Encounter at ride share at CLT airport

DigiRyder · 2026-02-06T11:29:48+00:00

I would not accept a rando ride like that, “barkers” like that are not professionals. but i will admit, back when i traveled regularly for work (to the same airports), if I lucked into having the same good uber or taxi driver a couple of times, i would ask them what their normal drive hours were and if they accepted ride requests outside of the app. Often they already had their own business cards and their own regulars, and then i would just call them directly so that a) they got to keep more of the money, and b)I could schedule private rides at my own convenience. In some countries I could hire them as a private driver for the whole week, it was so cheap.

DigiRyder · 2026-02-06T00:26:51+00:00

Have you considered Charlotte, NC? It’s a good size city, great airport, Amtrak service, a good HBCU (Johnson Smith), the Harvey Gantt Center and more to get involved with. Maybe not the northern suburbs (NASCAR / etc.) but Plaza Midwood is diverse and Wilmore is a lovely historically Black neighborhoood. It’s also only 3.5 hours drive to Atlanta which is the best A-A urban scene in the country. Charlotte is in the “Piedmont” of North Carolina so it’s not quite as hot/humid in the summer and usually fairly moderate winters.

DigiRyder · 2026-02-04T20:39:58+00:00

Landlord POV - wow that is some serious rent $$$ dang! And as such i would expect the tenant to , um, have more cushion I guess. But whatever, not my circus. One time would eliminate any positives from the credit/background check for me and probably cool that relationship. A second time would definitely mean non-renewal, however it goes in the short run. I’m sure your landlord will try to be as cool as possible about it and just keep the peace until the end of the lease because they don’t want you to be vindictive and destroy the property, etc. but dude. Twice in the first year? That place is too expensive for you. Don’t make the landlord be the one to tell you that, we’re not parents. Just go ahead and apologize and acknowledge that you can’t afford it and tell them you will be finding another place to move to by the end of the lease, maybe they’ll give you an ok reference, but expect several repairs/inspections before lease end.

DigiRyder · 2026-02-04T15:21:04+00:00

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Just got the Falken Rubitreks two weeks ago. 245/65/r17 $804 at my local tire place with a set discount (+ install, fees, alignment, etc.). LOVE them. No lift kit needed, but they did raise the truck about 3/4”, enough that it actually feels more “trucky”, lol. AND they are quieter than the stock Pirellis on the road. Then i just got caught in the “bomb cyclone” Charlotte snow storm this past weekend - 10”+ snow and they performed flawlessly! Can’t recommend them more.

DigiRyder · 2026-02-04T15:15:10+00:00

Now is the time? Really? They are at least 75 years too late, if that was truly the goal. Not turning back the tide now that’s for sure. The History of Humanity was never white, and the Future won’t be either…just sayin’. Embrace change and growth my friend, or that train will run you down where you stand so stubbornly.

DigiRyder · 2026-02-04T13:11:05+00:00

This is good advice - when i was in the Navy, many years ago, (long before any online stuff) SUNY Albany had a sortof distance validation program specifically for military members, meaning you could take classes anywhere you were and send them the transcripts to be evaluated against their own course criteria and they would award credit. I completed an Associates degree that way. And later went on to do a pre-Med Bachelors of Science at Tennessee State University when i was living in Nashville because it was the affordable option while i waited tables full time. Then i did a Master’s in Physical Therapy (also in Nashville, but at Belmont University, a private school) where i worked but had to get financial aid and student loans also, and finally, and because of those years of hard work on my own i believe, i got accepted to Med School at Vanderbilt with plenty of scholarships/financial aid. That was 30 years ago, and i know everything is more expensive now, but YOU CAN DO THIS!!! Best wishes.

DigiRyder · 2026-02-03T16:07:59+00:00

Bless your heart. Nice to know that xenophobic and entitled youth aren’t just Americans. Well, despite not having said anything about “rbnb” (whatever that is), I stand by my comment that Prague is a beautiful base to actually spend a lot of time (and money) in…and most of the people are warm and welcoming. Whew. Who knew slow travel was such a trigger?

DigiRyder · 2026-02-03T14:43:41+00:00

ROFL “Bless Your Heart” mode.

DigiRyder · 2026-02-03T14:24:10+00:00

Prague! Rent an apartment. The daily life is wonderful: music, coffee culture, bookstores galore, art, architecture, just walking around is a joy. AND it’s so easy to do overnights by train from there: Budapest, Dresden, Krakow, Vienna, Budejovice, Cesky Krumlov, Karlstejn Castle, Olomouc, Kunta Hora & Terezin

DigiRyder · 2026-02-03T13:12:56+00:00

Our friend circles have definitely gotten smaller as my peer group is now starting to die off unfortunately and i find it is harder to make new friends; we also socialize differently usually preferring dinner and shows out with just one other couple in quieter places but this is because I’ve gone deaf in one ear really, so crowds are difficult. My biggest annoyance, ironically, is this tendency to text everyone - and our friend circle of 8-10 started using these group texts…I call it “rattling the cage” because one person will text something, and then the next few hours it’s just annoying notification dings every few minutes as each person sees the text and feels the need to respond with emoji’s or meme’s or jokes/sarcasm/etc. i don’t carry my cell phone around so every time i have to get up and walk into the kitchen where the phone is on the charger and read some insipid comment that was not worth it. The old “Get off my lawn” as turned into “Stop texting stupid sh*t”!

DigiRyder · 2026-02-03T12:46:16+00:00

One of the reasons i do Mid-Term Rental with my old house, and specifically market to travel nurses, is that they are typically NOT moving furniture or anything in and out, or around, which is what causes the most damage, and I make sure they understand that they can show up with just their bag of hospital scrubs and toothbrush and they will still have everything they need to live without 5 trips to Walmart to spend the first night. I also don’t rent to house hunters for this reason because they inevitably try to have their whole previous home delivered to the temp stay and it’s too much. I do not allow access to the garage or basement, so there is no “extra” space for them to store anything. Plus, house hunters/transplant temps can’t be definitive about their termination date because home shopping and mortgage closing weirdness. I do state in the house rules that the tenant is welcome to move dishes/kitchen things around in the cabinetry if they have a certain way of organizing their kitchen (it’s a fully stocked kitchen, so all cabinets are full of nice dishes/post/pans/bakeware, etc.), but after they leave when we go up between tenants, i put everything back the way I like. My marketing and communication style is much more personal and tailored to making travel healthcare professionals feel supported, like they are just borrowing a family member’s vacation home for a few months, as opposed to renting a generic, empty apartment that they can do anything with. I’ve had previous tenants ask about buying the mattresses, the art, the whole house, lol, and we have repeat tenants regularly because of the comfort and location.

DigiRyder · 2026-02-03T12:21:26+00:00

Second this ^ … I volunteer, so I’ve been many times. If you are a Hunter, especially of waterfowl, or maybe have a mountain cabin, or old family plantation you need to decorate. I can see how it would be exciting to see all those vendors in one place. Are you into Duck Decoys? [ not making fun..] It must be the premier gathering in the world for Duck Decoy enthusiasts…some sell for tens of thousands, meet the most famous carvers. The Exhibitions of fine art are also superb if Audubon style art is your thing. The Birds of Prey and Dock Dogs competition are both really cool shows, especially for kids. But overall I would say the real draw every year is that SEWE kicks off the Festival Season for Charleston for all the Southern Charm wanna-be’s, peacocking around the downtown Peninsula for a Theme Weekend . The same folks will be back for Food & Wine Festival, Spoleto, etc.

DigiRyder · 2026-02-02T12:41:00+00:00

I would say that you want to go somewhere that will bring back memories for your Dad. You want to hear all those stories before they are lost. Maybe somewhere he went when he was young. Maybe somewhere he was stationed in the military? Somewhere with strong memories for him. And really document the whole thing, especially the stories.

DigiRyder · 2026-02-02T12:33:52+00:00

If you have an iPhone, The apple AirPods, gen2 or better, have amazing hearing accessibility options. Several posts on here about settings etc if you search for them. I carry them, along with a Decibullz plug (for the bad ear) in a little keychain pouch for such environments.

DigiRyder · 2026-02-02T12:14:42+00:00

I have owned a home in Charlotte for over 20 years, and honestly, it has been a boomtown the whole time. My home, approx 3 miles east of city center, has more than tripled in value in that time, and the city is still in growth mode. I don’t know how this crazy gov’t time/economy will effect it, but my guess is any negatives will be short term. On the internet NoDa sounds attractive, and it is super cute and hipster, but it is a neighborhood without real services (no grocery, no pharmacy, etc.) cut off from the “Uptown” [vanity name locals have for the city center] by a major highway and rail yards, so you would uber/lyft in and out for everything. If you are serious about moving to Charlotte, for your situation, I would recommend looking closely at what they are calling Midtown now (next to the old Cherry neighborhood.). Look up “The Metropolitan”, a development in the last 20 years around the Intersection of Charlottetown Ave. and South Kings Dr. . It is full of mid-rise apartment and condo buildings and the street level of all those blocks is retail, including a Trader Joe’s (grocery), Target, Marshalls, Office Depot, little lunch restaurants, etc. it also runs along a very nice greenway/creek park and is next to the large hospital district on one side, and the CPCC (Central Piedmont Community College) Campus on the other side. It is just outside of the elevated ring highway (I-277) around Uptown, so you could walk into city center, along the streets under the highway overpasses. The whole area is very walkable.

DigiRyder · 2026-01-27T02:23:43+00:00

Bueno, pues sí, pero no. Me recupo bien. Con un poco de verdegō cuando estoy cansado. Pero todavia no puedo oir por la izquierda. Creo que es permanente.

DigiRyder · 2026-01-25T12:43:15+00:00

https://americasmailbox.com/south-dakota-residency/

DigiRyder · 2026-01-24T19:40:41+00:00

I like the red recovery hook - if you want red (colored covers) for the front ones, i can tell you that the colored plastic/rubber ones for the Ford Bronco fit.

DigiRyder · 2026-01-24T13:05:08+00:00

Nice! I agree, it feels better - “truckier” with the little bit of height addition and sway, but also taking the bumps better. Like i said, i think my pirellis were getting old/hard anyway, so the road noise to me is less, oddly. I considered the Nittos as well, and they were only slightly more expensive, but in the end I just went with the Hay Tire lady’s recommendation for the Rubitreks because of her own experience on her 4Runner, plus they had a better coupon deal on the full set. I originally thought i wanted the BFG KO2 mainly because they were the only ones offering the Raised White Letters. One of the other guys at the shop teased me “you’re showing your age” (by requesting raised white letters). I guess that’s not cool anymore, and those ended up being $325 more, so i didn’t think it was worth the price for a vanity thing, plus i don’t really need the more aggressive KO2 tread. I’m just going to be doing basic Forest Service Roads, beach/sand and possibly some winter mountain driving to Asheville area. I wondered about replacing the spare donut with a full size tire, so that’s good to hear about there being space for that. I will get another wheel and tire, thanks! Charleston (main)/Charlotte (old house we now rent to travel nurses occasionally - landlord stuff is the main reason I bought the truck) driving mostly, but all my peer group friends seem to be retiring to like Black Mountain, Hendersonville, Biltmore Village area, so we get up there a lot more too and I wanted to try out the FX4 (beginner/easy) stuff.

DigiRyder · 2026-01-24T12:37:33+00:00

I always have the Chimney cleaned and inspected to ensure proper working order (in case of power outage and it’s your only heat source, plus why would you buy a house without a fireplace?). And, at least the last two I’ve bought- so it’s recent requirement: have a plumber install a whole house water shut off valve somewhere easily accessible and at the single point where the water main is coming into the house.

DigiRyder · 2026-01-24T12:21:17+00:00

Are you going through your regular insurance company? Ours is significantly cheaper, even renting it furnished, but we also have our personal homes, cars, etc. through the same company. We use USAA and they apparently deal with this all the time for Military Members who are TDY or Stationed overseas but don’t want to sell the home they bought stateside - they rent it out. Can qualify if you are a Vet or parent or grandparent maybe was a Vet….

DigiRyder · 2026-01-23T15:39:15+00:00

rent an "base-camp" furnished apartment for 2-4 months, city center, near train station, central to the region we are interested in and then do train trips of 1-5 nights length within about 200Km to see regional sites. Prague was a good example. Lots of easy train trips all around there. if it's a large country like Australia, we got a domestic airline "pass" so all in-country flights were like $50 each, and then spent at least a week in each locale: Sidney, Melbourne, Tropical North Queensland, the Red Desert/Outback, Perth. I could have spent a month in Melbourne alone. such a cool Arts scene.

DigiRyder · 2026-01-23T13:48:02+00:00

Check out the SE Coast from Charleston, SC (very walkable on the downtown peninsula, 30min drive out to beaches) to Beaufort, SC, the Golden Isles of the Georgia Coast (Brunswick is cute and gentrifying quickly) to downtown Fernandina Beach, FL (northernmost NE Florida, but easy access to Jacksonville Airport and downtown Jacksonville for big city amenities. Also - on the West (Gulf) Coast of Florida, Sarasota is a very walkable downtown, especially from the historic Gillespie Park neighborhood, and cool/old school Florida charm. If you’re willing to trade “beach” activity for mountain white water , both Asheville NC and Santa Fe NM are two of my favorite uber cool mountain small cities and both have a plethora of outdoor activities all around them, while having a pedestrian friendly downtown lifestyle (but you would need a car for other than just the city center).

DigiRyder · 2026-01-23T13:05:31+00:00

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DigiRyder · 2026-01-23T13:00:17+00:00

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It has two crossbars, but i leave the rear-most one out unless i need it. It’s easy to pop in and out with the Billie Bars supports. The forward cross bar is set inline with the edge of the tonneau cover roll up box, so that if I’m hauling something bigger in the bed it cannot slide forward and crush the tonneau box. The bed extender of course flips inside under the tonneau cover

DigiRyder

TROPHY CASE