stuck here for awhile: Jersey Gridlock
on 08/12/2013 at 02:33 PM
That is nothing - last month - when two semis collided and one caught fire at 4AM on a stretch of I71 S that was being worked on - they started by closing the exit N of it - by about 8 or 9 when we drove (actually it was more like I could have pushed the car faster pace on the N side - they had closed up another 3 exits. I think that they opened it again at 12:30. And no - no one was killed. I have never seen such a long stretched closed for such a long time. I think that they just wanted the freedom to work and drive trucks around - without traffic.
Think quick and choose one; California with it’s excellent (not a joke, the freeways actually work well for the load they carry) freeways or New Jersey.
Not too much offense intended Drew old buddy, but I tried living in New Jersey back in the middle 70’s and it wasn’t my idea of an ideal place to live. For what it’s worth, I was down in the East Brunswick/Fords area. The two best things were Englishtown raceway and a sleazy bar and grill that had $0.35 beer and $0.35 shots. For $1.80, they had a pretty good kielbasi dinner. That was the Phoenix Bar and Grill in Fords, New Jersey, sometimes I miss it.
To complete my ramble, I’ve got a buddy in East Texas who says I should move out there. Southern California is going nuts and I’m thinking about it. Land in East Texas is cheap, I could sell my house in L.A., buy a nice spread with elbow room and still put money in the bank. Any recommendations out there?
Had a similar problem back in 1983. I was living in Hackensack at the time and working in paramus about 3 miles away.
A fully loaded gas tanker caught fire on Rte-17 Northbound in Rochelle Park just below the Rte-4 interchange. Roads both highway and local were chock full for literally 10- miles.
It was a fairly nice May day so I walked to work past cars that I figure wouldn’t move for the whole day. (I was correct)
Then I discovered walking was great so I continued to walk on nice days. 3 miles in the AM and 3 miles in the PM. I did that for almost a year till I was transferred to Clifton 14 miles away. That was a road too far to walk.
Amazing the things you can learn from 10,000 gallons of gas going up in a ball of flames.
Dr. Jeff - around Houston - gets you great opportunities for a lot of activities - the 610 sucks (and it was like 5 lanes back in 2004) - most especially during Rodeo Week. The weather there is bearable. And it has trees and grass.
The area around Austin is more like CA - very liberal, very young and also has a lot of activities.
I have friends in the San Antonio area - they love it - as do many people I know from there - but I’ve never been and it seems too south for me - that means very hot and dry -to me. Dallas/Ft Worth - is a ‘worse’ big city to me than even Houston (which is a lot larger) - in that I find it crazy to drive - miss your turn and you are in OK. Lots of people like it I hear but since I do not like the Cowboys or the Stars - I never say the attraction. Although in all of TX - the weather is probably the mildest there.
The West of TX (to me anything west of Austin) is only useful if you like seclusion and living in a desert. And get too close to the East Tx border - is like living in a sauna.
Orange, TX (east border) is closer to Washington DC - than it is to El Paso (my advice - and this is personal - avoid it)TX. And El Paso, TX is closer to CA than to Dallas, TX. Here’s some more trivia:
http://www.cityprofile.com/forum/el-paso/only-texas-trivia-you-may-not-know-4334/For you - however - the TexMex is sooo different than Mexican in CA - I can’t eat Mexican in CA - made me horribly sick - TexMex is really weak compared (and yes, I’ve eaten it prepared by Mexicans) - which considering the chilli - is sort of a WTH?
I wish we could move back - and kick myself daily for coming back here. We’d be employed if we had stayed there. Such a huge mistake.
Good Luck - We have a ‘where to live list’ (taxes, gun laws, military pay, SS pay, property taxes, gas costs and whether a FUS or RTW state) TX is #1.
08/14/2013 at 01:52 AM
