Long story short: Sweetie got his offer letter yesterday, signed it and sent it back. There was confirmation of a lovely surprise we got on Thursday--the firm is giving Sweetie a $5k sign-up bonus "to help you get back to the east coast."

When he handed in his notice the boss told Sweetie he was "relieved" he had found a job so soon. Relieved??? So soon??? This tells us the boss knew damn good and well that Sweetie's layoff or attempted transfer to the Sahara was imminent. Notice is over August 2, moving company estimates will all be in tomorrow. We decided to take some of the 5k for a moving co. to take most of the stuff to SC, then the rest can go in his truck and he can drive home relatively easily--plus no loading or unloading. The stuff will go into storage for a week or two in SC until Sweetie finds a place to live, then it will be delivered and unloaded. No sweat. Ha! Well, bound to be problems, moving companies are like used cars, but you know what I mean.

I spoke with the HR manager yesterday and she kept reassuring me that health insurance and other bennies start the day Sweetie does, no problem, was horrified about what happened to Sweetie. She said they were so happy Sweetie called them back, they are so pleased to have him.

According to their site, the firm has a cafeteria on site (with real cooks, not just microed frozen crap), dry cleaner, ATMs, postage shop, etc., etc. Highly convenient for folks like Sweetie who hate to stop before or after work to get stuff.

It's wonderful doomer country down there. Hurricanes, earthquakes, tornadoes, hail, heat alerts and flooding. I shall have great fun planning for all those hazards. :) Don't worry, I already know where the epicenters of the quakes are, what areas are evacced in a Category 5 hurricane, how far inland various hurricane category storm surges reach, and where the 100-year flood zones are. Did y'all know a hip-type (mansard) roof withstands hurricane winds best? Them Frogs know something after all.

-- Anonymous, July 23, 2002

Answers

Mansard? That's my favorite!

Sounds like you may be on your way towards getting settled sometime in our lifetimes. Congratulations!

-- Anonymous, July 23, 2002

when will you go? and the Kitties??? and what is a mansard roof...inquirering minds want to know!

So glad things are going great for you. Dan has not got a call in a week, but that's ok, come the end of July I will start getting "pushY" again!!!

-- Anonymous, July 24, 2002

A Mansard or hip roof has a drip edge all the way around. No side of the house is higher than another.

sort of like a dunce cap, only not round. I suppose it could be, though.

-- Anonymous, July 24, 2002

Sounds great! When you get settled in, let me know where you wanna meet for lunch: you're now about a 7-hour drive from me. (:

-- Anonymous, July 24, 2002

I've been away, and now I'm so lost ... where are you going now??

-- Anonymous, July 26, 2002

Our Git is headed to the swamps of South Carolina.

-- Anonymous, July 26, 2002

Um, not sure, actually. Every time I research the Charleston area I find another hazard. I mean, this place has one of each, except maybe mudslides, and I'm not so sure about that--natural disasters, terrorist bait (nuclear, port, airport, tunnels, etc., bridges), and of course the godawful climate and bugs.

There was this letter in the Charleston paper from a guy reminiscing about his 15-hour nightmare drive from Charleston to Columbia (normally about two hours) during a storm evac. I remembered seeing the parking-lot scenes, vehicles overheating, screaming kids, road rage--oh it was horrible! Sweetie knows to keep his truck gassed up, his essentials to hand (his computer and CDs, I should think, and books already in crates instead of bookcases), and to leave as soon as they start talking about evacs. It's a little easier than trying to get 8 cats in cages and loading up the treasures, ya know?

We can't live in the areas between Charleston and the mountains because there are too many low-income rural areas, typical south.

So we're thinking maybe a small apt. for Sweetie in Charleston and a place in the mountains (about 4-5 hours away) to come home to on weekends--and during evacs for hurricanes and tropical storms. Housing values are really good and real estate taxes are low. (Durham has just increased its real estate taxes by 5%.)

Earthquakes are another matter. San Francisco is a 9 out of 10, Memphis is a 6 out of 10--and Charleston is a 7 out of 10. Forecasts say there is a 40-60% chance of an earthquake on the east coast in the not too distant future. Charleston last had a huge one in 1886, a 7.6, I think it was.

Sweetie and I need to talk about it some more but a 4 to 5-hour weekend commute looks feasible.

-- Anonymous, July 26, 2002

Make it 8 hrs..and you come to Ohio, I'll help with a Kitty fence, and you have MANY friends already in OHIO!!!..Now we need to get The mailman up here...(after reading the "Florida will be distroyed" thread at TB!!!!) Besides, then maybe Dan will get a job there, and Sweetie and him can drive down there together...

either way..try to stay on the WEST side of the mountains!

-- Anonymous, July 26, 2002

((sniff, sniff...)) Whaddabout Taxachusetts!?!?

-- Anonymous, July 26, 2002

Florida will be WHAT??????????????????

I gotta go to work now, dammit!

-- Anonymous, July 26, 2002

Nah, Asheville looks really good! I've even been there so I know it's pretty too. Hey--maybe y'all can retire to Asheville! It's a very popular retirement place and there are nearly 400 restaurants. A new WalMart superstore is going up and there's pizza delivery, IHOP, cable TV and high-speed net connection. What more could you want?

Hey, Brooks--I cahecked the economic stats for Asheville v. Boston. If the US average cost of living is 100, Asheville is 102.6, Boston is 132. Housing is a biggie, with the US ave 100, Aville is 114, Boston is 160.9; food is 99.5 v. 114.2. There's more here

And for you healthy outdoor enthusiasts, Aville is right next door to Smokey Mountains national park, or whatever the formal name is. And of course Biltmore is very close. Haven't seen that yet, would love to.

-- Anonymous, July 26, 2002

Biltmore is lovely.

Git, your cost of living numbers for Massachusetts must be at least a week out of day. The tax package that just passed will cost my mother an additional $10,000 (because she's private pay in a nursing home). But of course, the tax package doesn't affect the most vulnerable in the state, yeah, right. I might only have to shell out another $1,000 or so.

-- Anonymous, July 26, 2002

Those numbers are based on 1990 census figures, I believe, but even so I think they give a general idea. For instance, the demographics say the black population of Aville is 19% but it's now 17%. I can't believe your mother is going to be hit with that kind of jump in taxes--sheesh!!! But, you're right, it ain't called Taxachusetts for nuthin'. A lot of Yankees are moving down this way for the lower cost of living, based heavily on real estate prices and taxes. Our real estate tax is now $1900/year on a house assessed at $146k; in Asheville it would be less than half that. I know Massachusetts is much worse and I bet Boston is even higher than the state average.

I find it amazing that Aville has three Brueggers Bagels for such a small town! Has a vegan place, several veggie places, all kinds of good seafood and steak restaurants and of course plenty of Mexican places. Sounds good to me.

-- Anonymous, July 26, 2002

Um, did I miss something? I thought Git and Co said they were going to Charleston, South Carolina. Isn't Ashville in North Carolina in the mountains? Can someone actually consider commuting that distance?

Or are you just comparing?

-- Anonymous, July 27, 2002

Yep, you missed something. See post no. 8, I think it is.

-- Anonymous, July 27, 2002

oh.

sounds nutty to me.

-- Anonymous, July 27, 2002