First Snowfall of the Season at My American Home!

[Goritoes]

Tampa area maybe. Not as many hurricanes.

Bro, are you Psychic or what? Tampa is my top choice so far, I am already in talk with a friend over there who happens to give rooms on rent, Its just so far I've applied for many jobs and did not get any positive response, but If I don't get any soon I will just get Amazon Job as they pay around 18-19$ per hour which is pretty decent, that will get me started. Any down sides of Tampa I should know off ? I was suppose to visit my friend in Tampa but she went with her Bf on a business related tour, From her words Tampa is nice with a lot of Muslim and Pakistani Population.

 

[Meengla]

Bro, are you Psychic or what? Tampa is my top choice so far, I am already in talk with a friend over there who happens to give rooms on rent, Its just so far I've applied for many jobs and did not get any positive response, but If I don't get any soon I will just get Amazon Job as they pay around 18-19$ per hour which is pretty decent, that will get me started. Any down sides of Tampa I should know off ? I was suppose to visit my friend in Tampa but she went with her Bf on a business related tour, From her words Tampa is nice with a lot of Muslim and Pakistani Population.

Seems like Tampa could be a good fit for you.
But you know there is not one 'good' answer to your question. Every situation is different. To me living inside any town over about 5000-10,000 would be too much. But if I were to ever leave this area, than other than Pakistan, it would be close to coastal Oregon/Washington/British Columbia but in small towns.

Oh, it is about 20 F / -6 C here right now. This is the coldest temp recorded this year so far around our house. At night it must have fallen lower than this. The Frog Pond is frozen again. The house, due to elevation and vegetation, has a 'micro-climate' of its own and is generally 2-4 degrees F cooler than official temps--there is ZERO concrete around here for quite some distance.

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

Bro, are you Psychic or what? Tampa is my top choice so far, I am already in talk with a friend over there who happens to give rooms on rent, Its just so far I've applied for many jobs and did not get any positive response, but If I don't get any soon I will just get Amazon Job as they pay around 18-19$ per hour which is pretty decent, that will get me started. Any down sides of Tampa I should know off ? I was suppose to visit my friend in Tampa but she went with her Bf on a business related tour, From her words Tampa is nice with a lot of Muslim and Pakistani Population.

Just watch out for this area north of Tampa. Maybe stick on the southern side.

 

[Meengla]

Just watch out for this area north of Tampa. Maybe stick on the southern side.

Isn't FL too expensive now? Recently saw an article--maybe at the NY Times--as to how the real estate boom in FL is driving long time residents into homelessness: Gentrification, sky rocketing real estate prices, and rental rate hikes. People, now able to work from home more and more, and also don't want the pandemic restrictions, are FLEEING the damned Blue States, flocking to the South or to TX and even Idaho, along with some big (and often overseas based) realtors driving prices up too much, and too fast; something like what happened to Vancouver. The crisis is so bad that lower paid workers, who are needed to run many businesses, may not be available in required numbers. The situation is sort of similar in my area but not quite as dire as FL.

I have been looking into buying some investment property--acreage--for over a year but all good lots are taken up or too pricey and they get taken up within days of coming to the market. While for me, it is mostly investment/casual decision, to millions of others who need a home to stay--whether a house or a rental--the crisis is real.

@Goritoes : If you rent, then be careful of the rental rates hikes! Looking at your post above, unless you have a chunk of $$ to spend, be very careful.

 

[ghazi52]

This year, so far we have less snow in New Jersey. Good for us. Life is smooth here.
Around 200 family members are living here and some 300 family members in NC.

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

Isn't FL too expensive now? Recently saw an article--maybe at the NY Times--as to how the real estate boom in FL is driving long time residents into homelessness: Gentrification, sky rocketing real estate prices, and rental rate hikes. People, now able to work from home more and more, and also don't want the pandemic restrictions, are FLEEING the damned Blue States, flocking to the South or to TX and even Idaho, along with some big (and often overseas based) realtors driving prices up too much, and too fast; something like what happened to Vancouver. The crisis is so bad that lower paid workers, who are needed to run many businesses, may not be available in required numbers. The situation is sort of similar in my area but not quite as dire as FL.

I have been looking into buying some investment property--acreage--for over a year but all good lots are taken up or too pricey and they get taken up within days of coming to the market. While for me, it is mostly investment/casual decision, to millions of others who need a home to stay--whether a house or a rental--the crisis is real.

@Goritoes : If you rent, then be careful of the rental rates hikes! Looking at your post above, unless you have a chunk of $$ to spend, be very careful.

I think the strategy in the past has been to work in a high wage state in the north and then when you retire you sell your house for $1M and retire in Florida with no income tax. The housing turnover would be high since you'd probably live for another 10 to 15 years in retirement.

With the rise in telecommuting due to Covid I think that has screwed things up. Now people are flocking there early and driving up the prices.

 

[fitpOsitive]

This is just a casual post. Thought to share to maybe lighten up the mood here some. Showing the first snowfall of the season which is happening today. Already about 3-3.5 inches of snow has fallen here and that's enough for those of us who live in the American Deep South. So far this year, the temp has fallen to as low as 23 F / -5 C, but I have seen as low as 4 F many years ago.

Surrounded by literally hundreds of acres of woodlands and hardly any neighbors, life is peaceful. It can get boring working from home. Sometimes I miss city life but city trips can be made every now and then. Pics show our little house in both sunny and snowy days. A 'Frog Pond' in the backyard which was frozen a few days ago--and certainly frozen again and covered with snow right now. It is great joy to sit in the sun and it is great joy to walk in the snow. The first sign of spring is usually wild daffodils blooming sometime in February. I know when summer has arrived when tiny frogs appear on the rim of the Frog Pond. Distinct sign of the Fall are the yellowing leaves on our fruit trees like peach, apple, apricot, plum, and pear. Winter starts when all the oak trees have their leaves completely fallen. I walk up and down our very long, shaded driveway every season and watch various trees changing their colors as required by Mother Nature. Snakes start appearing in April--but they are almost always harmless and I often just walk past them. I used to kill them and on one day alone some years ago I had killed four of them--I still regret that. So last year I just used jet from a garden hose to make one go away from the front of the house. My company is plenty of raccoons, squirrels, crows, and several kinds of birds. Also there are plenty of deer who take advantage of the safe environment near the house. But recently coyotes have been coming closer and closer to the house and their pack's View attachment 809168 View attachment 809169 View attachment 809170 View attachment 809172 View attachment 809173 howling can be scary. Then there are more elusive foxes around; I have seen only 2-3 of them. Black bear sightings are also increasing, as the wild-life habitat is shrinking; one was spotted barely a mile from our house some months ago. They are generally afraid of people and go away but a sow with her cubs can be dangerous.


@Hamartia Antidote : You like country life, so might find it interesting.


View attachment 809169 View attachment 809170 View attachment 809172

Bhai jan, aik dam jungle k bech main?
Very nice btw.

 

[Goritoes]

Just watch out for this area north of Tampa. Maybe stick on the southern side.

How is Virginia?

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

How is Virginia?

I was originally going to say Virginia as #1, but then thought about Tampa.

So sure Virginia is definitely up high as I know several people who love it there. Seems to be high salaries at lower home cost than the NorthEast.

Look at how Virginia ranks high in areas with per capita income

List of United States counties by per capita income - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

However I wonder how much is simply people trickling in from Washington DC.

I would suggest if you move to Virginia to make sure you are at least 30+ miles from DC as that place is a pit. Even though the nicest areas of Virginia are near there.


Apparently Portsmouth and Newport News is out

 

[Goritoes]

I was originally going to say Virginia as #1, but then thought about Tampa.

So sure Virginia is definitely up high as I know several people who love it there. Seems to be high salaries at lower home cost than the NorthEast.

Look at how Virginia ranks high in areas with per capita income

List of United States counties by per capita income - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

However I wonder how much is simply people trickling in from Washington DC.

I would suggest if you move to Virginia to make sure you are at least 30+ miles from DC as that place is a pit. Even though the nicest areas of Virginia are near there.


Apparently Portsmouth and Newport News is out

Bro I got a Interview call from Norfolk VA, but unfortunately deer hit my car and I have to fix it before making the trip cause its almost 7 hour drive from where I am living, I am thinking of Norfolk or Richmond, Richmond would a lot close to DC compared to Norfolk. My cousin works in a small town called Christiansburg, he send me some pics and it looks nice but issue is that there aren't many jobs there, and little to no options for Halal markets or Restaurants.

Isn't FL too expensive now? Recently saw an article--maybe at the NY Times--as to how the real estate boom in FL is driving long time residents into homelessness: Gentrification, sky rocketing real estate prices, and rental rate hikes. People, now able to work from home more and more, and also don't want the pandemic restrictions, are FLEEING the damned Blue States, flocking to the South or to TX and even Idaho, along with some big (and often overseas based) realtors driving prices up too much, and too fast; something like what happened to Vancouver. The crisis is so bad that lower paid workers, who are needed to run many businesses, may not be available in required numbers. The situation is sort of similar in my area but not quite as dire as FL.

I have been looking into buying some investment property--acreage--for over a year but all good lots are taken up or too pricey and they get taken up within days of coming to the market. While for me, it is mostly investment/casual decision, to millions of others who need a home to stay--whether a house or a rental--the crisis is real.

@Goritoes : If you rent, then be careful of the rental rates hikes! Looking at your post above, unless you have a chunk of $$ to spend, be very careful.

Hell no bro, I am still working in per hour jobs, so I am definitely not making much, but I am assuming it will take some time before I get a decent corporate job with around 50,000 to 60,000$ annual, even with a salary like this i can't say that i can live in higher middle areas, my best option would be finding apartments in whichever city i ended up with around 800-1200$ per month rent.

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

Bro I got a Interview call from Norfolk VA, but unfortunately deer hit my car and I have to fix it before making the trip cause its almost 7 hour drive from where I am living, I am thinking of Norfolk or Richmond, Richmond would a lot close to DC compared to Norfolk. My cousin works in a small town called Christiansburg, he send me some pics and it looks nice but issue is that there aren't many jobs there, and little to no options for Halal markets or Restaurants.



Hell no bro, I am still working in per hour jobs, so I am definitely not making much, but I am assuming it will take some time before I get a decent corporate job with around 50,000 to 60,000$ annual, even with a salary like this i can't say that i can live in higher middle areas, my best option would be finding apartments in whichever city i ended up with around 800-1200$ per month rent.

Richmond is 100 miles from Washington DC so it is fine.
Actually I think I'd prefer the Richmond area vs Norfolk.
Younger population..more money..less crime...but probably less jobs.

 

[Goritoes]

Richmond is 100 miles from Washington DC so it is fine.
Actually I think I'd prefer the Richmond area vs Norfolk.
Younger population..more money..less crime...but probably less jobs.

It sure does, Norfolk is connected to another city Newport news so you can find lots of work around there, Richmond is not that small either but I am noticing that there are not many jobs over there, but it sure better than what I have right now.

 

[ghazi52]

Winter Storm Jasper forecast to bring snow and ice to South, southern mid-Atlantic​

Last night
Winter Storm Jasper forecast to bring snow and ice to South, southern mid-Atlantic

 

[ghazi52]

 

[ghazi52]

Today..

In New York City, work to clear the streets began as the storm arrived

The US East Coast is hunkering down as a major blizzard hits the region for the first time in four years.

The storm is forecast to stretch from the Carolinas to Maine, packing hurricane-force winds in coastal parts. Five states have declared emergencies.

Mayor Michelle Wu of Boston, a city that is no stranger to snowfall, said the storm could be "historic".