New England B.S. Thread

No bugs? Plenty of bugs in Texas in the summer. Big ole cockroaches that mostly stay outside. Lots of mosquitoes. Other flying pests as well.

Then there are the snakes. Mostly non venomous and they kill rats and mice, but some rattle snakes and even coral snakes. I haven't seen them, but others have.

Austin itself is still expensive as are some of the suburbs. Lakeway is very expensive from what I've seen. Most other cities vary in price, so it's hard to categorize them. We got a 1,900 sq ft, 3/2/2 for under $350,000 northeast of Austin in Williamson County. The house is just about 20 years old, so we knew there it was going to need a new roof and HVAC system. It's a growing area with growing area growing pains. Roads need work, water and sewer are a bit on the expensive side. I expect that will straighten out over the next couple of years. Lots of people moving here because it's not Austin.

We've been visiting Austin since the mid 1980s and at one time it would definitely have been Austin itself, but the city has changed a lot. If you like Cambridge, you'll like Austin.

All of that said, we're still happy we moved from the northeast.

 

Discussion topic:

favorite under $20 doodad or tool from harbor freight? ITC has 30% off under $20 this weekend lol

 

I forget how much the soft shackles cost but it might be 20, that would be my pick

 

Nope. No outdoors in the cold unless I'm getting paid. And even then.....

Not saying the Tacoma is bad, Jeep just looked new, other than impacts underneath. They didn't have a speck of rust until I brought it up here.

Insulated coveralls, and freezer gear help with the core. It's the hands and feet that are the problem. I can use the toe warmers. But, until I figure out a way to get blood flow in my hands/fingers in the cold, I'm out. I go into hiding until it's at least in the 50s... 60s preferably.

 

Well that was interesting.......severe storm warning alert and it actually lived up to the hype......that was freaking crazy.....just dy8ng down here in Western MA......clean up in the morning...

 

Def heading our way, can hear the thunder. Saw some sweet pics of Polar Park and the lightning on the news.

 

My dog was barking before it really rolled thru. Then the severe warning beeped, ti let her out and back I'm before it really came and watched it just suddenly go nuts

 

Wasn't bad in my area. I take the back roads to work since RI seems to have every highway under construction as the moment. Only one town I passed through must have had a lot of wind or really heavy rain since it was the only area I saw debris everywhere.

 

Id say probably some tool organization stuff. Socket trays, wrench trays, ect

 

Oh or clamps and vise grips. Id rather have 20 cheap clamps vs 1 expensive clamp

 

I use this in the woods to clear off headlights, spray down tents/coolers that are covered in dirt spray, etc.
Love this little thing. Might get a couple more for the house as actual garden sprayers. Way easier than the normal tank sprayer shenanigans, and 5 bucks.

I saw some lightning as I was drifting off to sleep, then apparently slept through it all. Figured it wasn't bad down here, when I saw the messages this morning from up yonder. The drive to work (mind you, 1.5 miles....) was like a tornado came through. Branches everywhere, some big boys too.

....I slept through the whole thing

 

I may try that for my home brew deer repellent

 

We got a good storm around 10-11 and then another more violent round at 1:15am or so, apparently tons of people without power in CT and the Hudson Valley

 

That just sounds like you're going to piss in it and spray it everywhere.

 

Yeah, snakes and bugs I can learn to live with if it means I can actually live

Oh, yeah Austin is growing. Actually I think it's shrinking... I think there was something like more people moved out of Austin than in last year or something.

https://www.kut.org/austin/2024-03-19/austin-population-census-data-net-migration

Not that it's not still a huge boom, and the people who are moving in are bringing $$$ and gentrification. When we went, we stayed in an Air BNB that was a section of the house. The owner had been there for god knows 30+ years, but from 2010-2019 (when we went) or there abouts, property skyrocketed, so her taxes were too much for her. It was either sell and move, or make an AirBNB to stay. Casual ~1200 sqft ranch with a normal size plot, easily 1.5 nowadays. And I saw they're making some stupid parking structure for Zilker, that's going to be a disaster.

We're seeing the same thing in Providence, and I know Salem (MA), and Portland is seeing it. People leaving Boston for nearby because it's "not Boston". Portland was NOT ready for it. Providence has always wanted it so they were ready for it. The funny part is, now there are people moving out toward EP, warwick, etc because it's "Not Providence"

I like Austin, and it's not 100% out. We're going to SD soon to check it out (and some areas outside of SD, Oceanside/Carlsbad), and then either way, we're going to do a long weekend in Charleston (the idea of staying on the east coast). Then we'll sit down with a 12 pack and decide our future

I believe it. Mine definitely has SOME rust. More than if I was somewhere without salts. But staying on top of it has really made a difference. 5ish years on, I am impressed with Woolwax and Jason I didn't think it would be THIS effective.

 

Worcester has the same thing going on big time - I don't drive through there often but when I do, the number of high end apartment complexes popping up is pretty wild. The old run down factory buildings are torn down and an architects dream building pops up with a new name like "Alta on the Row". There are still areas that have a cloud over them (looking at you, Kilby Street), but like seeing the community trying to lift it up knowing Boston is becoming a second choice for people to live.

 

Oh yeah, Worcester is on the boom too. That's a good point.

Westbrook, Maine is another one

My friends were talking about moving to Westbrook and how nice it was, I was giving them the side eye like "We talking the same Westbrook....Westbrook Maine...?"

 

A good friend of mine has lived in Westbrook for 25 or so years. We've been up there a couple of times and it seemed pretty nice. It's fairly close to Portland as I recall.

Maybe I only saw small slices of it, so maybe I just got the wrong impression.

 

Picking up my truck later today for the exhaust work. Apparently my rear 5160s are leaking. Any recommendations? Still haven't added the front bumper but planning to do new suspension and lower and upper arms come end of summer I think

 

https://www.livingonadime.com/homemade-deer-repellant/