No different at all from the way people drive here in Boston, I'm quite comfortable driving in Montreal. (I suspect this is probably true of most cities beyond a certain size anyway - Montreal is much larger than Boston FYI)
I quite like the place, I am making a tradition of going to Son et Image as long as it holds up.
You don't get sick in the country, you get sick in the city.
The country is healthy for you. ...And the best doctors live and operate in the country.
I wish you the very best recovery John. ...Stay alert to your surroundings, the wildlife.
I lived near Montreal for twenty years. I've been to Montreal many many times.
I've never been to Boston, and I don't know the size of Boston; is it in the country side? ...Bigger than Chicago?
Son & Image; sounds great. ...Beaucoup de musique (artistes, musiciens, ...) et de bons endroits pour acheter des instruments et des systemes de son (enceintes acoustique, amplificateurs, ...) @ Montreal. ...Et il y a de tres bon vendeurs qui partage leur experience pour le meilleur benefit des clients.
Have you ever drive in New York city?
Boston is on the coastline, not in the country.
Boston combined with Quincy and Cambridge is the 10th largest metropolitan area in the USA. Chicago is 3rd and has more than twice the population. I actually live in Quincy, and I like it here. Brisk five minute walk to the subway and a fairly quick ride to downtown Boston.
Yes, I have driven in NYC, truthfully I don't see much if any difference between there and here. Drivers in both places are incredibly aggressive.
Unfortunately 9 - 10 mile (14 - 16km) traffic jams are very common on all of the highways around and through Boston.
Most of the really great health care options in New England are located in Boston as Scott and I have previously alluded to. People come from all over the USA, Canada, Europe and the Middle East for cancer treatment at places like Dana Farber which is closely affiliated with Harvard's medical school. I've not talked about it here before but I have direct experience having been diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma in May of last year. I'm in remission now, but have a long way to go to recover from the treatment. I plan to spend my retirement years right here despite the climate due to health concerns.
Boston combined with Quincy and Cambridge is the 10th largest metropolitan area in the USA. Chicago is 3rd and has more than twice the population. I actually live in Quincy, and I like it here. Brisk five minute walk to the subway and a fairly quick ride to downtown Boston.
Yes, I have driven in NYC, truthfully I don't see much if any difference between there and here. Drivers in both places are incredibly aggressive.
Unfortunately 9 - 10 mile (14 - 16km) traffic jams are very common on all of the highways around and through Boston.
Most of the really great health care options in New England are located in Boston as Scott and I have previously alluded to. People come from all over the USA, Canada, Europe and the Middle East for cancer treatment at places like Dana Farber which is closely affiliated with Harvard's medical school. I've not talked about it here before but I have direct experience having been diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma in May of last year. I'm in remission now, but have a long way to go to recover from the treatment. I plan to spend my retirement years right here despite the climate due to health concerns.
Further digging reveals that metro Boston/Quincy/Cambridge wins by a million or so, but the old city of Boston itself is under 700,000, add all of the adjoining areas that fall under Boston city government and many that don't and a different picture emerges. (See attached map) The implication is about 2/3 of the state's population lives in the three listed cities and some surrounding towns like Somerville. I knew it was a high % but I am surprised. (Note that from my house to downtown is about 8 miles/13km so this is not a big, spread out city)
It is expensive to live here, our strategy is to pay off the mortgage on the house, select extremely durable materials for exterior updates and try to stay on top of things. The mortgage will be paid off within the year, other needed updates to the house and yard will follow.
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Have you seen the new ceramic house paint guaranteed for a lifetime (not sure if it's transferable
)?
I've heard of it, but I would like to reside with this: James Hardie: World Leader in Fiber Cement Siding and Backerboard
The main problem is that the aluminum siding on our house is about 50yrs old and hides 104yr old cedar shakes. The house is not as tight as I would like. So I'd like to take it down to the sheathing, insulate with an additional external layer of foam board, add house wrap and then install new, durable siding. Would also trim out the windows with it.
The main problem is that the aluminum siding on our house is about 50yrs old and hides 104yr old cedar shakes. The house is not as tight as I would like. So I'd like to take it down to the sheathing, insulate with an additional external layer of foam board, add house wrap and then install new, durable siding. Would also trim out the windows with it.
No hail damage, but the material is pretty heavy stuff. It is no longer made, and the vertical joints are all failing - major effort to recaulk about 50m worth of joints, and the paint which is original is heavily oxidized. (Painting and caulking would cost perhaps 50% of what replacement would cost and doesn't address any of the other issues.) Savings in maintenance longer term, and lower heating costs could help justify it. I am not sure how it would affect resale value, but that is not a major consideration for us. (No heirs, and no plans to leave here either)
We have problems with air infiltration even with blown in insulation, taking all of this down would allow us to make the fixes required to make the place easier to heat to the kind of temperatures oldsters are comfortable at. We've done a lot of work, but are still shamed by the gas company every year.. lol The house will look a lot better and exterior maintenance will be reduced at a time when I no longer want to deal with it.
We have problems with air infiltration even with blown in insulation, taking all of this down would allow us to make the fixes required to make the place easier to heat to the kind of temperatures oldsters are comfortable at. We've done a lot of work, but are still shamed by the gas company every year.. lol The house will look a lot better and exterior maintenance will be reduced at a time when I no longer want to deal with it.
Hardie board is an excellent choice. I've sided a few houses with it and had nothing but good feedback. Looks like cedar siding and wears like cement. Also comes colored so no painting after installation. I would agree with stripping the house to the sheathing and doing the proper job insulating and siding thinking of long term savings in utilities.
I have lived/driven in Boston and NY...I think Boston traffic is worse. It was not unusual to hear the traffic report call rt93 or 128 "all done". That said I like the public transportation in Boston a lot more then in the New York metro area.
We plan to be in our home for the duration. I like where we live and utilities are reasonable on our small place.
I have lived/driven in Boston and NY...I think Boston traffic is worse. It was not unusual to hear the traffic report call rt93 or 128 "all done". That said I like the public transportation in Boston a lot more then in the New York metro area.
We plan to be in our home for the duration. I like where we live and utilities are reasonable on our small place.
Thanks for the feedback, it does help. I've thought for a long while that the hardie board is what I wanted, being ill all last year put that project on hold - possibly will happen next year.
Our living expenses here are quite reasonable, Quincy is much cheaper than Boston if you know where to look for things, and my wife is the quintessential bargain hunter, and is not in any sense an impulse shopper - so she will buy only if it is on the list.
Our living expenses here are quite reasonable, Quincy is much cheaper than Boston if you know where to look for things, and my wife is the quintessential bargain hunter, and is not in any sense an impulse shopper - so she will buy only if it is on the list.
I have never been to Connecticut, so I can't say....but I have been to NYC. Boston (yes 128 can be a parking lot), Atlanta, Charlotte, Cincinnati...... I think that South Florida rates right up there with the worst of them.
The ethnic mix of the population is so varied, and many drivers have no clue how things are supposed to work. Island drivers who often have never been in a car before coming to the US, let alone driven one, are the worst. Imagine what happens when an island driver is going 25 MPH in the middle lane (of 3 east bound lanes) where the average morning rush hour speed is 55, spots his friend sitting on the bus bench. He then STOPS dead in the middle lane and throws the passenger door open for his friend. Yes, the door was hit AND about 10 seconds later the driver was rear ended by a text messaging idiot. It took me an hour to get by and I could see the accident about 300 yards ahead.
I lived 3 miles from the plant where I worked. A run home at lunch time takes 7 minutes. The trip home at 5:30 takes on average 30 minutes. 20 of those minutes are to get out of the plant parking lot and go 5 blocks west. There is a traffic light for the plant exit, but the traffic backs up right through it so green means nothing if there are cars lined up in front of you.
South Florida is number 8.
There is a crummy hospital about 10 minutes away, and "the safest hospital in the state" about 25 minutes away. If major stuff is needed three big cities are within a reasonable driving distance.
Number 22 is a 90 minute drive. We made about a thousand trips to UPMC when Sherri's mother had cancer. They kept her alive and fully functioning for 5 years. The average life expectancy with Melanoma is 6 months. Number 32 is 2 hours away. Sherri's father had open heart surgery at Ohio State University about 6 months ago. He is still kicking despite 5 heart attacks. Number 29 is about 3 hours away. Sherri's stepfather was treated for his rare cancer at the Cleveland Clinic.....that one didn't go so well. 30 years of work in a chemical plant had done him and his brother in.
After 61 years in the middle of #8 I recently moved to a place that isn't even counted. We have been coming here for about 20 years and inherited Sherri's moms house where we live now. We plan to build a nice house with a large basement for a real Tubelab on some land we bought. Then we will sell this one. .......A picture taken out the front door.....there's something out of place here.
We bought an abandoned double wide trailer on a half acre at a tax auction for $10K, nobody else bid. (white building) Then we contacted the owner of the abandoned house next door (another half acre) and offered to buy it for the same price. It took several months, but she finally sold it to us. (dark grey building). The pictures were taken after we had filled TWO large dumpsters with all the trash we removed from the property and cleaned up the yard.
The trailer has already become my "storage shed." It contains 10,000 tubes and over a ton of transformers. The house should have been demoed by now if it didn't contain asbestos. $500 to rip that out, maybe it comes down next week.
I have been here for three weeks. During that time I have lost nearly 10 pounds.....how? Well you trade the hectic life in an 8 by 10 foot cubicle, or an abandoned server room (picture....the servers were removed after all the software guys were laid off) for a much bigger space....say about an acre!
I have spent 6 to 12 hours a day clearing the land and preparing it for house building. During the 4 months since those pictures were taken the "jungle" that I cleared last summer has returned. Google "Japanese Knotweed" to find out how hard this evil non-native species is to kill. It's 10 feet tall and it was still gone this past winter. Now it's back even thicker than before. This time it's WAR!
The neighbors have managed to keep the stuff from encroaching too far into their yards with chemicals and fire. They are glad to finally see someone cleaning up the property after 10 years of being a garbage dump, so they are offering help, power tools, heavy equipment and home grown food. I have made friends with several of them, a few cats, a dog, and a deer! Cool sunset picture from last week.
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You guys are all cool; I really enjoyed reading glimpses of your life.
Stay who you are, take good care of yourself and your loved ones.
You might have some handicaps here and there (I do), but your mind are strong and your experience is your guide.
Yes, I know where Boston is. Yes I know about Chicago. I know about Florida too, and Texas.
I wish you all the very best, retirement in peace. ...In & Out.
And tubelab you rock man! You're the kind of guy I would love to have as a close friend. And I jam too (guitars, plus).
Blues runs deep in my veins.
* http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRqhTnwTkJk
Stay who you are, take good care of yourself and your loved ones.
You might have some handicaps here and there (I do), but your mind are strong and your experience is your guide.
Yes, I know where Boston is. Yes I know about Chicago. I know about Florida too, and Texas.
I wish you all the very best, retirement in peace. ...In & Out.
And tubelab you rock man! You're the kind of guy I would love to have as a close friend. And I jam too (guitars, plus).
Blues runs deep in my veins.
* http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRqhTnwTkJk
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...........................Google "Japanese Knotweed" to find out how hard this evil non-native species is to kill. It's 10 feet tall and it was still gone this past winter. Now it's back even thicker than before. This time it's WAR!.........................
Agreed!! It's evil stuff.
I had it at my last house. It took almost 12years to get rid of it.
Extra-strong weedkiller (Sodium Chlorate - now not available in the UK) and
constant pulling/digging up the roots.
1" of root left in the ground will regrow within a year.
Burn everything above and below the ground.
In the UK, it is now so bad, it's a notifiable weed.
The local council then has the responsibility to get rid of it!!
Kevin
.
Agreed!! It's evil stuff.
I had it at my last house. It took almost 12years to get rid of it.
Extra-strong weedkiller (Sodium Chlorate - now not available in the UK) and
constant pulling/digging up the roots.
1" of root left in the ground will regrow within a year.
Burn everything above and below the ground.
In the UK, it is now so bad, it's a notifiable weed.
The local council then has the responsibility to get rid of it!!
Kevin
.
Personally I would use this, Glyphosate - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, and use it fastidiously, religiously per the instructions - not get impatient, let the slow, systematic poisoning of the roots happen ...