4 ms·

Chattanooga is also a reasonable day trip. Panama City Beach or Pensacola Beach is 7 hours away--good for a long weekend trip. Plenty of freshwater recreation

Chattanooga is also a reasonable day trip. Panama City Beach or Pensacola Beach is 7 hours away--good for a long weekend trip. Plenty of freshwater recreation thanks to the aforementioned TVA's hydropower/flood-control dams. Karst, if you like spelunking. The cost of the ticket is basically one's ability to acquire and retain at least a "Secret" federal security clearance. The political scene sucks. The corruption is as bad as Illinois, except red instead of blue. As the tech community tends to lean liberal vs. libertarian, by my assessment, no matter which side of that you think you're on, you will be frustrated and dismayed by overwhelmingly (religious) conservative politics in Alabama. The federal districts are gerrymandered to pack one district and crack everywhere else, and the state and local lines are drawn almost as badly. Be prepared to work with smug Trump supporters, and to hide your political beliefs from your workplace. That "blue wave" from the midterms didn't even wash over anyone's toenails. Every ballot is at least 40% uncontested races. But the money is good, and it spends easily. If I went to SF or NYC, I'm sure I'd be just as frustrated by the dirty hippies, scarf-and-peacoat hipsters, and money-grubbers as I currently am by the Bible-thumpers and armchair quarterbacks. There may not be anywhere in the US that I wouldn't be surrounded by howling yard-apes--of one tribe, or another--that always seem to pontificate more often than they ponder.

mcguire 8y ago
"The cost of the ticket is basically one's ability to acquire and retain at least a "Secret" federal security clearance." Keep in mind there's also a giant stack of NASA goobers here. There's quite a few of us with nothing but a public trust background check. The politics have their upsides: where else do you get to laugh at people who voted for a fellow for senator who had been removed from his position as a state court judge. Twice. And when asked what church you go to, you can have endless fun saying, "Starry Wisdom." Honestly, I lived in Austin for 20 years, and the only thing I really miss is Half Price Books. (And possibly the PCL.)

mcguire 8y ago

"The cost of the ticket is basically one's ability to acquire and retain at least a "Secret" federal security clearance." Keep in mind there's also a giant stack of NASA goobers here. There's quite a few of us with nothing but a public trust background check. The politics have their upsides: where else do you get to laugh at people who voted for a fellow for senator who had been removed from his position as a state court judge. Twice. And when asked what church you go to, you can have endless fun saying, "Starry Wisdom." Honestly, I lived in Austin for 20 years, and the only thing I really miss is Half Price Books. (And possibly the PCL.)