Mr. Athena and I are heading up to da UP on Friday for a two week trip. Our plan for the last couple years was to move to da UP next summer, mainly because if I stay at my current job, the stock options I get will give us a healthy nest egg.
However, lots o’ things have happened since then. First and foremost, the stock sucks. It’s still worth a good amount, but not a breathtakingly huge amount like it was before. Second, I hate this job. It’s mind numbingly dull, and I have a pointy haired boss. Third, job prospects in da UP are looking up. I have at least 2 semi-solid work-at-home, make-decent-enough-money prospects, and there’s always the possibility that I could drum up additional programming jobs on the web.
So we’re taking the plunge, and we’re going to look at houses next week. If we find a house we like, well, we’re going to have a lot of decisions to make.
Wish me luck - everything is a little scary. I’ve been thinking about moving back for about 8 years now, but actually doing it is something completely different. Will I get lost in a snowbank? Will my family drive me nuts? Do I really want to live in a tiny town 7 hours drive from any city? And what if none of my job prospects come through? It’s not like coding jobs are a dime a dozen up in da frozen north.
Da UP eh? Manistee? Marquette? Escanaba? Ishpeming, Houghton, Copper Harbor? Brrrrrrr. That little Z3 isn’t going to be much good for a large part of the year, is it?
Milossarian is kinda up that way, just south of Lake Charlevoix. And my brother is building a house just up the road a ways from him.
Marquette, or possibly Negaunee. Or halfway between Marquette and Negaunee. You get the idea.
And ya, the Z will be garaged from about October through April or so. Hopefully, I’ll have something else to get around in for that time period. Maybe a Skidoo?
I know Milossarian is up dat way. And there’s at least a couple other yoopers on da board. We’ll see what happens! Scary scary scary!
Hey! I was just thinking of you last week, wondering if you were headed up north yet.
Congrats on the decision to move. What do you language do you code in? Wouldn’t happen to be 4-D would it? Just curious - I might have a connection if you do.
Does that mean you’ll be able to come to the next MichDope?! [sub]say yes, say yes, say yes[/sub]
I program mainly in C/C++, and I do a fair amount of SQL. I’ve also worked in Visual Basic. 4-D, nope. But if yer contact involves working my own hours from home, I can learn any programming language there is in very little time.
MichDope, eh? heheee… you should ask the Colorado Dopers about me… I won’t even drive to South Denver (an hour drive) for a DopeFest. Granted, part of the problem is driving back after drinking, and if there is a MichDope I assume I’ll have to spend the night there, so ya never know. Biggest problem is it’s below da bridge, and you know what lives down der under da bridge!
Woohoo…Athena, I’m moving from Colorado to Michigan next month. Mr Carina has a place up a little south of Alpena right on the lake…Beautiful in winter!
Glad I won’t be living up there year round though, its not the UP, but almost as isolated.
Athena, if you attend a below-the-bridge Troll party, you are welcome to stay overnight. I know I’d be happy to have you, and my guess is a few other Dopers would willingly open their homes as well.
You MUST attend a MichiDope. We are quickly becoming legend. Not on the scale of a ChiDope or the great California Debauch (Christ, those people got wasted!), But we’re fun. And we don’t talk.
There’s this little document that we make all MichDopers sign prior to any DopeFest. Some people don’t like it, but heck, I mean, it’s not like it’s in bloo…[sub]Persephone whispers to Bunny…Oh, it is?[/sub] Um, okay, it’s not like its in a lot of blood.
But, hey, no virgin sacrifices. Nope, we stay away from anything controversial like that. I mean, we keep our noses clean. Yup, that’s us. Clean-nosed MichDopers. [sub]Besides, try finding a virgin in THIS group[/sub]
I’m pretty jealous. I grew up about 30 minutes south of where you’re going to live (my Dad services airplanes for the Marquette airport) and I can vouch for it being a really great place. Marquette’s a neat town.
HEY!!! I resemble that!!! Dang billy goats got better PR, is all…
Come to Michigan, Athena! The UP is God’s Back Yard! (Yeah, he does keep his prize collection of skeeters there. (And deerflies, and ticks, and blackflies, and…) But don’t worry - they won’t be (quite) able to carry off that Z3. Well, until they bulk up some - usually about August. It’s the tourist blood that does that to them. That’s why the locals drive big hulking 4WD trucks - they’re too heavy to carry away. It has nothing to do with the snow - honest!
BunnyGirl, we’ll have to get Athena and her hubby a pair of MSU sweatshirts!
Ok, Ok, I’ll come to a Dopefest if we move! Promise! But we gotta MOVE first. We’re looking at houses next Wednesday. Boy, it sure looks like you get a lotta house for a little bit o’ money up there. We’ll see what happens! At this point, I’d say the chances of actually doing the move this summer rather than next are like 30%. A lot of that hinges on if we find a house that we really, really like. Otherwise, we’ll just keep lookin’
But next summer, at the latest, we’ll be up there!
