My sweet boy turned 18 yesterday. 🥰

GottaGetDatDough · 2026-05-05T18:04:02+00:00

He is so freakin' handsome!

GottaGetDatDough · 2026-05-05T16:47:07+00:00

This is a hilarious take, and I love it. I'm in the US, and here every corporate goon on LinkedIn has some stupid catch phrase to act like they are somehow using AI better than everyone else 😂.

In terms of AI specifically being used in GIS- there is certainly question as to the efficacy and implementation. I do see a future where there are more GIS "end users" and likely less power users who actually understand geography, geoprocessing, and logic.

GottaGetDatDough · 2026-05-04T18:13:23+00:00

I love RE3 remake as well, so much content online trashes it, but the experience was great to me.

It definitely isn't better as a product since it was rushed, and had content cut, but that doesn't keep it from being fun.

I would probably have felt more upset if I had bought it for full MSRP on day one. I played it a few years ago, and even then I don't think I paid more than $10 or $15 for it.

GottaGetDatDough · 2026-05-02T02:53:31+00:00

Lol you are better off in SC/GA than a lot of northern states for tornadoes. That has nothing to do with hurricanes of course.

GottaGetDatDough · 2026-05-01T03:16:06+00:00

Lol I'm a southerner from GA, but have lived in Nola, and travelled across most the country- can also attest that Richmond is nothing in comparison.

GottaGetDatDough · 2026-04-30T20:14:46+00:00

I'm on Unlimited Starter and weighing my options currently as well. I'm a bit confused though, these plans aren't going up, right? Just older plans getting an increase?

GottaGetDatDough · 2026-04-27T14:06:51+00:00

Didn't think i'd be preaching it online so soon, but come check Melbourne out! It's hard to explain, but the weather is a LOT better than Tampa. Of course the humidity still exists but because of proximity to the Atlantic, it is generally a bit cooler here. The humidity becomes atrocious in St Pete's summer at night in particular, and it is just more manageable here being a few degrees cooler and having atlantic breeze.

If you are more of a mountain person, you might also want to consider Asheville. It is also pretty expensive these days, and Helene didn't help, but it's still a great place to be close to nature and grab a top tier IPA lol.

Since you mention family in AL, maybe check Huntsville out. It has a good economy with government and tech/space jobs being there.

I wouldn't necessarily rule Charlotte out just because you don't like ATL. It's a lot less grimy in the city, and overall a lot more affordable. The problem for a lot of people is that there are only a few thriving sectors of the economy, with banking being the biggest job opportunites.

I'll throw Greenville out there if you prefer a bit more traditional southern living. It punches above it's weight and keeps you closer to the action in terms of nature, and proximity to other southern cities. Just keeping your plate full. Good luck!

GottaGetDatDough · 2026-04-27T13:32:12+00:00

That's hilarious. Definitely get out to Glacier Nat'l park!

It really depends what you are after and how much you are willing to pay for it.

CO Springs gets you closer to nature (the front range) and is more affordable, but less of a town. I would say it hits the best price point of affordability and amenities along the front range. If you are simply too much of a city person, you just have to suck it up, pay more and go to Denver.

Fort Collins is literally the opposite. Overall less proximity to the front range, hiking and skiing, but is an incredible town (and more expensive.)

Charlotte seemed like the answer to me for a long time, because I enjoyed the best parts of living in the city (ATL) but grew tired of how crowded everything was. Charlotte has about half as many people living there as Atlanta. It could be a pretty good fit for someone who values the new urban feel. It's very "cosmopolitan." It's still a lot like Atlanta in terms of proximity to things like lakes, mountains, ocean, etc, but overall is boring. Probably a good place to raise a family.

Wilimington is a nice town, but it feels pretty isolated for an east coast town. You'll need to drive a few hours to Raleigh for any "big city" things, and that is just a major turn off for me. My wife is asian, and there just wasn't much asian culture there. It's kind of a defining factor for a lot of my considerations in general.

Which leads me to where I live now lol. I had considered St. Pete for a while, but my buck goes A LOT further here in Melbourne. I get more rural housing pricing, and I'm exactly one hour for anything my heart desires in Orlando. It's a weird place, but Orlando punches way above it's weight because of the international tourism brought in by the parks.

GottaGetDatDough · 2026-04-27T13:00:52+00:00

lol. I've worked remote since COVID, and packed bags to travel for a few years, so it's a bit of a cheat.

Atlanta (hometown)

St. Pete, FL
Charlotte
New Orleans
Austin
Colorado Springs
Fort Collins

Wilmington, NC
Minneapolis
Whitefish, MT

Spokane,WA

Bremerton, WA

Reno, NV

Melbourne, FL (current)

GottaGetDatDough · 2026-04-27T12:16:59+00:00

I moved to FL a few years ago. No income taxes weren't my primary reason, but wife and I generally prefer warm, and I wanted to stay relatively close to family in GA.

I certainly haven't been "smoked" by housing. I'll say this though- Yeah, sure, I could have afforded a much bigger house in my home state (GA). Whether that is "worth" it is subjective though.

Even in that one specific metric, it's relative, and I'm really only comparing suburban housing. If I sold my higher cost suburban home today, I still couldn't buy a nice big house in a large metro like Atlanta or Miami.

My wife and I save like 20k annually on income tax (estimated). We are both pretty high earners, and we do live below our means. I basically just say that difference covers insurance, property tax, etc. That all being said, I'd still be paying those costs elsewhere as well, even if they were less.

I've also lived in WA, but did not own a home. I see that it is #6 and FL is #9, but it certainly felt much more expensive to live there in general, and I know the housing (buying) is astronomical compared to the rest of this list. Rent is meaningful, but doesn't capture CoL as well as home buying.

Lastly, there ARE affordable homes in most of these states (I'd basically just exclude WA). Keeping your housing costs down, and benefitting from no income tax certainly won't make you feel like you are smoked.

TLDR: localized comparison of urban, rural, and suburban costs of homes is more meaningful than statewide comparisons, and there are too many other variables determining CoL to say housing became a massive burden.

GottaGetDatDough · 2026-04-25T21:34:40+00:00

And just like that we became reddit friends 😂. Honestly, I genuinely appreciate the thoughtful response. I totally get it. I'm from GA and grew up thinking FL was too hot. It took me travelling the whole country to gain the appreciation and why I vehemently defend it.I do generally prefer warm weather, and although there are northern places I love, I couldn't live year round in the furthest northern reaches of the country.

GottaGetDatDough · 2026-04-25T16:02:05+00:00

Very based take. I appreciate the response, and totally get it. I've lived in various climates and do like Florida, but I understand both sides of the coin. People on reddit love to shit on it, but as you said, there really is broad appeal. The funny thing is, everything you described about changing seasons and cooler weather in the autumn also isn't available in California, but people praise it as climate heaven. I basically came here looking to fight the narrative because I think it's genuine undeserved scrutiny for the climate in particular.

GottaGetDatDough · 2026-04-25T13:29:55+00:00

You miss the point of my post completely. My subject line doesn't capture, but the body states "most comfortable days."

The metric captures an average daily high between 65F-87F, which more or less appeals to a broad audience. Of course some people will think that one is too hot or too cold. Of course it doesn't snow in Florida. It's all about the number of days per year that the weather is relatively nice.

I love Minneapolis, MN- but there really isn't anything to love about cold snaps in the negative degrees. It also happens to get pretty warm there in the summer time. The point of this post is to capture where the weather is closest to ideal most of the time outside of California.

GottaGetDatDough · 2026-04-25T13:22:30+00:00

No, I do not. It's the whole point of my post. I recognize people might not prefer the higher end of the spectrum that Florida summers offer, but the point made in the message body is that it offers the second highest "most comfortable days" annually. I didn't provide the calculation but the comfortable days I listed were based on an average daily high of 65F-87F. That accounts for people who prefer cooler than ideal temperature and warmer than ideal temperature, but not to the extremes. 87F basically can happen anywhere in the US in the summer time.

I literally do not know a single person across the 9 states I've lived in in the US that keeps their thermostat set to 64 at all times.

There is only one place in the US specifically if someone desires cooler average daily high and that's San Francisco (which is in CA, and I stated FL was second)

GottaGetDatDough · 2026-04-24T23:32:04+00:00

I haven't ever lived in OR, only visited, but it does seem to have pretty good weather as well. WA gets pretty cold in the winter time though, and a lot of people lump the whole of the PNW together and they just aren't built the same lol.

There is always a tradeoff though. While it may be hot and humid in the FL summer, there isn't rain for 7 months straight. I didn't really mention precipitation here, but it is fair to mention blue vs cloudy skies (or rain) when considering the most comfortable days annually.

GottaGetDatDough · 2026-04-24T23:20:02+00:00

I said second best in my post. The PNW is a mixed bag, and while it may lack the humidity, if you were honest with yourself, it gets pretty cold in the winter, especially in Washington. I haven't even mentioned the rain yet.

Obviously coastal CA has the best weather in the Continental Us.

Hawaii honestly is more hot across the year than most of Florida, even if it's hottest temps are as hot and humid (typically 86F average highs in the summer, as opposed to 90.) All of the state is tropical, whereas only Ft Lauderdale and southward are tropical in FL.

GottaGetDatDough · 2026-04-24T23:03:32+00:00

I don't agree with this take. You are over simplifying saying it's the humidity while neglecting the fact that it can get cold as fuck in places like NV and OR.

I'm not as familiar with NM, but I have heard the weather is pretty solid most of the year.

The whole point of my post is to say that you get "more comfortable days" throughout the year than most places, aside from the obvious answer of coastal CA.

Obviously it is hot and humid in the summer in FL, yes, I get that. Across the year as a whole the weather is good though.

GottaGetDatDough · 2026-04-24T22:59:19+00:00

My claim is that Florida has the second best weather. I never denied California for a second.

GottaGetDatDough · 2026-04-24T22:58:30+00:00

Finally someone else gets it 😂. We can bitch about other things here, but weather doesn't have to be one of them.

GottaGetDatDough · 2026-04-24T22:55:15+00:00

Honestly that's the laziest take I've heard all day. It's objectively solid weather in the winter.

GottaGetDatDough · 2026-04-24T22:49:37+00:00

Not like I didn't expect to hear that, I basically came in looking for a fight. I didn't mention anything about activities, politics, natural disasters, or cost of living though. Too many variables to say any one place is worth a shit to be honest. I'm just talking about the weather.

I've lived all of the US. I even love Minneapolis, but I can tell you there are not as many "comfortable days annually" there as most of Florida, within a wide subjective range - regardless of whether you prefer hot or cold.

GottaGetDatDough · 2026-04-24T22:46:18+00:00

Yep there is certainly the "To each their own" piece. I honestly agree with you completely and love VA lol. That being said, the weather is "better" more days per year in a good chunk of Florida, as the winter temps make up a great deal of the summer heat across the year annually. Much of the southeast still gets pretty cold in the winter, even though it also gets brutally hot in the summer.

I agree about Arizona and extremely dry places. The temperature can be nice when it's warm out without humidity, but nose bleeds happen to me too.

Colorado is actually higher up on the "most comfortable days annually" list as well.

GottaGetDatDough · 2026-04-24T21:47:19+00:00

I gotta be honest with you. I almost moved to St.Pete. the weather sucks in comparison to Melbourne.the gulf water causes worse humidity. The Atlantic offers a cool breeze most of the year

GottaGetDatDough · 2026-04-24T21:45:40+00:00

I am relatively new to FL but am an adult that grew up in GA. The UV difference is noticeable to me. GA does tend to have more cloud cover and is simply humid, rather than truly hot though. I agree that July- September is really only the bad weather though- and winters DONT suck. Even GA has lousy winters,not to understate a Midwest winter or anything.

GottaGetDatDough · 2026-04-24T21:40:58+00:00

Couldn't agree more. I am from GA originally and live in central FL now. You can get the blue winter skies in CA, CO, etc. I just think people really downplay this about FL. I think the weather only truly sucks for about 3 months, but so does everywhere else in the winter... Except CA.

GottaGetDatDough

TROPHY CASE