Saying goodbye to Texas

[Megatomic]

Some of you all may remember a few weeks ago I mentioned that I had a phone interview with a power company in NY state. They wanted to see me so badly that they flew me up to their plant the very next day for a face to face interview and written exam- both of which went very well.

Fast forward one week - I'm in Colorado getting GE Mark VI turbine control system with HMI training (2 week class) at the expense of my current employer. Last Friday I got a verbal job offer from the new company and a written job offer a week later. In a weird and epic piece of irony we received a letter from our rental management office that the house we're renting is now in foreclosure, on the same day that we receive the written job offer!!!

Could the timing have been any better? Even I am stunned by the ironing of it all. I have to wonder what they've been doing with my rent payments every month if the house is being foreclosed on, but it's not my problem so I'm not going to lose any sleep over it.

So yeah, the new job will pay about $4/hr more, include a $5k signing bonus and better insurance benefits, and provide a complete move package. My wife is extremely pleased with me, but rest assured I'll use up all my positive marital bonus points before we even get there.

Anyone here at ATOT that lives in the Finger Lakes region of NY state? Prepare to welcome me.

 

[spacejamz]

:beer:

 

[Legendary]

Nice area up there. Hope you're not too far in the boonies!
:beer: to being a New Yorker. Already you are better off.

 

[Megatomic]

I'll be living close to Geneva, about 40 minutes SW of Rochester. I was born in Canandaigua and love the area. It's gonna be perfect for my triathlon training, I'll have access to lots of swim training, my key weakness here in TX.

 

[Aharami]

congrats. I recall reading your original thread. Big weather change there. Did u consider the extra expenses for heating your home in the winter?

 

[Tbirdkid]

damn bro, i remember when you moved to texas from here. good going man. keep it up, and hopefully you will eventually end up back home with the rest of your family...

 

[Anubis]

where are you moving to exactly? you said GE so im guessing someplace near syracuse

 

[JS80]

New York State income tax might bring you lower depending on your total salary.

Say goodbye to Texas and freedom, say hello to New York and 6% state income tax.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: Megatomic
I'll be living close to Geneva, about 40 minutes SW of Rochester. I was born in Canandaigua and love the area. It's gonna be perfect for my triathlon training, I'll have access to lots of swim training, my key weakness here in TX.

I used to live in Rochester. I liked that town quite a bit, the Finger Lakes are beautiful.

It can be hot and muggy during the summer with lots of mosquitos. Look for a house with a screened in porch or patio.

I used to cross country ski a lot during the winter to keep in shape and did a lot of cycling during the spring/summer/fall.

Fall is beautiful. Oh, and Rochester is a Buffalo Bills town so be prepared for an onslaught of Bills news/fans. Of course, when I lived there the Bills were actually good.

 

[moshquerade]

Originally posted by: Megatomic
Some of you all may remember a few weeks ago I mentioned that I had a phone interview with a power company in NY state. They wanted to see me so badly that they flew me up to their plant the very next day for a face to face interview and written exam- both of which went very well.

Fast forward one week - I'm in Colorado getting GE Mark VI turbine control system with HMI training (2 week class) at the expense of my current employer. Last Friday I got a verbal job offer from the new company and a written job offer a week later. In a weird and epic piece of irony we received a letter from our rental management office that the house we're renting is now in foreclosure, on the same day that we receive the written job offer!!!

Could the timing have been any better? Even I am stunned by the ironing of it all. I have to wonder what they've been doing with my rent payments every month if the house is being foreclosed on, but it's not my problem so I'm not going to lose any sleep over it.

So yeah, the new job will pay about $4/hr more, include a $5k signing bonus and better insurance benefits, and provide a complete move package. My wife is extremely pleased with me, but rest assured I'll use up all my positive marital bonus points before we even get there.

Anyone here at ATOT that lives in the Finger Lakes region of NY state? Prepare to welcome me.

National Grid?

The Finger Lake's region rocks! I don't live there, but I visit as often as possible. It's a big wine making region.

Good luck with your move and your new job. :thumbsup:

 

[BoomerD]

Happiness is Texas in the rear-view mirror!


Good luck to ya. If you're gonna be in upstate NY, you're gonna need some VERY warm winter clothing...
(that's gonna be quite a climate change!)

 

[HaiBiss]

Cant be that hard to see Texas in the rearview mirror

 

[moshquerade]

Originally posted by: BoomerD
Happiness is Texas in the rear-view mirror!


Good luck to ya. If you're gonna be in upstate NY, you're gonna need some VERY warm winter clothing...
(that's gonna be quite a climate change!)

He was born in Canandaigua, NY, so I'm thinking he knows about the winters.
He probably skied Bristol Mountain.

 

[Anubis]

Originally posted by: moshquerade

Originally posted by: BoomerD
Happiness is Texas in the rear-view mirror!


Good luck to ya. If you're gonna be in upstate NY, you're gonna need some VERY warm winter clothing...
(that's gonna be quite a climate change!)

He was born in Canandaigua, NY, so I'm thinking he knows about the winters.
He probably skied Bristol Mountain.

also depending on exactly where he is the winters can actually be mild, im 40 miles directly south of rochester and we hardly get snow at all, the next town over can get 8 feet and we may get 2 inches


living in a valley FTW/L

 

[marvdmartian]

Originally posted by: JS80
New York State income tax might bring you lower depending on your total salary.

Say goodbye to Texas and freedom, say hello to New York and 6% state income tax.

Not to mention Hillary! :roll:

 

[dmcowen674]

Originally posted by: JS80
New York State income tax might bring you lower depending on your total salary.

Say goodbye to Texas and freedom, say hello to New York and 6% state income tax.

Texas freedom? :laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh:

Yeah right

 

[WingZero94]

So what is your career field / training?

 

[MichaelD]

How are NY State's gun laws compared to New York City's gun laws? I.E. in the latter, you can't own so much as a BB rifle legally.

I lived in south Texas for 10 years and it was awesome. I had a nice little collection of legally purchased firearms and shot them as much as possible. Everyone in my neighborhood had the same type of collection and nobody's house EVER got broken into.

Living in NYC during the Dinkins holocaust of the 1980's I saw that literally only the outlaws had guns. Too many innocent people getting mugged/murdered. Home invasions, etc.

NYC sucks ass. It's gotten a lot better (been there twice in the past year) but it's still way too restrictive.

That said, "upstate" (the other 99% of NY state) is BEAUTIFUL. Four distinct seasons, fresh air, outdoor sports galore...goregeous.

Best of luck in your new job.

 

[Sphexi]

I don't know how better off you'll be with only $4/hr more, upstate NY has a much higher cost of living than Texas, depending on how close to the cities you are. Rochester probably isn't too bad, but heat is going to be a killer. I thought it was bad a few years ago when fuel oil was $2/gal, now it's $4/gal, that just sucks.

Good luck on the new job though.

 

[MichaelD]

Forgot to mention that heating costs will be offset by the fact that he's paying thru the ass for electric to cool his home right now. In all but northern Texas, summer is an easy 6 months long. In south Texas summer's about 8 months long. AC runs 24/7.

Sounds like his job couldn't have come at a better time with him basically getting evicted (due to no fault of his).

Megatomic for NY State Governor! Or at least some really cool neighborhood watch position.

 

[rise]

Could the timing have been any better? Even I am stunned by the ironing of it all.

you must be living right

congrats Jeff!

 

[clamum]

Awesome, congrats!

 

[Megatomic]

Thanks guys. We've been considering this move for a long time. As some have pointed out, the heating costs in NY will be offset by the cost to cool my house here in TX. We pay a mint in energy costs every month here.

My father-in-law, a manager at the VA hospital in Canandaigua, has reviewed my salary and benefits package and I am going to be making a lot more than the average guy my age does. Technicians tend to make an hourly wage in the low to mid $20s/hr so my $34.74 will be pretty solid. For those that are curious, my trade currently is I&C Technician, but I'm qualified to do sysadmin work as well as operate nuclear power plants. My new job will be another I&C Tech job but with an emphasis on project engineering (instrumentation and controls) and DCS/HMI work. I'm pretty excited about the opportunities.

I'm not going to lie, getting used to northern winters is something I have to consider strongly. Back when I was nearly 300lbs of geek it was no problem to endure the cold. But I'm a skinny 170lbs now and I get cold when the temp. falls below 50F. I'll be spending a lot of money on warm clothes and coats this fall for us all. But we're all looking forward to 4 seasons and no more months of 100F+ daytime highs. My training for my first Ironman event will be able to progress to the next level up there and that's exciting for me.

The foremost reason for us to move back to NY is stability. We're all alone down here in TX, and the past 2 years my wife has had a stroke and pancreatic cancer. I've been hard pressed to take care of her, the kids, the dogs, the house, and my job all by myself. I need help, and her entire family lives up there. If anything else going wrong I'll have an unlimited support system available to me. And as I mentioned in the OP, my wife wants to go home badly. She and my two boys are ecstatic (as am I). My daughter? Not so much...

Overall, rise must be correct, we as a family must be living right. If this job offer hadn't come along when it did, we'd be in big trouble right now. Life is good (most of the time).

 

[Megatomic]

Originally posted by: MichaelD
How are NY State's gun laws compared to New York City's gun laws? I.E. in the latter, you can't own so much as a BB rifle legally.

I lived in south Texas for 10 years and it was awesome. I had a nice little collection of legally purchased firearms and shot them as much as possible. Everyone in my neighborhood had the same type of collection and nobody's house EVER got broken into.

Living in NYC during the Dinkins holocaust of the 1980's I saw that literally only the outlaws had guns. Too many innocent people getting mugged/murdered. Home invasions, etc.

NYC sucks ass. It's gotten a lot better (been there twice in the past year) but it's still way too restrictive.

That said, "upstate" (the other 99% of NY state) is BEAUTIFUL. Four distinct seasons, fresh air, outdoor sports galore...goregeous.

Best of luck in your new job.

I don't know anything about the gun laws in NY MichaelD. I don't hunt or shoot recreationally, but I don't oppose anyone else who does. Venison is delicious! But my wife's family are all hunters, so they must be allowed to own guns of the sporting kind at the very least.

 

[dmcowen674]

Originally posted by: Megatomic
Thanks guys. We've been considering this move for a long time. As some have pointed out, the heating costs in NY will be offset by the cost to cool my house here in TX. We pay a mint in energy costs every month here.

My father-in-law, a manager at the VA hospital in Canandaigua, has reviewed my salary and benefits package and I am going to be making a lot more than the average guy my age does. Technicians tend to make an hourly wage in the low to mid $20s/hr so my $34.74 will be pretty solid. For those that are curious, my trade currently is I&C Technician, but I'm qualified to do sysadmin work as well as operate nuclear power plants. My new job will be another I&C Tech job but with an emphasis on project engineering (instrumentation and controls) and DCS/HMI work. I'm pretty excited about the opportunities.

I'm not going to lie, getting used to northern winters is something I have to consider strongly. Back when I was nearly 300lbs of geek it was no problem to endure the cold. But I'm a skinny 170lbs now and I get cold when the temp. falls below 50F. I'll be spending a lot of money on warm clothes and coats this fall for us all. But we're all looking forward to 4 seasons and no more months of 100F+ daytime highs. My training for my first Ironman event will be able to progress to the next level up there and that's exciting for me.

The foremost reason for us to move back to NY is stability. We're all alone down here in TX, and the past 2 years my wife has had a stroke and pancreatic cancer. I've been hard pressed to take care of her, the kids, the dogs, the house, and my job all by myself. I need help, and her entire family lives up there. If anything else going wrong I'll have an unlimited support system available to me. And as I mentioned in the OP, my wife wants to go home badly. She and my two boys are ecstatic (as am I). My daughter? Not so much...

Overall, rise must be correct, we as a family must be living right. If this job offer hadn't come along when it did, we'd be in big trouble right now. Life is good (most of the time).

Wow

Best wishes to your wife and all.

Hopefully the tranquility of upstate NY and return to the closeness of family is good for her, you and your family.

Awesome on the drop to 170 from 300.

Careful with the Ironman though.

Have you had a heart sonogram done within last couple of years?