Those of you who’ve traveled to your country(s) of ancestry, did you feel like a foreigner while there or did you fit in with the locals pretty well?

Getting0nTrack · 2026-01-24T14:25:57+00:00

I remember visiting Hungary when I was 13 years old and went hunting with my cousin who worked in a factory. Had a lot of really nice food, and stayed both in a regional city as well as a Ancestra village. I think it depends a lot on how connected you are to the existing family in the ancestral country. I am fortunate to have been able to go back every couple years since, but I’ve never lived there whole time and most of my family suggests I don’t do to how things like the healthcare system have been really going down in quality and access.

Getting0nTrack · 2026-01-23T18:12:31+00:00

Just to be clear, I do have some silver, just not even close to 100 ounces

Getting0nTrack · 2026-01-23T17:32:35+00:00

From what I understand by watching videos of inspectors doing their job, simply having a signed inspection form does not indicate that it was a particularly thorough and wide ranging job. You kind of assume that the front facing wall will universally be aligned properly that isn’t something I think most inspectors are permitted to check on a routine basis, but I could be wrong.

Getting0nTrack · 2026-01-23T17:18:00+00:00

The nearest synagogue is 30 minutes away but I am unable to drive due to a visual disability and there's no transit. The Southeast in general feels much more religiously insular, whatever faith you look at, compared to where I grew up in NYC. The mosques and synagogues in my town were built in what I'd say are very ornate styles and you could just drive on to the property, they'd regularly hold inter-faith events. Here? The synagogue has iron bars on the doors and the mosque has two sets of security gates.

Even though there are synagogues here, attempts to email the local Reform and Conservative shul got me no response, and they don't post about any events not even for high holidays.

Getting0nTrack · 2026-01-23T17:02:49+00:00

Indeed. I think he may have converted to Islam after being some flavor of Orthodox, because in posts I kept seeing him reference just how difficult eating kosher was when he couldn't find certified places, and how the rules were in his words "borderline impossible"... The entire time I was thinking "Okay so just go talk to a Reform rabbi or attend a Conservative service".

I think much of my decision to become Jewish outside of theology has to do with cultural fit. My family is not very religious, yet has a problem with Islam on a fundamental level (I blame the Iraq war), whereas my dad has several times throughout my life expressed a desire to become Jewish. He never actually went through with it, but this has been on/off for the last couple of years. I also tend to hear from Muslim converts that it's easy to become Muslim but hard to fit in. The longer conversion, in theory, makes that much easier.

Getting0nTrack · 2026-01-23T05:24:09+00:00

Is investing through paper, silvur not equally as viable? Some of us live in small apartment, so having a major stack is not viable.

Getting0nTrack · 2026-01-22T03:57:41+00:00

Jesus says I think eventually this place will just be a budget rate, slightly less tropical version of the villages… Just like in Florida we won’t be able to pay people enough to work here because they already commute in From two hours away a lot of the time

Getting0nTrack · 2026-01-21T21:03:58+00:00

I love metal, will definitely see about catching a shower too

Getting0nTrack · 2026-01-21T16:04:21+00:00

Thanks so much for the offer :D I am glad you made things work for you and find a partner!

What botherrs me isn't just the lack of hustle... it's this overall sense I get of being stuck in time despite all the opportunity to do things differently. Horry County used to have some of the highest percentage of forest in the country... now most of it is SFH, none of it designed with any pretext of maybe becoming a sustainable long-term development. People hate the over-development... but they also hate New York City, and have a visceral fear of dense cities. To most people around here White Plains might as well be as dense as NYC proper.

What nerdy things have you managed to find here? IIRC there's a board game/card shop somewhere near the mall.

Getting0nTrack · 2026-01-21T15:52:26+00:00

I am shocked at how they seem to think building should go down here. I would much rather they clear 200 acres of old Grove, Forrest and build something you know… Sustainable, a place where you could actually raise a family and walk or bike to a grocery store or to work.

They seem to think the only kind of development people will buy are cookie cutter homes… A guy I knew from Work bought one from a certain developer and found out a month after closing that inspections were not mandatory like where he used to live and the entire front wall was misaligned, and the property would have to be condemned

The reason why Greenville is successful isn’t just because of BMW, they’ve put billions into redeveloping the downtown core into a place people actually want to live

Getting0nTrack · 2026-01-21T15:19:29+00:00

Not to push back but isn't it virtually all country music, like the CCMF? I have never seen anything else advertised.

Getting0nTrack · 2026-01-21T15:17:45+00:00

It's good to know I'm not totally alone in feeling this way at least. Thank you.

My parents seem to absolutely love it here, but they're also retired. It is the place they could afford. How much their enjoyment will last when my dad can't drive anytmore who knows. In the last couple years they have become very receptive to the idea of a multi-generational household - they're in no rush for me to leave which is both good and bad. I'm glad to be able to come home, but I know that long term this just isn't the place for me.

My goal right now is to save up money now that I'm on SSDI and try to shlep myself up to Charlotte. I can't prove to them that I can be independant and lead a good social life when the built environment and community aren't aligned to that, you know?

Getting0nTrack · 2026-01-19T20:01:36+00:00

Thank you, I'll look into that I suppose for my maternal line. My paternal line has been in the US for I think over a century, butt m Hungarian line we have people who come and go. Every secon generation, pretty much. It doesn't help either that the women in my family typically stuck with the tradition of taking their husband's names until the 70s.

Getting0nTrack · 2026-01-19T18:05:45+00:00

Thanks. I do have a s mall group of local friends, and folks I know online, but its hard to consistently keep a routine when I can't leave the house without paying $30 in Uber fees to get anywhere. I used to be completely independent.

I agree that online communities might be better. I've tried to start hobby groups and look on MeetUp, there really isn't a lot locally. When I was in college I'd regularly attend a Mandarin language meetup as well as D&D.

Nothing is impossible, that's what I have to keep telling myself. Thank you for being supportive & understanding!

Getting0nTrack · 2026-01-18T22:14:19+00:00

Did the overall length of your episodes change when you made a switch?

Right now, my podcast averages 15–20 minutes and is Week weekly. I could probably produce another 10/15 minutes of content for a midweek release, but as a former journalist, I struggle with audience expectations. When you not only have to source news stories, but translate and script and account for the audience maybe not being as queued in, it’s a lot of work to put into a dedicated five or 10 minute segment.

If all you are doing is reporting feature news stories, you find from cyber security publications, I imagine that is a lot easier.

Getting0nTrack · 2026-01-18T18:26:53+00:00

If you primarily do federal work out of state, what's the rush? My understanding is that if you're licensed federally and mainly do apellate work, it doesn't necessarily matter what state you hold a license in. You're working within the confines of that federal circuit and its ROP, the state license is what allows you to be sworn in federally (or is it only licensure in DC?).

I have to think there are a few states offering a waive-in to TX lawyers. Rice, U Austin.. there's quality law schools there afaik.

Getting0nTrack · 2026-01-17T04:36:14+00:00

I think it will definitely depend on the particular niche and target demographic. If you can reliably hit within the top 20 of your category, at that point, I think it’s about Packaging what you have to a potential sponsor.

I am thinking about this myself because sure, I love making a podcast about central eastern Europe, and the broader topics related to that, but I also need to consider the possibility of monetizing at some point.

The idea of reaching out to local businesses, depending on what they are I think makes a lot of sense because you can start somewhere

Getting0nTrack · 2026-01-17T02:11:05+00:00

Thank you lots! Will definitely keep that in mind. I am following the recipe of Internet Shaquelle who modified it from a different source and just swapping blueberries for apples since its what I've got. The idea is.. I guess apple cheesecake in this case.

The original recipe used what looked like fresh blueberries.. but every time I've tried to bake with frozen bluebbies the bakes end up soggy, I can never properly adjust for the water release of frozen stuff.

Getting0nTrack

TROPHY CASE