I feel that some of you may not be fortunate to live in places that get snow, and may not get to experience joyful days like this - Days when your neighbor gets to use his brand-new Snowblower for the first time………
Wait for it…
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We still have almost zero snow on the ground in Southern Ontario Canada and plus temps coming 3 days of the next 7. Some of you guys need to move north 
That's actually one of Chris' neighbors. They're all just a little weird over there.....
Florida welcomes you!
@Panhandle Bob posted:Florida welcomes you!
If you all ever grow any mountains, I'm there lol
Oh, and get rid of those pesky hurricanes.....
WNGD
I'll work on both of those!
No mountains, but we do have some nice dunes.
@Panhandle Bob posted:Florida welcomes you!
Another month and I'll be driving by that sign ~
I've actually had a friend who retired from Alabama to N.Y. Go figure
Hey different strokes for different folks.
We're looking at VA mountains, somewhere near the Blue Ridge Parkway on the southwestern end of the state. Less snow, slightly warmer, taller mountains, nice roads, and WAY less taxes. Plus, it's central to all the places we like to go, making them a one-day trip or less.
P.S.: I like Chris' neighbor, @Gordon Nichols
@Panhandle Bob posted:WNGD
I'll work on both of those!
No mountains, but we do have some nice dunes.
Rich D visited me in NW FL in February and looked out across the sound early one morning. Being from Wisconsin, he quipted "oh look, it snowed last night."
Danny P - You might want to go a state or 2 south. I retired from FairTAX, VA. VA seemed to tax everything - retirement income, personal property (even trailers), plus sales tax (even on food!). FL has no tax on food, no income tax, low real estate tax (none for disabled VETs!), homestead ($50k) for all residents. VA had no income for state retirees - but they did for federal retirees! FL recently raised sales tax to 7% but not on food/prescriptions. Only downside to FL is - the property insurance is high unless you are 1/2 mile from water!
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I've actually had a friend who retired from Alabama to N.Y. Go figure
We had a couple from SoCal move in next door this summer.
They have no family here, they were just impressed with what they could buy for the money. They overpaid by at least 20%, but they didn't care - they bought what they thought of as a cute house for less than $200K, which was unimaginable to them.
They're likely to begin to see how hard it is to build any equity in a place where the prices never rise and the tax man comes for his 12 pounds of flesh every June, but they're happy for now (at least, they were before the bottom dropped out, temperature wise, this last week).
I am enjoying seeing animal tracks in the new snow. We never see the animals, just the tracks and I wonder what they are.
Some smaller markets can take years to sell, and the market can get to be really soft. You have to plan to be there long or rent.
On my 2 photo of the military owned barrier reef with "snow" --- the stripped dead pine trees go back to IVAN (2005?) Property values are really jumping here - back to 2006 highs. All those Northerner's moving down here. In Palm Beach someone put a sign on all the cars with NY plates "If you're one of those "woke" people, move on, FL is not for you".
Signs Placed on New York Cars in Florida Telling 'Woke' People to Leave: Police (newsweek.com)
I just got back inside from raking the snow off of my garage roof.
As I came around the corner of the garage to the driveway, I spotted, just for an instant, a ring-tailed buddy scooting from the corner of the house past my Rogue, sitting between us both in the driveway.
I scooted over to the far corner of the car, expecting to see it making a bee-line across the neighbor's lawn in it's escape but...... Nothing. I looked on the other side of the car and saw..... Nothing.
Then I looked under the car and there was a raccoon, about twice the size of one of our old Jack Russells, squashed in under the engine and watching me. I figured that I was just intruding on his afternoon stroll, so I went into the garage from the side door and when I came out a while later he was gone. Such is life as we know it living next to small forest by the river. All we have to do is remember to bring in the suet feeder every night or it'll sound like a circus in the middle of the night when 2 or 3 raccoons are trying to get it off the deck hanger.
@Michael McKelvey posted:I am enjoying seeing animal tracks in the new snow. We never see the animals, just the tracks and I wonder what they are.
Get yourself a game camera- they're not that expensive these days. It's interesting to see what wanders through the neighborhood.
@WOLFGANG posted:On my 2 photo of the military owned barrier reef with "snow" --- the stripped dead pine trees go back to IVAN (2005?) Property values are really jumping here - back to 2006 highs. All those Northerner's moving down here. In Palm Beach someone put a sign on all the cars with NY plates "If you're one of those "woke" people, move on, FL is not for you".
Signs Placed on New York Cars in Florida Telling 'Woke' People to Leave: Police (newsweek.com)
There is ZERO chance of a Florida move for us. We may end up in NC, but probably in VA where we are looking. We did not arrive at this conclusion will-nilly. I don't think we're "woke" but we're certainly not the same as most transplants, being as we live in the country not the metro area. We intend to blend in and accept the ways of those already there. I know that's a crazy concept, but that's what we'll do.
I am certainly not that concerned about the taxes, as they are far less than NY. Property tax is 1/6 or less. State sales tax is 8% in our county, I doubt VA is higher. Goods and services are all less than we pay now. Yeah, taxing personal property sucks compared to NC, but it's fine. We will not be moving to whatever is the cheapest state, that's for sure. We'll live where we want to and it'll be just fine.
All the snow I want to see is on a Currier & Ives plate. God bless you all. You can't even buy a snow shovel down here. 65 here today. Burr, where did put my winter coat? Seems like I had it out earlier this week.
You can't even buy a snow shovel down here.
Buying a decent snow shovel (one with no plastic) here is difficult. I'm convinced that people who've never shoveled snow are the guys ordering shovels for WalMart and the like.
The absolute worst are those ridiculous shovels with the plastic shafts. What kind of idiotic Fisher-Price child's toy is that?
I actually have 4 shovels: A plastic one which is kinda deep for fluffy snow, an aluminum one for a little heavier, an old steel one that is indestructable and a boat anchor(fabulous for chopping ice), and finally one for Mom's driveway across the street. She has blacktop and it's a wider, curled, and lower shovel for pushing the snow.
They all have wooden shafts. And they're old.
I even have a stainless steel handle on one, my Grandfather made the handle in the 60s. He also made a 20 foot long snow rake that I use(not much lately). He also made dustbins, a garbage can, ashtrays, and a toolbox. All stainless, and all will last.
I mentioned my new neighbors from SoCal in another thread.
It's a bit of an anomaly here: nobody ever moves in from warm climes unless they are a Caterpillar hire or have family in the area and are moving back. But this couple moved here simply because they were on a nationwide search for decent priced homes, and landed on Morton, IL as a place where they perceived that their dollars would go a lot further than in LA.
Anyhow, winter arrived over the past week. Last Saturday, we started out with rain, then sleet, then about 6" of snow. It was an almost perfectly awful scenario for snow removal - we had a layer of ice, then very heavy wet snow, which got plowed into piles in front of everybody's drives during the night. The temperatures started really falling Saturday night, and bottomed out a couple of days ago when it took until 2 PM or so to get above zero.
The trick in this situation is to try to stay ahead of it by blowing as the snow is falling, and again as soon as possible afterward. As long as the plows are running hard, everything kinda/sorta works - but anybody who is parked on the street really gums up the system. The plows just go around them, which means about 2 car lengths behind the offender and two car lengths in front of it don't get plowed. This means that there are piles of snow in the street in addition to in front of the drive.
Keeping cars off the street (if possible) helps everything. I moved everything off ahead of the snow.
My new neighbor, who knew no better, parked about two car lengths up the street, with the back of his car on the lot line. This meant that my part of the street (where I generally park the work van) and the street in front of my drive got a pile of snow. I got out there Sunday morning as soon as it was light enough to get going. The temp was dropping fast, and the bottom layer was already freezing pretty hard. If I was going to use my driveway, I needed to get on it.
I spent the better part of 4 hours getting my drive open, as well as clearing my part of the street up to the back of my neighbor's car. I also blew the sidewalks on both sides of the street for two blocks. Since my new neighbor didn't have a shovel, I did his steps as well.
Anyway, when Monday rolled around, I came home from work to find my new neighbor parked in the spot on the street I had cleared. If this were anybody else, I'd be a bit chuffed, but this guy clearly has zero idea of snow removal etiquette - that parking in front of somebody else's house during snow, and especially that parking in front of somebody else's house AFTER THEY CLEARED THE SNOW is really a faux pas. I actually laughed at it at the time, but as the temps dropped and kept dropping (meaning his spot never did get cleared of snow) and he continued to park there... I'm left kinda' wondering what my next move should be.
The easy move would just be to park in the spot I cleared while he's at work, but the logistics just haven't worked out. He's beating me home.
These are snow-belt problems. We should all be so fortunate as to have them.
Wow, they really don't have a clue. I'm sure it's not intentional, he just doesn't get it.
You cleared his walk? Man, I’d just knock on the door and let him know: I’m not mad, I get that this is a new scenario to you, but here’s the situation.
In his place I’d thank the hell out of you.
I'm gonna' give him a pass on this one.
If it happens again, I'll address it. But I expect the learning curve for flyover-country etiquette is steep enough without getting into snow-removal etiquette his first time around the horn. I'm not 100% sure they're even alive over there - there's been very little to suggest it since the bottom dropped out last week.
People from warm climates generally abandon all hope the first time the temperature drops below zero.
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When I was growing up in Philly, property law was different.
You were granted implied deed and exclusive right of access to any spot on the street in front of your home that you shoveled out. There were several ways to indicate ownership, but the legally accepted means were a minimum of two trash cans or metal lawn chairs per space, sometimes connected with rope to delineate the boundaries of the space.
In the urban snowspace of the 1950s, all shoveling was performed manually. A full parking space, with access arcs, that had been plowed over in freezing slush conditions took several hours to clear. Any property owner who had undertaken such a task, only to have suffered parking trespass by a neighbor was generally cleared of any subsequent assault or manslaughter charges that may have arisen. Life on the urban tundra was harsh but fair.
Stan, I think your LA neighbors know exactly what they are about, pretending innocence, much as their SUV-driving cousins at home pretend not to see you as they pull into your lane to pass on the freeway.
On the whole, freeway driving has generally lessened my faith in the innate natural goodness of mankind.
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@Sacto Mitch posted:Any property owner who had undertaken such a task, only to have suffered parking trespass by a neighbor was generally cleared of any subsequent assault or manslaughter charges that may have arisen. Life on the urban tundra was harsh but fair.
It's the same here, Mitch. In Chicago, if you park in a cleared spot, all bets are off.
Same thing in Merry Ol' Boston, too. There, it is almost at cult level.
https://www.nbcboston.com/news...g-in-boston/2260943/
@Stan Galat maybe you need to pop a "space Saver" out there so people (New SoCal neighbor) know that it's YOUR SPACE! Something befitting a Pipe Fitter. Like an old folding chair (very popular in Boston, BTW) with this logo across the back, facing the street:
The husband of the new couple across the street from us is an assistant fire chief and senior EMT here in town and he cleared his driveway early, before he went to work. I got out a few hours later (it had been snowing heavily during that time) and I was having a ball with the new blower - it's SO MUCH nicer than my 40-year-old antique. I was blowing snow almost to the next door neighbor's house, playing with the discharge chute elevation control (never had one of those before), playing with the chute re-direction control (ditto), trying to get the hang of having the forward/backward control on the opposite side from what I'm used to (not so cool, but I'm getting the hang of it) and those auger safety interlocks that interact with the movement lever. Not a LOT to learn, just different. And I REALLY enjoyed the heated handles. 
Anyway, I finished my yard and looked across the street at their driveway and thought, "Geez... He's probably at work at the station or the rescue truck, she's home alone and pregnant. I'll clean their driveway, too, so he'll be all set when he gets home." Just about the time I finished, Hubby poked his head out the door and thanked me profusely. (?!?!?!?! He was HOME?) And then, later that afternoon when they were out walking their dog, they both stopped by and dropped off a big bag of Sugar cookies.
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That's great Gordon. My Mom lives across the street, so I clear her driveway and mine. Her next door neighbor is a younger couple with an infant. They usually shovel their own driveway. But when it's really heavy by the road due to the plows I'll clear the end of their driveway.
He makes excellent beer, and usually brings me a growler or two after I plow. Works for me! I don't do it for the beer, but the reward is nice...
Nothing brings together a neighborhood like clearing your neighbor's walk/drive/steps. Nothing.
If I'm out, bundled up, and have the blower running, I'm not going to stop with my own drives and walks. The neighbors put up with a lot from me (I think), like an extremely slow moving construction project at the house across the street. Helping them out with snow removal seems like a small way to be a good neighbor.
BTW: @Gordon Nichols - if you think the heated grips are nice, try a set of Savior electric gloves. They'll change your life.
In PA once I had the blower running and my two driveways cleared it was on to at least 3 of the neighbors. One year we had over 30 " of snow on the day we returned home from Florida, as I turned the corner to our home the driveway and walk were completely cleared by my neighbors ( twice!) ....What an unexpected grace that was ~
Now retired and residing in our townhome here in West Virginia, ( annual snow fall can run between a low of 62 and north of 200 inches) I look out the patio door with coffee in hand while one young man plows the driveway and another is blowing off the walks. My trusty wood handled snow shovel hangs silently from a nail on the garage wall:~)
From Sunny FL - SNOW is a 4 letter word. Retired, so so is WORK. COLD too. BEER is exception.
@Stan Galat posted:Nothing brings together a neighborhood like clearing your neighbor's walk/drive/steps. Nothing.
If I'm out, bundled up, and have the blower running, I'm not going to stop with my own drives and walks. The neighbors put up with a lot from me (I think), like an extremely slow moving construction project at the house across the street. Helping them out with snow removal seems like a small way to be a good neighbor.
When I have my leaf blower out, I blow all the leaves from both sides of the road all the way to the main road and two older neighbors driveways. I don't have to, I want to.
My snow wolf has been out of stock for a couple years, so I am concerned about what I'll do if it breaks. In a snowfall like Friday's 5 inches, I can clear sidewalk at nearly the pace of a snowblower, and don't mind doing the neighbor's walk too if I get to it before he does. My 90 feet of driveway is slower because a place to fling the snow is not immediately at the end of every shovel cut. In twelve inches of wet snow, I do regret my prideful question "Why would any household need a treadmill AND a snowblower?"
Key advantage over a shovel is that it works both shoulders equally, and bears the weight of the snow if you have to walk it anywhere. Key disadvantage is that it is long to turn, so you need to work out how to keep going in one direction as long as possible.
That thing is nifty.
I use to live in the country and the small town got swallowed up into a big city then they would not remove snow untiil it ceased to snow on the storm. So the 1 km or 0.6 of a mile road to the main artery became impassible for most vehicles that could not clear the accumulated snow and on that year we had a Honda van and an Acura RL suffice it to say I got tired went an bought a Kubota 18 hp diesel, hydraulic controls, & 50 inch snow blower in front and voila, the big storm came and 3 passes later and the road was open and my neighbour an architect stopped me as I cleared and was oozing thanks after being able to make his appointment. The reason I plowed the road was honestly just to get to work, which I did, even if a bit late but I got there that day but really I just refused to be held to ransom by the city policy, I thought of asking for tax decrease 
Now I live in the city and I sold my Kubota, I wish I had it but I bought a 28inch track Honda snow blower. It is now more than 10 years old and it gets the job done and is very easy to maneuvre. In a big snow fall if you desire to help anyone it is easier with machinery.
I'm a little late to this thread, I usually am. And Gordon I absolutely loved that clip. I'm not a fan of snow but that clip makes you think its possible.
But my question is for Danny. My wife an I have lived all our lives in Virginia other than a 10 year stint in Florida. I'm not going anywhere. But if I was from the NE or any other high tax, poor weather area I'd really look at Tennessee specifically the Knoxville area. No state income tax. Nice college town. And a stones throw from Deals Gap.
I'm honored that you would pick my beautiful state and I hope that you do come to the Commonwealth. But if I wasn't a born a bred Virginian I might look at Tennessee.
^ I went to Knoxville expecting all that. I was ready to buy. I left a day early.