?