Tractor Portability

[jgh]

11/13

I have to go to bed (it's late in the east), but Harv, where did you get tha new thingamajig, the crying face?! You been holding out on us, Buddy?

/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Jim

 

[Harv]

Jim -

If you have your own space on a server somewhere you can reference your own doodles as I occassionally do.

It's best to just use the nice set of faces that Muhammad provides, but sometimes I just can't help myself.

 

[glennmac]

I've been trying to catch up and just noticed that this thread deserves the award for the most substantial twists and turns. Didn't it start with a picture of Grumpy, who is no longer with us.

No time for my genetic longwindedness, so here are some quick reactions:

Scruffy, do not move to Illinois from the west coast unless absolutely necessary for your financial and family well being. The west coast is god's country. Good move to sell Grumpy for a very fair price under your present circumstances.

Country over city, on all counts. That is, if we talking about city-urban. City-suburban is somewhat better for life and family than the truly urban, but is still inferior to country. (By country, I assume we are not talking about something really remote, like the north slope of Alaska.)

I was born and raised in NYC. Have moved my principal residence 20 times in my life all over the country (some listed in my profile). Most of the time I lived in suburbs.
Went to two universities in NYC, one in Boston area, and one in Tallahassee. Spent summers in country and live in "accessible country" now. (Nothing in Connecticut is too far from urban amenities.)

There is NO reason that would motivate me to live or raise a family in a large city. To me, it is all negative. A nice suburb is far superior. Country life within reasonable striking distance of a medium city is the best on all counts. The reasons have been given by others. I will emphasize the real sense of community in small areas.

I have often regretted leaving Tallahassee. Had I stayed there instead of going to Harvard and then on to a country-hopping corporate life, I am absolutely positive I would have been far wealthier, own far more land, have fewer debts, and -- more importantly -- have far more real life friends, colleagues and community involvements.

One of the truest things that was ever said to me is that: It is better to be a big fish in a small pond than a small fish in a big pond. And the "betterness" is in many dimensions. In a large city, unless you are a celebrity, you have no sense of being in a pond or of even being a fish.

Children under 8 take moves fairly easy. 12 to 18 years of age, it becomes more traumatic to them but is still doable.

Summary: better to be raised and live in the country, leaving the big city for visits, trips and college schooling experiences.

Sorry, I guess my DNA prevailed after all.

 

[scruffy]

GlennMac,
We've pretty much crossed off moving east. It's just not what we want. Spent 5 years traveling (mostly midwest, but 1.5 years in Georgia), and all the family is here on the west coast, to include 7 grand-daughters.
Grumpy was originally purchased as a hobby type investment, knowing that I could easily recover my costs when, and if, I wanted to sell. Well, it just seemed the prudent thing to do, even though I really didn't want to. Another, will make its appearance when the timing is right, as I enjoy the outdoors, tractor work, and above all, puddling around.

I am constantly searching the job market, and consistantly being driven nuts by the telephone. So far, nothing has struck the right bells and whistles, and I am being picky.
It has to be right for us, as well as the prospective employer. I've had some lucrative offers, and the firms where quite good, but the locations left things to be desired.
We have a nice location at the moment, close to city, but out in the country, and in the L.A. / Orange county area, that takes some doing!
Time, and the 'Feller Upstairs' will provide the answer to 'what and where' down the road.