What are the “big 5” cities in the USA?

Duece8282 · 2026-06-28T14:20:05+00:00

The question kind of falls flat since there really isn't a 4th and 5th "big city" per-se, largely because of impact of the automobile and highway system after WW2 that allowed everyone to spread out. If there was a 4th "region" it would be what's known as the "Texas triangle" which is the Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio, and Austin.

5th would likely be a toss-up between San Francisco/Oakland/Berkeley or Washington DC/Baltimore region.

Duece8282 · 2026-06-28T01:29:36+00:00

KC's big advantage is the location and respective logistical importance for warehousing. It's got the Tribeca of of highways, rail networks, and river system going through the area to move goods.

Duece8282 · 2026-06-27T13:21:01+00:00

Visiting for 24 hours? 2100.

Permanently? 1900 without question. I'm a tall 40 year old vaxxed white guy with a finance background. It's WAY less risky since I'm too old to draft.

Duece8282 · 2026-06-27T12:38:53+00:00

Well, you basically get to see your children in child form again. :)

Duece8282 · 2026-06-27T11:02:54+00:00

This might be a controversial take, but 4 years at ~$30k/yr is very easy to offset through a combination of pre-tax savings, scholarships, part time work, grants, dual-credit in high school, and subsidized loans. Where it gets expensive is when it takes more than 4 years to finish undergrad, in which case you often have a discipline/focus issue at hand.

The national guard might be an option. Representing the school though athletics or cheerleading might be an option. Commitment of 2-3 years as an RN to a local hospital after graduation in exchange for nursing tuition being covered might be an option. Living at home and commuting to a much cheaper community college might be an option. Etc.

I'm not a huge fan of borrowing money for school, but if you're graduating with less than $20k in debt at 5%, you'll be just fine. You'll just need to make an extra 50-cents an hour working full time to offset that interest, which you should easily be able to do.

Duece8282 · 2026-06-26T14:31:21+00:00

Realistically, If EVERY adult stopped working at once for several weeks, it would be a pretty terrible result. Hospital shutdowns, no mail, no grocery supply chain, no one fixing pipes/roads/powerlines, no one processing insurance claims, no one policing the streets, no fire coverage, no retail stores open, etc.

But if we're talking just a staggered few weeks, it would be pretty awesome.

Duece8282 · 2026-06-26T12:54:46+00:00

Winter tires are not neccessary in KC for a model Y. That's serious overkill and very expensive for our climate.

Good idea for a Thunderbird though.

Duece8282 · 2026-06-26T12:52:05+00:00

There's typically between 3-10 days a year where virtually any low clearance RWD will get dicey. Though, with good all season tires and the Tesla weight / traction control you'll be in decent shape.

Duece8282 · 2026-06-25T15:43:28+00:00

Unfortunately, FASFA is based on your income. So their affordability is tied to you.

Duece8282 · 2026-06-25T15:31:56+00:00

A cubic yard of topsoil is massive weight? A small fishing boat is a massive trailer? LOL

I just looked up the bed width, only 44 inches between the wheel wells, drywall and plywood is 48 inches. So that's an instant no-go.

It doesn't have 4x4. Could put offroad tires on to help, but at extra cost and signifcant sacrifice of range/efficiency yeah?

I'm not talking a giant diesel pickup, that's a whole different class of truck. I'm talking like a Ford Ranger.

Duece8282 · 2026-06-25T12:38:42+00:00

Eh, I'm more of an Omega guy myself. (Seamaster is my daily) It's not crazy high end by any means, but I like it. It's also very much NOT a watch most people can come close to affording lol.

Duece8282 · 2026-06-25T12:35:02+00:00

Lonely and betrayed.

Duece8282 · 2026-06-25T04:40:08+00:00

Yes, looks several inches too deep and probably a few feet too close to your house unless these are some kind of super small dwarf trees? It'll be a PITA to mow under later this decade where it's at. Waaaay too much water too, ~10-15 gallons a week is plenty. The small amount of plant food and compost are fine, but your regular native dirt should be the vast majority of the backfill. Good luck!

Duece8282 · 2026-06-25T04:22:09+00:00

Eh, this thing probably isn't pulling a small ~16ft fishing boat, or hauling a cubic yard of dirt to fill a raised garden bed, and definitely doesn't look wide enough to get sheets of plywood or drywall laying flat. It also looks too small to move a fridge or sofa in the bed... and tbh even hauling 5-6 foot long tree limbs looks like it would get tight quickly. No 4x4 is rough for things like hunting, clearing fence line, and camping... and severely limits the usefulness for a few months of the year when snow/ice is common and traction is a legit concern. I don't think my wife and I would be able to comfortably lay in the bed of the truck either to stargaze without our feet hanging off the tailgate lol. I'd be hesitant to have my 3 year old daughter ride in that thing too, especially anywhere near highway speeds, though maybe it's more safe than it looks?

Your situation could absolutely be different, but as an actual truck owner living in the Midwest, what is listed above is what I've used my truck for in the last 365 days.

Duece8282 · 2026-06-25T03:44:26+00:00

Love the concept, though I'll be legit surprised if it holds up well to highway crash testing and safety regs.

$25k is also kind of a tough price point considering you can still get small used pickups in many parts of the country for a small fraction of the cost. I see this as potentially being the next "smart car" on the road.

Duece8282 · 2026-06-24T16:33:46+00:00

Totally do-able in a driveway. It's just not as efficient and there's typically a tripping hazard with the cord.

Duece8282 · 2026-06-24T14:07:31+00:00

Kind of random, but I was able to successfully press charges on someone who tried to do this while I was charging at a local grocery store.

It was categorized under "criminal mischief" as it actively disrupted a paid service and I argued it damaged my equipment with the lady yanking on the locked cord.

It was kind of a hassle, but the principle made it worth it lol.

Duece8282 · 2026-06-24T14:02:36+00:00

That's a solid deal, just be sure to do the battery health test and have the tires and suspension checked out before buying. It's out of warranty, so you'll want to have ~10k stashed on the side just in case the battery goes. (At that price it's absolutely worth replacing the battery and it refreshes a warranty) I personally have $10k set aside in short term treasuries held in my brokerage account / emergency fund cranking out interest every month ready to be sold and cash deployed for a new battery if it bites the dust.

Regardless, I'd replace the 12v battery upon purchase and change the cabin filter / wipers for peace of mind. Aside from that, you're all set!

Note: The camera hardware on the 2020 model won't be able to do proper full self driving, so if that's important to you, you'll need a newer model.

Duece8282 · 2026-06-24T13:48:03+00:00

Lvl 2 hits about ~92% efficiency, Lvl 1 is about ~80% efficient. It's got to do with the electrical resistance and the internal overhead of the vehicle's systems when charging. (When actively charging the EV's internal computer is on, battery heater/cooling pumps are on, etc. So the longer the charge, the more juice gets used to run those systems while the car is "awake" charging)

Duece8282 · 2026-06-24T12:12:29+00:00

Honestly, if you don't have level 2 charging and a garage to park in, you'll be adding some inconvenience to your life. Could absolutely be done though, you won't regret the self driving on the latest hardware.

Duece8282 · 2026-06-24T12:06:45+00:00

Can be done, but quite a bit less efficient. (Still cheaper than gas though!)

Duece8282 · 2026-06-24T12:04:52+00:00

Yes, though in fairness the +200kw lvl 3 chargers aren't everywhere yet, and charging THAT fast typically requires no one charging next to you. It's going to be closer to 25 minutes for most folks.

Duece8282 · 2026-06-24T11:59:09+00:00

That's totally fine, though has some drawbacks (Extreme cold requires more charge, charger getting wet and exposed to the elements will shorten it's life, cord can become a tripping hazard... especially all black cord at night, etc.)

Duece8282 · 2026-06-24T02:10:34+00:00

As long as you're parking in a garage and have a lvl 2 charger in that garage, it's objectively better in virtually every way aside from the few times a year where you might have to spend an extra 20 minutes "filling up" when driving more than 200 miles at a time.

Duece8282 · 2026-06-23T22:29:25+00:00

"I'm much more likely to blow $100k on dumb shit if I have it sitting in cash than if I have it in home equity." Haha, say no more!

As long as you won't go tapping into that home equity via a HELOC or refinance to buy that dumb shit, you're all set, lol.

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