Is Springfield really going down teh shitter....

[Goodspeed]

Just curious, how hard would it be for you to leave NoVa? I know a lot of people from JMU start out in the region, because of its job market and proximity to where a lot of JMU people are from, but why do some of you think it has a death grip on you? My family has owned our house in Chantilly since '91, and I can already tell its NOT a place I want to live and work...it seems to get exponentially worse...more crowded and more of a general eyesore....

There is hope for you though....take Nevada County, CA where I'm from....

"Lyman Gilmore, a contemporary of the Wright Brothers, developed early powered aircraft and operated the world's first commercial air field in Grass Valley. There is also evidence he may have flown before the Wright brothers.

Charles Litton Sr., a resident and entrepreneur of Nevada County, assisted Raytheon in the development of the magnetron tube.

Atari developed its first home computer video games in Nevada County.

The Olympics, NASA, and virtually every TV broadcast station around the country utilizes video/broadcasting equipment designed and manufactured by The Grass Valley Group, founded in Grass Valley, and still flourishing in Nevada County today.

Electronic medical dosing equipment was first developed and manufactured in Nevada County.

The first commercially viable picture-phone was developed in Nevada City.

Over 50 high tech and applied tech companies, and more than 1,000 hardware and software design and development professionals call Nevada County home. The county is sometimes referred to as the "Silicon Valley of the Sierras".

What does Nevada County look like?




I hope those of you who want to get out, can :?

[JohnC]

Jess and I successfully escaped from NoVA. Decided that long commutes and high housing costs weren't our cup of tea, so after a little bit of searching around, we settled on Charlottesville. There are plenty of tech jobs down here, major .gov expansions in the works too (think BRAC). I work for one of the major gov't tech consulting/contracting firms, here in a little office building right on the edge of town, about 25 minutes from our house in the country.

I took a pay cut to come down here - when I interviewed/accepted the job, it was going to be a cut of about $400/year. By the time we actually moved, 6 months later, I had gotten a nice raise at the old job, so *technically* I took a $12,000/year cut. But I only saw that paycheck for a couple of months anyway, so no big deal. Housing prices (when we moved) were about 1/3 - 1/2 of NoVA. Thats no longer the case, but I no longer care either, as my house continues to rapidly appreciate

Anyone who says they can't get out of NoVA is full of shit. They're not trying hard enough. Yes, enough you folks with clearances, there is plenty of work elsewhere. Hell, I was just looking at an open rec for a cleared (TS-SCI) position at NATO HQ in Belgium. That would kick ass for one of you single guys. Anyhow, like I said, the opportunities are there for folks who really want to get out of NoVA.

[Evan]

Anyone who says they can't get out of NoVA is full of shit. They're not trying hard enough. Yes, enough you folks with clearances, there is plenty of work elsewhere. Hell, I was just looking at an open rec for a cleared (TS-SCI) position at NATO HQ in Belgium. That would kick ass for one of you single guys. Anyhow, like I said, the opportunities are there for folks who really want to get out of NoVA.

:roll: Oh Ive tried plenty hard enough, but it has a whole lot more to do with just jobs. Its jobs _and_ the other intangibles, nightlife, hobbies, cost of living, etc. We all have our own priorities and needs.
Example: If you think a permanent job in Belguim "would kick ass" then we have very different definitions of ass kickings.

Charlottesville was on the top of my list of places to move, although now Im not sure if it would anything but marginally better than nova.

[Feersty]

I think a stint in another country would be pretty m0ney.

[JohnC]

Example: If you think a permanent job in Belguim "would kick ass" then we have very different definitions of ass kickings.

Fair enough. I don't give a shit about nightlife (even before I got married), but being able to keep a cleared job while living in the midst of so much history, culture, etc would be pretty neat, in my opinion.

Charlottesville was on the top of my list of places to move, although now Im not sure if it would anything but marginally better than nova.

I'm not sure Charlottesville would be on my list of places to move to anymore. It has changed a *lot* in the last couple of years. Housing is now near-NoVA prices, congestion is getting worse in the city, and everything seems more "hurried" than it used to. Don't get me wrong, we still love the area, but maybe the honeymoon is over. We'll probably be thinking about moving again in a few years - maybe back to the valley or to Monterey (VA) or something. Jess' parents just got DSL, so the thought of taking over their farm at some point in the near future isn't so frightening.

[Evan]

I got offered a 6 month position in Madrid, a 12 month position in Sydney, and a 3 month position in Germany a couple weeks ago. I said No, hell no, and maybe but id rather not. (and thats only because its working for BMW and within reasonable distance to the 'Ring)

Housing market is just another form of inflation IMO. It makes you feel great that your house is appreciating, but the only way that it actually does you any good is if you move even further out or to a different place...to make less money. Lather, rinse, repeat.

[G.Irish]

Dude, Germany for 3 months? Get your ass back in there and accept!

[damnit458]

Dude, Germany for 3 months? Get your ass back in there and accept!

Yeah honestly I would have done any of those in a heartbeat

[Evan]

its not like its a vacation

what can i say, im not a traveller.

[Apoc]

its not like its a vacation

what can i say, im not a traveller.

You're right... you have to pay for vacation.

I'm in the process of working on a 3 month TDY in Dublin. Granted I still have to go to work every day but I get paid to live somewhere else, learn the culture, drink the beer and expand my horizons in general. Not only that but it actually increases my marketability.

[G.Irish]

Yeah I traveled for 18 months, its certainly not a vacation but its damned fun if you're in a cool place. Instead of coming home to the same ol' thing everyday you can do awesome stuff that most people never get to do. Cool thing with Europe is that you can catch a train and get to plenty of other countries in less than a day. Go visit the Ferrari at Modena, check out McLaren and Prodrive's headquarters in England, hate on the French in Paris. Go watch a rally, or F1 race, or DTM, or FIA GT, or Moto GP, or World SBK, or...

Oh yeah FWIW, I didn't consider myself a traveler nor did I want to before I took the job but now I'm really glad I did.

[.RJ]

I would love to live in spain or italy for a year or two...

[Feersty]

Yeah I traveled for 18 months, its certainly not a vacation but its damned fun if you're in a cool place. Instead of coming home to the same ol' thing everyday you can do awesome stuff that most people never get to do. Cool thing with Europe is that you can catch a train and get to plenty of other countries in less than a day. Go visit the Ferrari at Modena, check out McLaren and Prodrive's headquarters in England, hate on the French in Paris. Go watch a rally, or F1 race, or DTM, or FIA GT, or Moto GP, or World SBK, or...

Oh yeah FWIW, I didn't consider myself a traveler nor did I want to before I took the job but now I'm really glad I did.

Gerald, how did you find that job? I think something like that I would thoroughly enjoy.

[Evan]

hate on the French in Paris.

shit. now you are talking.
is the language of hate universal? it would suck to have to learn french just to fuck up those cheese frogs

[Evan]

You're right... you have to pay for vacation.

I'm in the process of working on a 3 month TDY in Dublin. Granted I still have to go to work every day but I get paid to live somewhere else, learn the culture, drink the beer and expand my horizons in general. Not only that but it actually increases my marketability.

and you dont do work on a vacation. The work I do, there is a good amount of travel to Hawaii (not htat i have ever gone) when I ask a coworker how it is, and how hawaii was, he says ....it looked good from the window of the hotel.
Basically to him it was just a 12 hour commute

Ireland is one of the few places I do really want to go to. Love the culture, love the music, the people and no language barrier

[ScottyB]

is the language of hate universal?

the one finger salute certainly is :lol:

[G.Irish]

Yeah I traveled for 18 months, its certainly not a vacation but its damned fun if you're in a cool place. Instead of coming home to the same ol' thing everyday you can do awesome stuff that most people never get to do. Cool thing with Europe is that you can catch a train and get to plenty of other countries in less than a day. Go visit the Ferrari at Modena, check out McLaren and Prodrive's headquarters in England, hate on the French in Paris. Go watch a rally, or F1 race, or DTM, or FIA GT, or Moto GP, or World SBK, or...

Oh yeah FWIW, I didn't consider myself a traveler nor did I want to before I took the job but now I'm really glad I did.

Gerald, how did you find that job? I think something like that I would thoroughly enjoy.

Dave recommended me. Honestly you could always search job listings for the "travel" keyword and that could give you an idea of where to look and what is available.

[.RJ]

is the language of hate universal? it would suck to have to learn french just to fuck up those cheese frogs

I'm sure "I dont give a fuck what your name is!" will demonstrate the hate no matter what language she speaks.

[Apoc]

The work I do, there is a good amount of travel to Hawaii (not htat i have ever gone) when I ask a coworker how it is, and how hawaii was, he says ....it looked good from the window of the hotel.
Basically to him it was just a 12 hour commute

I guess it depends on the place, the work and the person. You have to take the initiative to go out after work, regardless of how tired you are. Most countries have a very lively social system weekdays so it's there if you want to find it. My boss went to Dublin for a week and while he worked he requisite 40 hours he sacrificed the 8 hours nightly of rest to go out every night and drink in the pubs. If you're only going for a week or two you can punish your body and come back haggered if you really want to enjoy yourself.

[G.Irish]

If you're only going for a week or two you can punish your body and come back haggered if you really want to enjoy yourself.

Yeah but I think I aged 5 years in those 18 months by doing that.