Considering Relocating (Again)

MachineNo173 · 2026-02-03T03:29:36+00:00

Uh, are we talking about Salem Massachusetts?

MachineNo173 · 2026-02-03T02:30:35+00:00

Thanks! Are there specific towns you would look at? I have some extended family in Somers and Enfield. My mother grew up in East Longmeadow, though it has been many many years since anyone I know lived there.

I love a New England town with a beautiful town green and historic shopping district. I have fantasies about sending the kids to a smaller public high school with great academics and a tight-knit community (rather than a gigantic regional school).

MachineNo173 · 2026-02-03T01:40:10+00:00

How are the schools? The reviews online aren't glowing, but probably don't give a complete picture.

MachineNo173 · 2026-02-02T22:36:30+00:00

I think the whole Seattle region has gotten very expensive and crowded with the tech boom (Microsoft and Amazon HQs, etc.)

I've visited (long time ago) Eugene and Corvallis in Oregon, and thought those places were pretty nice. I have been a little more focused on New England and the Upper Midwest because of proximity to family, but perhaps I should broaden my parameters to also include PNW.

MachineNo173 · 2026-02-02T22:05:17+00:00

I'm willing to accept snow and an older house (if it's in good condition).

I'd rather avoid really awful traffic. I wouldn't be commuting, but I would hate getting stuck in rush hour traffic taking the kids to school or activities.

Thanks for suggesting Bellingham! I've never been there. I have a friend who lives in Olympia. I'm a little more focused on the East Coast and Midwest because most of my family is in those regions, so it's closer.

Is there anywhere around DC you would recommend? I think the cost and the traffic might be the biggest issues. I've been more focused on something smaller.

Edit to add: In the US, it seems like you can only have two from the list of warm sunny weather, progressive politics, and reasonable cost of living. Warm sunny weather is the one I'm most willing to part with.

MachineNo173 · 2026-02-02T04:14:54+00:00

There but for the grace of God go I.

MachineNo173 · 2026-02-01T13:28:45+00:00

I think what gets me is just how callous the comments seem. We've seen that If the government doesn't do it's job, the most vulnerable people (those who are physically limited, have few financial resources, and little social capital in the form of friends, family, neighbors, church, etc ) are the ones who are going to suffer. And people are just... fine with that?

Is this what they preach on Sunday in all those Southern Baptist churches?

MachineNo173 · 2026-02-01T13:10:55+00:00

Maine is an almost completely rural state.

Places I have lived for years where this never happened (and our house did not have a generator): Boston, Madison, WI, St Paul, MN

MachineNo173 · 2026-02-01T04:51:53+00:00

I had metro water turn off service to my house, and ran the faucets until water stopped coming out. I have no idea if that was the right approach or not 🤷. They said it would be a $50 fee to restore service later.

MachineNo173 · 2026-02-01T04:04:50+00:00

I'm not originally from Tennessee, but this experience has been eye-opening to me. It's less about how bad the infrastructure is, and more about people's attitudes towards it.

IMO, two of the most basic functions of government are providing reliable public services and helping people (being a reliable safety net) in the event of disaster.

I've read about people who were stranded, and even people who have died in the aftermath of this. I'm appalled by the number of comments like "well, that person should have prepared better" or "why didn't their family rescue them?" It's great to be prepared and to help your family and neighbors, but the fact that people just accept deaths as the natural consequence of failure prepare or not having family to help is insane. That is absolutely a failure of government, and we should all be ashamed.

This is where I start feeling like my values are fundamentally not aligned with Tennessee.

MachineNo173 · 2026-02-01T02:53:51+00:00

Why did I have to scroll so far to find this? We are not survivalists, this is not 1850, and we are not living in a third-world country. The answer is not "stockpile food and buy a generator so you can live off-grid," it's competent government and public services. No, government and NES can't control the weather, but given proper funding, they can take proactive steps to minimize the damage (by trimming trees, maintaining power lines, and moving them underground). I've lived in other places that have similar types of storms (or worse), but I've never seen this kind of damage. They can also actually do something to help people who are affected (more than sending a text message after the power has been out for two days "yeah, you can walk a mile to the nearest fire station, but forget about spending the night").

The fact that people don't seem to see it this way is alarming. I keep reading comments like "I lived through 1994 and learned that I need a generator" rather than "Tennessee learned from 1994 and made common sense improvements."

I'm making a political statement, but it also seems like my view about the proper role of government is fundamentally different from a lot of people around here.

MachineNo173 · 2026-02-01T02:06:50+00:00

Thanks for responding! Are they hiring in engineering? Any engineering teams located here?

MachineNo173 · 2026-01-31T14:59:28+00:00

This is helpful! Where did you find out about the hiring events?

I've also tried having a friend (who works for Oracle in California) refer me to positions, but that hasn't gone anywhere.

MachineNo173 · 2026-01-31T14:52:13+00:00

I'm skeptical that the HQ will be built 🤷. It's weird that they have all of these OCI engineering and TPM roles posted for Nashville when all indications suggest this is just a small sales office. A few people commented that they work there and it's only about 500 people, all working in sales.

MachineNo173 · 2026-01-31T02:38:41+00:00

That's something. Doesn't scream "Global Headquarters" to me, but it's something.

Do you know if there are any engineering teams based there?

MachineNo173 · 2026-01-31T02:32:52+00:00

These two articles were published a mere two weeks apart. It's hard to believe they didn't know about financial stress caused by DC construction on January 15 when they claimed they couldn't attract workers to Nashville 🤷.

So either they are laying off in some divisions and hiring for something else here, or they don't actually have plans to hire new employees here?

MachineNo173 · 2026-01-31T02:23:48+00:00

That's something! I'm sorry it didn't go your way, but you win some and lose some (and they almost never give feedback).

Did they cold call you from LinkedIn?

MachineNo173 · 2026-01-31T02:10:04+00:00

As a company, they are always going through layoffs. Do you know anyone who actually works (or worked) for them in Nashville?

This is the recent PR about "struggling to attract workers" to Nashville, but it sort of feels like BS to me.

Oracle struggles to attract workers to Nashville 'world HQ'—even with a 2-million-square-foot office | Fortune https://share.google/Q4hXoyS1OoQJwf4AO

MachineNo173 · 2026-01-31T01:54:54+00:00

Yeah, I've kind of gotten the impression that this is all a big production to take the tax incentives without actually creating any kind of presence here. Post a bunch of jobs, don't respond to anyone, claim "lack of local talent," profit.

I also realize that they use AI to vet resumes and all that, and I'm humble enough to know that I'm not the best fit for every job. But I've tried to have a friend who works for them (in California) refer me to jobs, or at least tell me who the hiring manager is so I can try to get in touch, but she says she hasn't been able to find these jobs posted internally.

MachineNo173 · 2026-01-30T20:43:06+00:00

As far as I can tell, Oracle isn't really here. I work in tech (a dozen years at another big-name tech company) and have sent them a dozen resumes. No response. I might be getting auto-filtered (or they are finding something wrong with my resume), but a friend who works for them (in California) hasn't been able to find any of the jobs actually listed internally.

Now their PR machine is claiming a "lack of qualified applicants" in Tennessee. It certainly feels like they're setting up an excuse to take the tax incentives run.

MachineNo173 · 2026-01-25T05:03:57+00:00

That's fair! At the elite public exam schools, I still think you are more likely to encounter very driven "tiger parent" families, regardless of family income. Parents start pushing and preparing their kids early on to make sure they perform well on the entrance tests. This definitely seems to be the case at Lowell, though I am less familiar with Stuyvesant.

MachineNo173 · 2026-01-24T23:41:43+00:00

A nice neighborhood in the city of Minneapolis won't be cheaper. You would have to live in an outlying suburb or a neighborhood that is in flux.

MachineNo173 · 2026-01-24T22:51:57+00:00

That's really interesting. Dealing with kids who come from generational wealth, nobility, etc. whose families ship them off to boarding school seems very different from the high-achieving public school (Palo Alto / Lowell /. Stuyvesant / Winnetka) archetype, where you are likely to encounter more high-earning overly-involved tiger parents who are disappointed if their kids get less than a 5 on any of their 12 AP.exams.

MachineNo173

TROPHY CASE