The Onasi/Point Man family is moving to PA

[Confederal_Republic]

@ Ping: We'll be living in or near a town of about 40k, so not too bad. I think we're only going to be about an hour from Baltimore, so 'civilization' won't be too far off. After having lived in Chicago for about 3 years and then between Chicago and Milwaukee for a good half or more of my life, I'll be glad to get out of the city rat-race and slow down.

 

It'll also be nice not to have such bitter cold in the winter as WI gets.

 

Baltimore's a cesspool. Try not to trip over the mountains of cocaine you'll likely encounter whenever you're on foot in that area. If, for some reason, you ever need to visit eastern Baltimore, carry a loaded gun with you. If you're a liberal, meditate on your irrational fear of weaponry, and carry a loaded gun anyway. Getting chased away by armed gangbangers isn't fun, and I can tell you that from experience.

 

Real estate sucks everywhere - blame the federal government. Either way, I hope you like PA - I know I do.

[Bob Lion54]

I could have sworn I posted in this thread... or maybe I'm confused because you told me on Skype... I donno...

 

Anyway, Congrats on Jimbo's new job! I guess this means you'll be able to get a lot more game time in with your retirement. That's always a good thing.

 

Oh, and stay away from Philly. They riot for anything there. Team loses: riot. Team wins: riot. Player spits on the sideline: riot.

[Ping]

Oh, and stay away from Philly. They riot for anything there. Team loses: riot. Team wins: riot. Player spits on the sideline: riot.

 

It's Chester you want to stay away from. Philadelphia is just a little dirty.

[mimartin]

Gettysburg, of course, you HAVE to visit the battlefield. I go to school in the area, and I've only been there once (when I was a kid), but it still sticks with me to this day. A truly amazing experience.

QFT

 

I really don't know how to describe it, but we went on a family vacation when I was 13 years old (I know this because that was the one and only vacation my family ever took as two weeks cooped up in a car with a 13,14 and 15 year olds was too much for my parents). My most vivid memory of the vacation is Gettysburg. All three of us had/have the reverence of a gnat, but at Gettysburg we spoke like we were in a church attending the funeral of a favorite aunt. Other than the great cannonball incident later that day away from Gettysburg, that was the only day of peace for my poor stepfather had that entire vacation.

 

The knowledge that nearly 8,000 people died and around another 27,000 were wounded on those grounds profoundly affected the three of us that day. Besides the Alamo, I don’t believe I have ever been moved to that extent from a historical site (I have to say Alamo it is a Texas law).

[Tommycat]

Besides the Alamo, I don’t believe I have ever been moved to that extent from a historical site (I have to say Alamo it is a Texas law).

 

Yeah.. imagine how bad I have it having grown up in San Antonio. I'm required to mention the Alamo every time someone mentions Mexico.

[Pavlos]

Pfft. You Americans. I live in the city where Constantine the Great was proclaimed emperor of Western Europe. Now that's history.

[Tommycat]

Pfft. You Americans. I live in the city where Constantine the Great was proclaimed emperor of Western Europe. Now that's history.

 

Yeah, because America didn't exist until 1492 when it magically appeared... It's not like there were natives here. It just rose up out of the water

 

Look just because you have more history doesn't mean that we don't have history here. And the Civil War was the bloodiest war in OUR history. Brothers against brothers. Family fighting family.

[mimartin]

Family fighting family.

My family must believe the Civil War is still going on.

[Jae Onasi]

Visiting Gettysburg will probably be like how I felt visiting the Vietnam war memorial or watching the ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknowns--solemn and rather somber.

 

@Ping and urluckyday--I live right on Lake Michigan, and we can get some epic snowfalls--80 inches a year is not unusual, and the winter before last I think we hit almost 120. So, 30 or so inches is going to be a breeze in comparison. Most rural areas can't handle any snowfall well. I lived in Missouri for about 6 years for undergrad, and I'm used to the "OMG 1 inch of snow CLOSE EVERYTHING!!" mentality, as well as amused.

 

@Liverandbacon and Darth333--I moved so often during my college years that I was very happy to settle down for a good long time. I'm looking forward to seeing a new part of the country, however. The only bad thing is we're moving the kids out of a terrific school district with an outstanding music program, and trying to figure out which school districts are the best in any given town is extremely difficult. I _think_ we found a good one, but it'll be hard to tell until we actually get there.

 

@Pavlos--I promise to come see York if I ever make it to the UK for a visit. I love history, no matter how long or short it may be.

 

@Ping and Confederal--I lived in Chicago for awhile, and still go down there regularly, so I've seen some pretty rough areas. Still, it's nice to know which ones to stay away from.

 

@stingerhs--give up rooting for OSU? Are you nuts?

I'm looking forward to cheering for the Cubs at a Nationals game.

I do enjoy minor league baseball a lot--it's nice to know there will be a team nearby.

 

Thanks for all the tips! Looks like there will plenty of cool stuff for us to do.

[Ping]

Looking at what urluckyday wrote, I have to agree with everything stated in his lengthy post. PA drivers seem to drift into the other lane on occasion...

 

And to add to the sports, it seems baseball is the most popular (then again, I live closer to Philly, so there might be a regional difference) with football as a second. As I am a soccer fan (and get more crap than I should because of it :¬: ), I don't follow either, but anyone can tell you that Philly sports teams are characterized by two things: nasty fans (smoke bombs get thrown when the Union scores goals, for example), and usually making it to the playoffs of their respective leagues (usually). Eagles are the NFL team, 76ers in NBA, Flyers in NHL, Phillies in MLB, and the Union for MLS; listed for your convenience.

 

Edit: Forgot to mention why to stay away from Chester: it's Philly's ghetto, right outside of the city. Worst place I have ever seen.

[JediMaster12]

It's Chester you want to stay away from. Philadelphia is just a little dirty.

 

Come on now. Philly is the city of brotherly love ya know

 

I've been to the East but unfortunately it has been limited to a visiting experience. I gave a conference in Baltimore and spent a day on the train to get to DC.

 

If anything I'd give kudos to the train systems in the major cities. Public transportation is the best way to see the types of characters that live in town. My more vivid experiences came when I lived in Chicago for a year and man the people I met there...

 

Glad that jimbo got the job and I hope things work out in the end for you Mama Jae.

[Ping]

Come on now. Philly is the city of brotherly love ya know

 

In name only. The murder rate is quite shocking.

[Jae Onasi]

I had to take a licensing test in Chicago to practice in IL when I first moved up there from our brief stint in Texas. My hubby assured me the L-trains were completely safe. So, I got on and rode the green line down to my stop which was on the South side of Chicago. Right at the Robert Taylor projects--which have since been torn down because they were that crime-ridden they'd pretty much been destroyed. Two stops before my stop, some guys got on and walked through the train, selling crack. I was dismayed to discover they got off at the same stop I got off at. They didn't seem to mind, and fortunately we ended up walking off in different directions. It didn't take me long to realize that I was not safe even in broad daylight, but fortunately it was early enough in the day that most of the drug dealers and crackheads were still asleep. My sister, who has been living in Chicago for the last 20-ish years, freaked out when she found out I'd been walking through one of the most dangerous places in the city--and survived just fine, but I think I had an angel or two watching out for me that day.

 

@JediMaster12--heh--your comment about the characters on the trains reminded me of this Bill Cosby story. The sound is pretty low so you might have to turn it up. Anyone who's ridden public transportation in a big city will appreciate it. It's clean, too.

(This BBCode requires its accompanying plugin to work properly.)

[urluckyday]

In name only. The murder rate is quite shocking.

 

City is fun to wander around in.

 

@Jae - Check out South Street and Broad Street at night if you and your husband are looking for a cool place to stroll around in for a while after dinner!