Where should we move to? (Long)

[leehljp]

quote:Originally posted by Ikeb

I noticed that the purple "New posts since last logon." started misbehaving for me during this session. I read a couple of forums and then noticed that the other three forums had apparently been all read. (All three forums and all topics in those forums marked in yellow) Checking further, all topics in the two forums already read were all marked as purple, even the ones with no new posts since I last logged one two days ago.

I did spawn a second IE instance pointing to other posts at this site, could that have something to do with it[?]

Oh, well, it's time for bed anyway. [|)]

I have similar problems. If I post a message before reading all the forums, the rest are automatically "marked as read" and I do not know what I haven't read. At this point I let my fingers do the walking and click open each one.


Hank

[Sam Conder]

The forum bases its decision on "new posts since last visit" on "sessions". If you close your browser or if you open a new (additional) browser window, you establish a new "session" with the forum software. Everytime a new session is established, your new posts get reset. Your browser's acceptance of cookies also affects this.

A tip: While viewing Active Topics there is a option for "Active Topics Since" at the top left with a drop-down box. The default is "Last Visit", but that can be changed. Give it a try.

Sam Conder
http://www.samconder.com

[leehljp]

Sam,

I Just made a post and then went and checked, and "all the unread since last visit" were still there.

It is working for me now. I will add that I followed your sugestion and changed the "Since" but then changed it back. It must have acted like a "wake up" call.


Hank

[Ikeb]

quote:Originally posted by sconder

The forum bases its decision on "new posts since last visit" on "sessions". If you close your browser or if you open a new (additional) browser window, you establish a new "session" with the forum software. Everytime a new session is established, your new posts get reset. Your browser's acceptance of cookies also affects this.

A tip: While viewing Active Topics there is a option for "Active Topics Since" at the top left with a drop-down box. The default is "Last Visit", but that can be changed. Give it a try.

Sam Conder
http://www.samconder.com

Thanks for the suggestion Sam. It does the trick well enough. I am puzzled by the observations I made however. Your explanation clarifies why all topics in the unread forums turned yellow. But why were all topics in the two forums I'd read marked as purple, even the ones with no new posts since I last logged on two days previous?

[AttilatheHun]

quote:Originally posted by Ikeb... I am puzzled by the observations I made however. Your explanation clarifies why all topics in the unread forums turned yellow. But why were all topics in the two forums I'd read marked as purple, even the ones with no new posts since I last logged on two days previous?

It's BECAUSE ... OK

Alternative answer (for these sort of occasions) ==>

Are you running Windows? 'Nuff said!

AtH
This looks complicated, better get a bigger hammer

[ElRay]

Where should we move to? (Long)

It's life changing moments time. Haven't been around much because we just had our first child. We've gone from the DINK (Dual Income, No Kids), spending more money on eating out and "stuff" than we should, to realizing that we can (pretty much) get by with one income, quality of life is more important than "lifestyle" and there's nothing really tieing us to the greater Chicago area any more. So, we're looking at moving. Not right away, but hopefully before it's time for the little one to start school.

A little bit about us before the "Wish List": I do database consulting, so as long as we're not too far from a semi-major airport or in an IT backwater, I'm good to go. My wife is originally from Alaska and I finished Middle and High School above the snowbelt in NY (we only got 2-3 ft of snow a year), so real winters aren't a problem. Before moving to Northern IL, we lived in Southern California, but the congestion, smog, concestion, lack of seasons, congestion and the fact that it's not really a great place to raise kids prompted us to move. NoIL has been OK, but the winters aren't "real" (infrequent monster snowfalls, then things immediately warm-up enough, so you get the worst of winter without a lot of the benefits) and we miss the diversity of SoCal (I'm Italian, Polish, Slavic, German, Hungarian and Norwegian and my wife is Creole (African, French and Spanish) with some German, Chinese and Choktaw (Native American) thrown in) -- The Midwest, especially around here, is a bit too whitebread for us. It's also a bit too flat. We're now up near the Wisconsin border, so it's not too bad, but it's still a bit too flat.

So, I guess the ideal place would have: fairly low-cost of living, cable modem or DSL (unfortunately necessary), four full seasons (without the constant melting/refreezing 100% humidity winters of NoIL), ability to buy acreage (the 279 we had in NY wouldn't be necessary, but we'd prefer to be able throw a ball as hard as we can and only worry about hitting our own house or car), good schools (in NY we were near St. Lawernce and Clarkson Univs, two state colleges and The Crane School of Music, so crappy education wasn't tolerated), access to mountians, lakes, hiking, camping, mountian biking, rock climbing (ala Joshua Tree, Taquitz, Yosemite, Red Rocks, The Gunks, The White Mountains, etc.), reasonably close to an airport big enough for 737's and MD-80's (not a turbo-prop only regional airport), reasonably near a big city (Museums, ethnic food (If I could get tandori, falafel, pad thai and knishes in the same day, folks understood that Jewish, Italian, Greek and German Deli's, Italian, French, Middle Eastern bakeries, Authentic Mexican, high-end chain Mexican (Over the Border, Chi-chi's, Chevy's, Don Pablo's, etc.), fast-food Mexican (Taco Bell, Del Taco, etc.) and SouthWestern cuisine are not interchangeable, that would be perfect) and the ability introduce the kid(s) to urban environments under a controlled sitiuation). Other pluses: close enough to a coast to be able to make a weekend trip to the beach, close enough to York, PA and/or Loiusville, KY for a weekend trip to Grandma/Nana and Grandpa/Pappa, close enough to the border so a trip to Canada/Mexico wouldn't require a flight, micro-breweries. I guess to keep it reasonably BT3k related, there's a sawmill about 20 mins north of here that has cherry at $1.40/bf, so the ideal place would have a good sawmill, with good wood (The wife and I don't consider any flavor of oak good, sorry) at a good price, within about an hour.

Madison, WI is looking good: Two lakes (which stay frozen in the winter), very hilly, Devil's Lake and St. Croix (climbing), good mix of ethnic resturants, etc. but we're a bit tired of what we have no other way to describe than "The Midwest Attitude"*, plus it's still very humid up there and we're getting further from mountains.

Burlington, VT was looking very good: Green Mountains, White Mountians, Lake Champlain, Quebec, real winters, good mix of resturants, not too far from NYC, a lot of Micro-Breweries, but my wife's parent's are in the process of moving from RI to KY and we're worried that the winters might be a bit more than we'd prefer to deal with.

I know Kentucky has Mountain Biking, climbing (Red River Gorge), I'd be able to get back into caving, but that's all I know of the state. No idea about the schools, winters, etc. and I fear the humidity will be just as bad, if not worse (if that's possible outside of Tampa Bay, FL and Charlotte, SC) than NoIL.

Near the mountins in New Mexico has a similar appeal, but I know even less about the state than I do about Kentucky.

Kernville/Lake Isabella, CA has some appeal, but I'm a bit hesitant to go back to California and as soon as we leave our semi-backwater, it's back to congestion, smog, etc..

Boulder, CO is close, but the last time we were out there, it had too much of what we were fleeing in SoCal. Maybe Teluride, Durango, etc., but then again, politically the state as a whole does seem to be a bit homophobic.

Any suggestions?

Ray

*Some examples:

• They think people that have been to FL for winter vacation are well traveled and that folks that take a flight to Acapulco are globtrotters.
• I don't like (seafood, sushi, Indian, Thai, Korean, etc. food). I've never eaten it, but I know I don't like it. The sushi example is even worse, because they don't even know that sushi is, what they're thinking is sushi is actually Sashimi, but you can't convince them otherwise.
• People that do anything different than we do it don't know what they're doing.
• I'm better because I haven't tried, been exposed to, experienced, etc. (insert something non-MidWestern).
• The reality of something I know nothing about can't possibly be any different than my pre-conceived asumptions.
• No real racial tensions, but that's because they avoid anybody not like themselves.
• Blind adherence to stereotypical gender rolls and the attitude that they're better than, or that there must be something wrong with, anybody who is different or thinks differently than they do.

To be fair, not everybody is like this and we've encountered this attitude in varying degrees in the rest of the US, but we've not seen it to the same degree anywhere else.

[Otter]

As a native of New Mexico I can say that Albuquerque is not a bad place to live if you pick the right area. UNM is there, great food and culture. I am from Las Cruces, it is a smaller town, an hour from El Paso TX (airport). NMSU is there, lots of infastructure (IT) and a low cost of living. The summers ar hot, not like AZ, but hot. winters are mild. We got an inch of snow once about 30 years ago.

I do miss living there. Moutians, rivers, culture and a slower pace is what it is about.

Just my 1.3472 cents worth.

PS here are some links

ALB: http://www.cabq.gov/

Las Cruces: http://www.las-cruces.org/

OH did I mention Green Enchallidas.....YUMM!!!!!

[final_t]

Columbus, Ohio, should meet or exceed all of your critia, with the exceptions of maybe being too "flat" since you mention mountains. However, if you want that, Hocking Hills or even PA is a short (2 hour) drive away. Often Columbus is referred to as "Silicon Valley II", and "The Fast Food Captiol of the Midwest" (most places try out the new menu items or stores here to see if it flies). Biggest problem is that you need a car to get anywhere, and there isn't and good local wood suppliers.

[JR]

Wow, ElRay, that was a mouthful!

Regarding the humidity: everywhere except the Southwest is humid. Sounds like you've got to learn to like it, or your needs to be near the family will be compromised.

It sounds to me like you're describing Tennessee, WV, PA, or maybe Southern New England. Virginia might be a good choice - loads of database work in the DC area, plenty of mountains in the rural areas, big city experiences (good and bad!) in DC.

Good Luck,
JR

[leehljp]

FINALLY, somebody that knows what they are talking about:
I don't like (seafood, sushi, Indian, Thai, Korean, etc. food). I've never eaten it, but I know I don't like it. The sushi example is even worse, because they don't even know that sushi is, what they're thinking is sushi is actually Sashimi, but you can't convince them otherwise.

Sushi means "with rice" and has nothing to do with raw fish, in and of itself. I have had sushi that had no fish at all or other meat for that matter. Inari zushi (sushi) is a mildly sweet rice in a pouch of fried tofu. BUT you cannot convince people that sushi is NOT raw fish - which is (O')Sashimi as stated above!

People that do anything different than we do it don't know what they're doing.
I'm better because I haven't tried, been exposed to, experienced, etc. (insert something non-MidWestern).
The reality of something I know nothing about can't possibly be any different than my pre-conceived asumptions.
No real racial tensions, but that's because they avoid anybody not like themselves.
Blind adherence to stereotypical gender rolls and the attitude that they're better than, or that there must be something wrong with, anybody who is different or thinks differently than they do.

I sure find that to be true in many places. However, I try to keep quiet in a new place until I figure out what makes them tick. And then I don't try to imitate them 'cause I never could. I just act like I am trying to learn while just being myself!

[Carlos]

Tucson.

I miss that city.

Austin is very nice if you can survive the humidity.

[billwmeyer]

Uh, if you find this place, don't eat the apples!!
Good luck.
Bill

[bolson]

I vote for Madison, WI even though you seem to have discounted it. Its got everything there, with a lot of culture etc. Another option is Ann Arbor, MI which is fairly similar, but not quite as over the top as Madison, WI

Anywhere is AZ or NM is nice, but you have to be prepared to get used to dry heat

Omaha, NE is a great town, affluent and a tech hub for the region. Cost of living is good, traffic isn't too bad, but a big enough town to get big town things. Also you get 4 seasons with winter being on the mild side.

Austin is nice, but you have to realize that TX is really different from the rest of the country and you'll either love it or hate it.

[bruffc]

No offense Bradley but I'd have to take Omaha off the list. I was born and raised there and still have many family and friends there but Nebraska taxes are outrageous (atleast by midwest standards). I have friends there who are paying twice the property taxes that I pay in Overland Park, KS.

Just my opinion.

[germdoc]

Oak Ridge TN or Chattanooga TN. Humid, yes. But great quality of life. I grew up in Chatt. and lived for 3 mos. in Oak Ridge--I've heard highest percentage of PhD's per population in country. Right next to the Smokies.

Course, we get a lot of refugees from Chicago in La Crosse, so there must be some advantage to living here...