Retire Where???

[tomustang]

3. Churches outnumber fast food establishments by at least 5 to 1.

That's anywhere in the bible belt, it really is:

church-pawn shop-church-bar-church-pawnshop-church-bar-church-bar-church-pawn shop-church etc

You can literally take one step into ill repute and the next step into forgiveness and it repeats.

Why does the Californian worry about the commute if he or she is retired?

There is no such thing as retirement in california. If you don't work anymore you still have to drive everywhere for something, you have to walk for your community mailbox, your supermarket is in another town and so are your retail stores. There your neighbors are too close and what you want is always a drive away.

[ezdays]

There is no such thing as retirement in california. If you don't work anymore you still have to drive everywhere for something, you have to walk for your community mailbox, your supermarket is in another town and so are your retail stores. There your neighbors are too close and what you want is always a drive away.

You guys keep using the words, "driving" and "California" in the same sentence. :o That is just a dream, "crawling" is more appropriate. I remember coming up from San Diego one weekend and stopping at the end of the line at Mission Viejo on the way to Anaheim, about 25 miles away. That's the same stretch of road that gave me ulcers when we lived there back in the 70's. Every freeway was a parking lot, even late at night. It's been a few years since I've been over there, but from what I hear, it isn't any better.

[Mike Kieran]

I was just looking for a reason to put that cartoon in. I actually met the actor that played Luca Brasi, Lenny Passaforo, about 30 years ago. A real nice guy, which is good because he was about 6 foot 6inches.

Wasn't he a professional wrestler?

He was. His actor name was Lenny Montana and he wrestled professionally under such colorful names as "The Zebra Kid" and "Chief Chickawicki" before turning to acting.

[Mike Kieran]

There is no such thing as retirement in california. If you don't work anymore you still have to drive everywhere for something, you have to walk for your community mailbox, your supermarket is in another town and so are your retail stores. There your neighbors are too close and what you want is always a drive away.

You guys keep using the words, "driving" and "California" in the same sentence. :o That is just a dream, "crawling" is more appropriate. I remember coming up from San Diego one weekend and stopping at the end of the line at Mission Viejo on the way to Anaheim, about 25 miles away. That's the same stretch of road that gave me ulcers when we lived there back in the 70's. Every freeway was a parking lot, even late at night. It's been a few years since I've been over there, but from what I hear, it isn't any better.

I just laugh when they refer to adding more lanes as a way of relieving congestion. I think of it as widening the parking lot. I thought that New York City traffic was horrendous until I went to California.

[ezdays]

I just laugh when they refer to adding more lanes as a way of relieving congestion. I think of it as widening the parking lot. I thought that New York City traffic was horrendous until I went to California.

Been to both, I'm not sure which comes out at the bottom, Manhattan surface streets, or LA freeways. We're looking at pure gridlock in either place. :?

[Mike Kieran]

Manhattan isn't usually too horrible, although I always take the train in if I can help it. Weekends, especially holiday weekends are a nightmare. My wife used to drive in and pick me up at work ib the city for our annual trek up to Ralph's old stomping ground upstate in Woodstock/Kingston/New Paltz. I would go through the Holland Tunnel which took forever, but once I got into the tunnel, it was smooth sailing. Traffic in Brooklyn isn't bad either.

[Sumpter250]

Traffic in Brooklyn isn't bad either.

unless you are fool enough to use the "Long Island Distressway" :o

:oops: That should have been the Long Island Expressway.......aka the Big L I E :o :o

[Sumpter250]

P.S. --------- Retired in Vernon Hills Illinois, about the same driving fun around Chicago, as the "Distressway" :o

[ezdays]

Manhattan isn't usually too horrible, although I always take the train in if I can help it. Weekends, especially holiday weekends are a nightmare. My wife used to drive in and pick me up at work ib the city for our annual trek up to Ralph's old stomping ground upstate in Woodstock/Kingston/New Paltz. I would go through the Holland Tunnel which took forever, but once I got into the tunnel, it was smooth sailing. Traffic in Brooklyn isn't bad either.

When I lived in NJ I remember driving there once. That was back in the 50's and things weren't too bad back then, but I still took a train any other time. Back in the 70's we were back east on vacation and I drove my family through the Holland Tunnel and found us somewhere in Manhattan just trying to get back to the Tunnel. it took over an hour just to turn around. That experience is etched in my mind forever. No matter how bad the traffic is in downtown Los Angeles, it will never compare with that, I still shake when I think about it. :cry:

P.S. --------- Retired in Vernon Hills Illinois, about the same driving fun around Chicago, as the "Distressway" :o

Freeways, expressways, distressways.... it doesn't matter where they are, they're all just one ribbon of parking lot.

[Sumpter250]

When I lived in NJ I remember driving there once. That was back in the 50's and things weren't too bad back then, but I still took a train any other time. Back in the 70's we were back east on vacation and I drove my family through the Holland Tunnel and found us somewhere in Manhattan just trying to get back to the Tunnel. it took over an hour just to turn around.

:o Holland Tunnel + 1971 Challenger R/T 340 4bbl 4 speed + 1 Sears 1/2ton utility trailer + never been there before .....
equals What the expletive deleted !! am I doing here !!!

Me, the car, and the trailer made it safely to Great Lakes, Il. ( through no fault of my own )

[ezdays]

:o Holland Tunnel + 1971 Challenger R/T 340 4bbl 4 speed + 1 Sears 1/2ton utility trailer + never been there before .....
equals What the expletive deleted !! am I doing here !!!

Me, the car, and the trailer made it safely to Great Lakes, Il. ( through no fault of my own )

Holland Tunnel + 1970 Pontiac S/W, Peggy in the front seat, two kids in the back, no trailer, been there before, should have know better but wanted to show kids the Statue of Liberty.... Sorry kids, so close..... just wanted to get out of there and head back home.

[FiatFan]

I was in New York once and didn't have any problems with the traffic. I was about 2 at the time so my main concern was where's my n ext meal.

You people should pick a quiet spot to retire. Here in the remote reaches of northern Iowa we have rush minute. Granted, the shopping is limited, the entertainment possibilities are limited, train watching is limited, and a whole host of other things are limited, but we sure don't have traffic problems.

Tom

[ezdays]

I was in New York once and didn't have any problems with the traffic. I was about 2 at the time so my main concern was where's my n ext meal.

You people should pick a quiet spot to retire. Here in the remote reaches of northern Iowa we have rush minute. Granted, the shopping is limited, the entertainment possibilities are limited, train watching is limited, and a whole host of other things are limited, but we sure don't have traffic problems.

Tom

We lived in Wickenburg, about 35 miles north of where we live now. I remember seeing a picture in the local paper about a car that rear-ended another one during, what they described as "rush hour". What that actually meant was that there was two cars on the road at the time. Other times during, "Non-rush hour", you find that there is only one or no cars on the road. Laid back? You bet. :o Why we had more rattlesnakes than cars on the road, just ask Sumpter250, he can vouch for that....

[FiatFan]

more rattlesnakes than cars on the road

This is why you won't find me as a permanent resident of the south or west. I have a pathological fear of snakes of any kind.

While traveling in Texas we pulled into a rest area. Among the signs was "Watch out for snakes." I'm pretty sure they weren't talking about garter snakes. Then you enter the rest room and all around the base are 6" openings, perfect little snake doggie doors. Have you ever tried taking care of business while your head is spinning like the girl in "The Exorcist"?

[ezdays]

more rattlesnakes than cars on the road

This is why you won't find me as a permanent resident of the south or west. I have a pathological fear of snakes of any kind.

While traveling in Texas we pulled into a rest area. Among the signs was "Watch out for snakes." I'm pretty sure they weren't talking about garter snakes. Then you enter the rest room and all around the base are 6" openings, perfect little snake doggie doors. Have you ever tried taking care of business while your head is spinning like the girl in "The Exorcist"?

Well, I don't have a phobia about snakes, but I'll do what I can to avoid them. Being on the edge of the desert, we had many other creatures like coyotes and turnkey vultures that kept things neat. The snake we had curled up against our patio door when Sumpter250 and Ray M. were visiting was dispatched down the hill behind the house in two pieces by the local police. Fifteen minutes later, it was gone.

One more rattlesnake story. We had pack rats outside our house and had pellets around to get rid of them. One day we had a snake with a lump in its belly that wasn't moving too fast. Apparently it swallowed one of the rats that had eaten some of the pellets. Not good for either one. Well, I chased the snake down the hill and finally shot it with a BB gun. About an hour later we went down to get rid of the snake and all that was left was its fangs and rattle. We hoped that whoever made a meal of the snake didn't fall victim of the pellets as well. :cry:

Oh, in case you wanted to know why we moved, well, that was a major reason. We got tired of sidestepping the snakes, gila monsters and other desert creatures.