Small world

[Clipper]

I was pumping gas at Food City today and a pickup truck with NY plates pulled up on the opposite side of the pump island. I asked him where in NY he came from. He said a small city in the middle of the state. I told him that we were from Utica. Come to find out he lived in Marcy and had just retired recently from Indium Corp. His sister has lived here for years and he couldn't get out of NY fast enough when he retired.

[Atticus Pizzaballa]

lol so many want to leave. I also wish to leave and head back to Eureka, Missouri. I loved it there and made huge mistake of returning and no stuck. Well at least my ashes will be scattered in the Ozark Mountain area.

[BHU]

A lot of people are relocating to the Carolinas, north & south. I was talking to a guy who's retired in Home Depot today & he's headed to S.Carolina for good after the holidays. Didn't say where.

A lot of folks just get fed up with 5-6 of winter & head south, plus the taxes around here.

[Clipper]

Life is good here in the Southeast, but I DO miss upstate NY, the Camping and fishing in the Adirondacks, deer hunting on land that you don't have to be a mountain goat to navigate, as well as Walleye fishing on Oneida Lake and Lake Delta.

We moved here to care for my mom and dad. With them gone we thought about moving back to NY, but since coming here we have both aged to a point where we are not capable of shoveling snow or dealing with the winter. Taxes were another deciding factor in remaining here. Taxes here are very low compared to the Utica area. The cost of living here is quite a bit lower also but when a person has lived all their lives in an area as pretty as upstate NY, CNY will always be "home" to us.

Many think that moving to the South means that the sun will shine all the time and the weather will always be moderately warm, but when they get here they find that in reality it is nice but it is not Utopia. We do get some snow and we are in the zone where although we have never had a tornado terribly close to us, they touch down occasionally to our North and South. When it storms I stay up late and sleep with the NOAA weather radio next to the bed. I would much prefer worrying about being snowed rather than being blown away in a tornado.

Next summer we are planning on spending more than our usual 10 days or so in the Northeast. I am on the lookout for a reasonably priced small car or van that we can tow behind the motorhome. We are contemplating some camping in the Adirondacks, maybe a trip to Cape Cod for a few days, and a stop at Foxwood or Mohican Sun Casinos. On the way back South I would like to spend a day at Gettysburg, take Kathy to Washington DC (she has never been there) and maybe the outer banks before heading back to Bristol. We are beginning to reach that point where we are thinking that we need to do the things that we always talk about but never do. We aren't getting any younger.

[Atticus Pizzaballa]

No one in my family lives in Utica anymore. Over 40 years ago the move went on for them. They settled in South Carolina, Missouri, Colorado and Florida. Only people left in Utica is myself and a sister and some of her family but they also have plans of heading out. Her sons live in Albany. My brother also left area many years ago but forgot where he is cause he hasn't spoken to me since my Moms death. Says I am nothing but a failure and a few other things, lol. Of course so many have died that family is down to cousins only. To think on my fathers side his mother had 8 sisters and a brother. All dead. On my Mom's side of family all the Uncles and Aunts are all dead. I think 10 total. Just remembered also have a cousin in California; San Francisco to be exact. He is a M.D. but has a band that he plays in. His condo is actually owned by him parents since they like going to San Francisco during the year as a vacation spot away from Florida. They live on the West coast in some island cove section where they had their retirement house built I think 10 years ago.

[Atticus Pizzaballa]

Oct 31, 2021 17:53:51 GMT -5 Clipper said:

Life is good here in the Southeast, but I DO miss upstate NY, the Camping and fishing in the Adirondacks, deer hunting on land that you don't have to be a mountain goat to navigate, as well as Walleye fishing on Oneida Lake and Lake Delta.

We moved here to care for my mom and dad. With them gone we thought about moving back to NY, but since coming here we have both aged to a point where we are not capable of shoveling snow or dealing with the winter. Taxes were another deciding factor in remaining here. Taxes here are very low compared to the Utica area. The cost of living here is quite a bit lower also but when a person has lived all their lives in an area as pretty as upstate NY, CNY will always be "home" to us.

Many think that moving to the South means that the sun will shine all the time and the weather will always be moderately warm, but when they get here they find that in reality it is nice but it is not Utopia. We do get some snow and we are in the zone where although we have never had a tornado terribly close to us, they touch down occasionally to our North and South. When it storms I stay up late and sleep with the NOAA weather radio next to the bed. I would much prefer worrying about being snowed rather than being blown away in a tornado.

Next summer we are planning on spending more than our usual 10 days or so in the Northeast. I am on the lookout for a reasonably priced small car or van that we can tow behind the motorhome. We are contemplating some camping in the Adirondacks, maybe a trip to Cape Cod for a few days, and a stop at Foxwood or Mohican Sun Casinos. On the way back South I would like to spend a day at Gettysburg, take Kathy to Washington DC (she has never been there) and maybe the outer banks before heading back to Bristol. We are beginning to reach that point where we are thinking that we need to do the things that we always talk about but never do. We aren't getting any younger.

I spend a few days in Gettysburg back in 1990. I was on my way back from spending a month in Richmond, Virginia visiting a priest I knew and the Monks of his community who taught in their military high school. What a place both are. I have been to Washington DC a few times while in Seminary during summer months and during school vacations in the year. I forgot which classmate but his brother was one of the Marines who works as a guard for the Monument the unknown soldier. The changing of the guard can make ya want to cry. I always stayed at TC which is the Theological College residence of Catholic University. I also toured The National Shrine which is a huge structure as well as the Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land which looks like a replica of Israel holy places. Plus the Museums are so fantastic. I like Egyptology and they have great works of art. I would like to see the outer banks. I have a classmate who lives in Washington, North Carolina and he is always asking me to come out there. I have seen photo's of the outer banks and what a view that would make. Washington, North Carolina is also a fantastic small City with a beautiful harbor to the lake.