The moving truck has left for Ozark, good bye California (Springfield: hotels, trip)

[Boof]

Originally Posted by G4inMO

Hello to everyone. Gripster finally made it to Missouri. We just read all the welcome to Missouri.

Dajammer, the Simpson welcome was sure an uplift to the exhausted Gripster.

Shadowcaver , I was talking to Gripster when she crossed the border. Great pic.

The family arrived yesterday afternoon, and the moving truck today at 8am. She has not had a break yet. And not for awhile until the boxes are unpacked. We are tired as you can guess. More work tomorrow. She will update you on her travels soon.

BTW - What time is coffee on Friday? I know you want it in Branson, but we might not be able to make this trip. Anyone interested in the Springfield area for coffee???

Gripster sends a big THANK YOU to everyone. She appreciates all the support on this forum from her virtual friends.

G4, thank you so much for the updates!!! Welcome Home Gripster!!!! It's so nice to hear you made it safely. Whew! We can't wait to hear of your adventure. But most of all....we are so glad you're finally here!!! It's been quite a wait, but it's paid off.! Gripster, ShadowCaver makes a good suggestion...Relax....take a deep breath and take a few minutes to take it all in. Giving yourselves a moment to regroup will make all the difference. And, if ya need to pinch yourself a time or to...go ahead...it won't hurt.

Btw, the Meet~N~Greet on Friday is at 10:45am. It sure would be nice if you all could make it....if only for a little while. We'd love to celebrate your arrival!!! Think about it, ok??? Otherwise, if your wantin' another get-together in Springfield....count me in.

Originally Posted by mrsgenealogy

Sure! Just not on Friday! Maybe we should try to do it in a couple of weeks?!

MrsG, I'm witchya boss, I'm witchya!!! It might work out where Eric & BassMan can come too. Wooooo Hoooo, wouldn't that be cool???

[Lake Junkie]

Don' stress about makin Friday AM coffee deal...it's just the FIRST newcomer thing for this group..........................
An it seems like something special might be forming here...................................
An the ol Blue Moon might be comin out..................................
An even 'tho Branson is only 35 miles from Springfield...........................
(What is that in dog miles?)



Springfield? When..........................................

[G4inMO]

Well obviously, Gripster and I did not make the coffee social..... How did it go? I will make sure we catch up with everyone and the next meet and greet.

She is still settling in and will hopefully update everyone soon. Her oldest son is not here yet and arrives late Monday with her Father in Law, so she is trying to get ready for her first CA guest.

It is so different here compared to CA. I notice how she says certain things like "Wow this person just waved me through", while driving someone was actually curtious - and she will say, "that never happens". We know what she means, eventhough I have found with drivers merging on to the highways must not understand. It is called merging,not stop n go. I havn't figured that one out yet and probably never will. (No offense to anyone).....

[da jammer]

Originally Posted by G4inMO

Well obviously, Gripster and I did not make the coffee social..... How did it go? I will make sure we catch up with everyone and the next meet and greet.

She is still settling in and will hopefully update everyone soon. Her oldest son is not here yet and arrives late Monday with her Father in Law, so she is trying to get ready for her first CA guest.

It is so different here compared to CA. I notice how she says certain things like "Wow this person just waved me through", while driving someone was actually curtious - and she will say, "that never happens". We know what she means, eventhough I have found with drivers merging on to the highways must not understand. It is called merging,not stop n go. I havn't figured that one out yet and probably never will. (No offense to anyone).....

lucky for the gripster clan they have the G4 clan to hang out with and get a hand from!! Boy that makes a huge difference

[Going_Somewhere]

Seems everyone is leaving CA.... so why are housing prices still so d*** high!!!!!!

[mrsgenealogy]

Originally Posted by G4inMO

Well obviously, Gripster and I did not make the coffee social..... How did it go? I will make sure we catch up with everyone and the next meet and greet...

It is so different here compared to CA. I notice how she says certain things like "Wow this person just waved me through", while driving someone was actually curtious - and she will say, "that never happens". We know what she means, eventhough I have found with drivers merging on to the highways must not understand. It is called merging,not stop n go. I havn't figured that one out yet and probably never will. (No offense to anyone).....

G4, I can hardly wait to meet you and Gripster, too! MrsC is polling the Fab 5 for a possible Springfield date so keep your eyes on that Over the Fence Coffee Club thread! I'm sure she'll announce it soon!

[Da_Dawg]

Hay gripster2Welcome to the Ozarks I hope that you Like it here

[northbayeric]

Originally Posted by Going_Somewhere

Seems everyone is leaving CA.... so why are housing prices still so d*** high!!!!!!

A very good question, huh? A couple of factors are at work, and probably none of them that come to my mind can fully explain why they're so stupefyingly expensive.

Actually, the prices in many areas in California have begun to come down....a little. It is forecast that California's population is expected to continue growing indefinitely despite more Americans moving from California than moving TO it. The strong majority of those moving to California are from other countries--Mexico obviously being one of them. The city of Anaheim, for example, is now nearly 50 percent Hispanic. In Los Angeles, about as many people speak Spanish as their first language as they do English. So the influx of people from other countries is one factor.

Second factor: people moving to relatively less expensive housing areas and commuting long distances to work. This has been the case for a long time in the Bay Area, with people commuting from Sonoma County south to Marin County and San Francisco, also from Tracy in the western edge of the Central Valley west to the more immediate Bay Area. Today, you even have some people who commute to Sonoma County from Lake County to the northeast (which has to be stressful because the mountainous terrain has you going around countless 25 to 35 mph curves). In Southern California, there are multitudes of commuters from Riverside County cities like Corona and Lake Elsinore traveling to Orange County to work. So to a Marin County resident where the average price of a home is nearly $1 million, Sonoma County with its average $550,000 to $600,000 homes seems pretty cheap.

Third factor: terrain. San Francisco, with its piddling 49 square miles, is entirely built up, so new housing developments there are out of the question unless you take the wrecking ball to a current development. The same is pretty much true with Newport Beach, which is surrounded by water (and expensive yachts in the water!). Generally, Orange County and most of Los Angeles County are entirely built up unless you go all the way out to the desert towns of Palmdale and Lancaster (which have grown quickly and are suffering from gangs and other high crime problems).

Fourth factor: good old politics. The anti-growth sentiment of places like Marin County has driven housing prices up to the stratosphere and beyond, so much so that Santa Rosa has added more residents during the past 20 years, I think, than all of Marin County. You can just imagine what that has meant as far as traffic is concerned. The mountainous topography of this area and proximity to the ocean, San Francisco Bay and San Pablo Bay also are such that building a second freeway to take some of the burden off Highway 101 north of San Francisco is virtually out of the question from an engineering standpoint and especially from a budgetary and political standpoint.

[G4inMO]

Okay Gripster.....Where are you? I checked and you haven't yet to update everyone...... They know you are here now and I know you have probably checked the thread. Let's get you back up and running! It has been a crazy journey to say the least. Jump back in. I'm sure once your fingers start typing, you won't be able to stop.

[G4inMO]

Ok Gripster......... I have put your thread back up on page one.
On your mark, Get Set,
now GO !!!!!