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Location: I'm looking for a place to call home actually
16 posts, read 35,753 times
Reputation: 12
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Ya, Dallas is pretty hard to get around especially in a tractor/trailer. I'd wager it's a bit tougher to navigate than Los Angeles. I get the cold shoulder down here because I try to stay out of trouble, I get treated like I'm Dudley Do Right because I don't want to throw away the years I spent in school and getting certified by doing something stupid lol. They just don't see it as a waste of time like I do. At least I'll be getting the brush off for a good reason lol. They just want to preserve their beautiful countryside from over population and the pollution from industry, no hard feelings lol.
Actually, there is LESS for kids to do and both parents often work various hours. It's why drugs are so popular here. There's not much else to do. Compared to schools in more populated areas, there are few dances for the kids, few after school clubs, less to do except 'hang out.'
Now many Vermonters are not anti 'soft drugs' like pot and have no problem if their kids are smoking it (they are, too) but we prefer a no tolerance policy in my family so I feel like the 'culture' here is not for us.
Well said Gypsy...Bennington, Vt. is a good example, the town our daughter attends school, and where my wife works in an agency that helps troubled kids (and there's a LOT of them in Bennington.)
I watched over the last 15 years, several decent teen-related activities get squashed in town for whatever reasons, mainly political.
When school was out in June several years ago, there was a nice little "day camp" for kids to attend at a small lake with several teenaged supervisors. Both our kids attended it, and my son learned to swim there. The activity is long gone for years, due to lack of funding.
Last year my daughter basically just stayed home all summer because there was nothing to do. I did everything I could to include her in my stuff, but how much can a guy do with work and "guy" stuff share with a 15 yr. old gal, you know?...
There's not even any summer job opportunities for her anywheres, so it's a tough deal all around.
Funny how they can't afford summer activities funding, but they can hire more cops and buy more tactical equipment for them to control drugs and crime...I don't quite get it.
But we "pay attention", and both our kids are against drugs and the kids that associate with it. Not everyone is that fortunate, consequently. I nipped that in the bud when my son was younger, and now 21, he drinks raspberry Snapple. But I don't drink any more than 24 bottles of beer a year myself, and don't care to really. I believe they follow by example.
Even the vocabulary we use made a difference. I just preferred to not use vulgarity or profanity around here, out of respect and dignity. My kids don't cuss, and it's amazing how you notice the regular people that stop in that have guttermouths that I have to remind them where they're at...including the women. It goes right through me, because I worked so hard to keep this in tact, and then somebody comes barreling in and starts talking like a drunken sailor. It may not mean much to a lot of people here and there, but it's all tied together. Respect others, respect yourself. Show respect to your children by controlling the environmental issues (such as the cussing,) and lo & behold, you have some well rounded individuals.
Just how I think, call me what you want, but it worked for us...
Ya, Dallas is pretty hard to get around especially in a tractor/trailer. I'd wager it's a bit tougher to navigate than Los Angeles. I get the cold shoulder down here because I try to stay out of trouble, I get treated like I'm Dudley Do Right because I don't want to throw away the years I spent in school and getting certified by doing something stupid lol. They just don't see it as a waste of time like I do. At least I'll be getting the brush off for a good reason lol. They just want to preserve their beautiful countryside from over population and the pollution from industry, no hard feelings lol.
Now that I see you're seeking OTR type of work Joshua, lemme make a suggestion that may or may not fit your dream of moving north.
How about moving over into Northern New York, around Albany area?
It's an hour from the Vermont line, and where I personally go for decent work and wages. It's all good around the capital region in terms of living, too. You can get 15 minutes out of the city and be surrounded by woods, but still be near stuff that's kind of nice to be close to. There's a heck of a lot more employment opportunities in that area than here hoss, and believe me, if I ever get to sell this place and get out, I'm headed to just that setting myself. I travel 15 miles south of Albany to work, and am considering moving down closer to it. I'm sure there's people thinking that's crazy with all the problems NY state is going through, but it's where the work is, and that's what I'm looking for.
There's some beautiful country 20 minutes west of Albany in Schoharie County that'll knock your socks off too, and jobs to go with it.
Just a suggestion, hate to see you dive into something if there's a better alternative to make your quality of life a little better.
Good luck.
Location: I'm looking for a place to call home actually
16 posts, read 35,753 times
Reputation: 12
Quote:
Originally Posted by LowboyTZ
Now that I see you're seeking OTR type of work Joshua, lemme make a suggestion that may or may not fit your dream of moving north.
How about moving over into Northern New York, around Albany area?
It's an hour from the Vermont line, and where I personally go for decent work and wages. It's all good around the capital region in terms of living, too. You can get 15 minutes out of the city and be surrounded by woods, but still be near stuff that's kind of nice to be close to. There's a heck of a lot more employment opportunities in that area than here hoss, and believe me, if I ever get to sell this place and get out, I'm headed to just that setting myself. I travel 15 miles south of Albany to work, and am considering moving down closer to it. I'm sure there's people thinking that's crazy with all the problems NY state is going through, but it's where the work is, and that's what I'm looking for.
There's some beautiful country 20 minutes west of Albany in Schoharie County that'll knock your socks off too, and jobs to go with it.
Just a suggestion, hate to see you dive into something if there's a better alternative to make your quality of life a little better.
Good luck.
Sounds good to me, I'll look into it, and I thank all of you for responding. The funniest thing about these towns is how many people never made it out of high school. Oh they graduated sure enough, but it's the land of the 40 year old gang banger. The mindset is absolutely juvenile. It's like "hey, come by my house and so you can engage in an illegal activity which could leave you spending the next ten to twenty hiding a prison shank up your sphincter" Uh...I have to iron my tighty whities... My luck I'll go through all the trouble of relocating and end up in Manhattan "sorry I side swiped your car, Mr Gotti is it!?"
Last edited by Joshua2010; 04-29-2010 at 06:11 PM..
Sounds good to me, I'll look into it, and I thank all of you for responding. The funniest thing about these towns is how many people never made it out of high school. Oh they graduated sure enough, but it's the land of the 40 year old gang banger. The mindset is absolutely juvenile. It's like "hey, come by my house and so you can engage in an illegal activity which could leave you spending the next ten to twenty hiding a prison shank up your sphincter" Uh...I have to iron my tighty whities... My luck I'll go through all the trouble of relocating and end up in Manhattan "sorry I side swiped your car, Mr Gotti is it!?"
If you do your homework Joshua, you'll see that Upstate NY has no affiliation whatsoever with the Big Apple in terms of lifestyle. The native upstaters don't like the fact they're connected by a 3 hour drive to that place.
Not in defense of NYC by any means, but I've done a lot of trucking in my day in and out of the heart of that place. I've delivered loads of rigid foam insulation a couple years ago with a 48' stepdeck with a 290" wheelbase Peterbilt (pretty large car for that area,) right downtown Manhattan on Wall St. Had to park on the sidewalk overnight, and surprisingly never was bothered. I guess the cops and everybody knew the load was related to the jobsite and left me alone. The thing that amazed me also was how everybody says how outrageous the prices are down there for everything. May be so, but I've had several times that I walked up to a steet vendor selling coffee, bagels, etc. and bought a coffee for $1.00, and a bagel (and there ain't nothing on the planet like a fresh NYC bagel bubba...,)all totalling $2.00. I was floored by the economics of that. A coffee up here is $2.00, and don't bother finding a good bagel...there ain't any.
I also hauled heavy/oversized equipment into/out of the city. I delivered a load right into the foundation of the former World Trade Center, Ground Zero. It was a deal where it was so tight to get into, I drove in, the crane unloaded the machine and swung it over top of me, then I asked him if he'd mind if I unhooked my lowbed and have him turn it 180 degrees so I could drive out instead of trying to manuver through the abyss in reverse. He was all smiles, and that's what we did. Friendly, good people.
I've been 12 feet wide with excavators, loaders, etc. downtown Queens, Brooklyn. I stopped and asked directions to either a cop, or a city bus driver every time I needed them. Never once did I get a sarcastic word while asking directions. It still blows my mind, but the myth that all NY'ers are cynical is false. There's plenty of them around, but I managed to stay clear of them somehow. I have neighbors around me born and raised in the Green Mtns. I can't stomach to talk to, compared to some of those city professionals down there. They've never been out of the state except maybe to visit Dartmouth Hitchcock Hospital in New Hampshire, and that was enough for them, 2 miles across the state line. Then they talk about how much they hate leaving the state, like they're world travelers.
Again, check out Schoharie County in NY state. Give it some good thought. The real estate is still affordable, and the property taxes are still down compared to Albany County. More and more people are headed out that way to live. But there's a lot of ground still to be by yourself.
Many jobs too. One comes to mind...Cason Trucking in Duanesburg,NY.(15 miles west of Albany.) He's a fleet of end dumps (dump trailers) that does quite a lot of OTR hauling, good sized fleet too. Just one example, for you to ponder.
That's my theory if you want to make a living, work hard, and work smarter, not harder for it. Stay fishing where the fish are...
I know some people in upstate NY, they complain a lot that NYC runs the state (forcing gun laws, regulations, etc. on upstate NY that they don't want). I wouldn't want to live there myself although you can work there and live right over the border in VT.
I know some people in upstate NY, they complain a lot that NYC runs the state (forcing gun laws, regulations, etc. on upstate NY that they don't want). I wouldn't want to live there myself although you can work there and live right over the border in VT.
Can't say it's much different here as far as things being forced on us...better not get into that discussion though.
This fellas looking for a decent job, so I just figured I'd point him in the right direction. Living in Vt. and running over to Albany everyday is a DRAG, take it from a guy who's doing it and hates it.
Location: I'm looking for a place to call home actually
16 posts, read 35,753 times
Reputation: 12
It's cool
I think i have secured a position in the oil field actually, from what they said I should be getting around 80,000 a year with all the overtime so I'll just go with it for now, mainly because they were good enough to hire me lol. If I drove over the road, I'd have to drive through NYC I'm guessing. I'm just a little intimidated because of how much congestion and the degree of difficulty it would take ot navigate it in a commercial vehicle. It's all good, I'll go make some money and take a trip up there and check it out sometime. Thanks for all the help guys, I appreciate it.
What are some of the best areas for transportation/logistic jobs with a reasonable cost of living? I have a CDL, hazmat, all the endorsements, never been arrested, pass a drug test and meet all physical requirements to do the job. I was checking out some towns on I-91, I've been doing some research and it sounds like the "Mill Towns" are in a state of decline which has led to my doing more research. I am in the process of getting a passport so I can go to Montreal if I wanted to catch a concert or grab a brew and watch some hockey, plus a lot of the larger companies will send you to Toronto for lumber or steel it looks like. I am also pretty resistant to the cold so that's not a major concern. What is my main concern is being able to secure employment, afford a modestly priced home, and an area that's not blanketed with crime. I'd be lying if I said it wasn't getting pretty bad down here and to be honest I'm just down right sick of it. I was hoping find some hard working people with good values to raise a family around.
Maybe Vermont isn't the place for you...
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