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Southeast visit

2002-02-20 14:57:39+00 by Dan Lyke 13 comments

[Rainbow Creek] Visits to the southeast are stressful for me. I have too many friends and acquaintances, so someone's bound to get ticked off that I couldn't drop in on them. But my Dad had an altercation with a table saw, and it seemed like a quick weekend was in order, and given the Southwest fares I ended up going through Nashville for a real quick stop in Chattanooga. So Robert, Ziffle (whom I actually expected to run into), Mark and Kelley, Charles, Gary and all the other people I missed, I'll try to get out there again shortly without the extreme time constraint.

But with all that, Charlene and I did take an hour and a half for ourselves to go up and hang out in the canyon off Signal Point along Rainbow Creek.

[ related topics: Ziffle Photography Dan's Life Nature and environment Chattanooga ]

comments in ascending chronological order (reverse):

#Comment made: 2002-02-21 05:35:28+00 by: TheSHAD0W

Ack! Hope he's doing okay.

#Comment made: 2002-02-21 05:35:29+00 by: Dan Lyke

One hand now has shorter fingers, and it seems like the healing process is pretty painful, but he's coming through it okay.

#Comment made: 2002-02-21 05:35:29+00 by: TheSHAD0W

I'm glad of that.

Wow. Table saws are dangerous. Let's ban them. :-P

#Comment made: 2002-02-21 05:35:29+00 by: Dylan

ACK! Hope your dad's recovery goes well...geez.

So um...Chattanooga is presently on my short list as a place to move onto after I'm done helping out mom. Pros? Cons?

#Comment made: 2002-02-21 05:35:29+00 by: Dan Lyke

Pros:

  1. I've got some really cool friends there. More than I can visit in a single trip. Introductions will be a necessity if you move there (this could be under "cons", too... [grin]).
  2. Fantastic scenery, low population density relative to California. Incredible rock climbing, hang gliding, whitewater and mountain biking.
  3. Reasonable pedestrian opportunities.
  4. Neat hobby opportunities, lots of light manufacturing, places like the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum.

Cons:

  1. Buckle of the Bible Belt.
  2. Local politics deriving from that, and from a political structure intent on preserving their power and economic base.
  3. Political structure means that the opportunity for tech jobs is low.
  4. Reasonable pedestrian opportunities aren't necessarily extended to biking and skating.

#Comment made: 2002-02-21 05:35:30+00 by: Mark A. Hershberger

My sympathies for your dad. I was viciously attacked by one a couple of years ago -- it ain't a pleasent feeling.

In fact, even the memory is painful. For a while, I thought I'd have to get a chorded keyboard.

#Comment made: 2002-02-21 05:35:30+00 by: Dylan

Well the bible belt thing I'm gonna accept without too much trouble...my longing to go back home to the South has just gotten too strong to ignore, and I don't really feel as much need to flout authority as I used to. Basically I want to go back south but not to an Atlanta and certainly not to a Pig Holler. So...something Chattanooga-sized, or Savannah-ish, or something. Chattanooga and Savannah are, at present, the short list...but all this is off in the future a bit...hoping in about 3 months.

#Comment made: 2002-02-21 05:35:30+00 by: ghasty

Catch you next round when there's no power tool involvment (hope he's doing better)....

On the Chattanooga note: I'd move there in a second *IF* a decent job could be found. In my circumstance, Chattanooga would be a great place to raise the youngun's. Close enough to the grandparents/relatives in Dalton & Dayton. I could work with the cons Dan mentioned. I've even went so far to see if BellSouth had anything remotely interesting in the area from the TN HR folks that I could transfer there...but unless I want to deliver dial-tone or sale dial-tone....ain't happening....

I like Atlanta...but it's not going to be a long term stay...hell, wouldn't mind moving back to Dallas one of these years either....

#Comment made: 2002-02-21 05:35:30+00 by: John Anderson

I'm not from the South, and I've only been there a handful of times, but the Chapel Hill/RTP area has always seemed nice (given the basic trade-offs of the South, I guess), and tech jobs should be reasonably available down there...

#Comment made: 2002-02-23 01:25:57+00 by: topspin [edit history]

#Comment made: 2002-02-25 17:18:43+00 by: Dylan

hmmm Chapel Hill...hadn't thought about that but I've heard some great things about the Chapel Hill area...and Carolina Southern is a bit different from Georgia or Tennessee southern. Hmm.

Thanks John, something to think about.

#Comment made: 2002-02-26 01:34:08+00 by: Sandi

Don't come to Huntsville, Alabama! The place is ugly, flat and dull, there is no decent work to be had, all the people are uneducated, and the schools are horrible. Now please pass this on.

Seriously, I've been living here for ten years now, and I my only problem with the area is that there are occasionally too many engineers at the average party.

My biggest fear is that the place will grow too big and start to sprawl in a most Atlanta-like way. Occasionally folks complain about "nothing to do" but my calendar stays full with music and theatre events and lots of outdoor stuff involving the mountains AND the river.

Can't buy beer on Sunday at the grocery store, so you have to develop a habit of stocking up on Saturday. UAH has a great hockey team, A&M plays some great jazz.

Other than that the place sucks.

#Comment made: 2002-02-26 02:36:54+00 by: Larry Burton

Engineers at parties. Hunh, now there's a concept. Something like that could result in a barbeque grill winding up in orbit.