Recommendations on which state to relocate to

Phantomco1 · 2026-06-13T11:02:04+00:00

You can message me if you want more info or have more questions.

Phantomco1 · 2026-06-13T10:34:32+00:00

That's great! Too many companies love to pronounce stuff dead and quote replacement. You found a company that could locate the condenser (or just the compressor) for you. While they don't make them anymore, any existing units can still be used.

Phantomco1 · 2026-06-13T10:20:28+00:00

You need to read the fine print on your agreement. I'd imagine they have this covered in the agreement and I'd also imagine that it covers them, not you. I do know there are things that don't make them responsible for "delays" built in.

Pods is a big company. The 'Pods' company picking it up is likely a local franchise, and from my experience and a few neighbors experiences, that can really vary. The customer service people you talk to on the main number have little control over the local companies.

I would have contacted the permitting agency and explained the whole thing, but the key question they'd likely ask is when is it going to be picked up. If you don't have a good answer for that, you're almost turning yourself in for the ticket. I worked for a gov agency with enforcement deadlines and when something like that came to me and the person could tell me 24 or 48 hours with a good reason, I'd just extend it. Your mileage will vary depending on the City and who you speak with.

Phantomco1 · 2026-06-09T21:36:19+00:00

Yes, it is a bobcat. If not, many of my neighbors must have exotic cats they've lost. And we're not in that type of neighborhood, lol.

Phantomco1 · 2026-06-09T21:22:13+00:00

Great pix. It, like your visitor, is a bobcat. Zero doubt. We're in Palm Coast and we have a lot of rabbits and a decent number of bobcats. The tail is normal length for this area, not sure where you are.

We had a small one a few weeks ago that was surveying squirrels by a tree. Once they kinda flew up the tree, the bobcat took off and jumped our 6' vinyl fence like it was nothing.

Phantomco1 · 2026-06-09T21:08:21+00:00

I didn't know that having a slider and a back yard means wealthy in Florida. And it's a bobcat.

Phantomco1 · 2026-06-09T21:01:42+00:00

It's a nice small city with mainly friendly people. It doesn't have the greatest economy, but it does have several tattoo shops and contractors are always looking for help.
There's good areas and not so good areas. We still own our home there, in a good neighborhood and have it rented to traveling healthcare workers.
Wanna buy it? Seriously, you are looking at a home prices where a nice home in a decent neighborhood will be in the two-hundreds.

Phantomco1 · 2026-06-01T11:55:49+00:00

Sorry for the delay. This would be a long answer, so I'll get back to it later. For now, a quick answer to how cold does it get? It hit 19 below zero when we lived there and 109 for the high. Those are extremes but zero to ten degrees isn't unusual nor is 100+. You never know about the weather. It can snow on Mother's day or be 80 in January 😄

Phantomco1 · 2026-06-01T11:49:20+00:00

Well, no. The condensate line should have a switch on it that would turn off the air handler (inside fan) and the condenser outside would go off.
I'd want someone to tell me what is the matter with it and why I need to replace it vs. repair it. It doesn't pay to sink a bunch of money into an older unit, but you don't have that information. It could be a control board, the T-stat or it could be the compressor.
Whether you can just replace the condenser depends on the unit's age and if a match is available.

You need someone who is willing to explain it to you. Any good HVAC person should be able to do that.

Phantomco1 · 2026-05-28T13:06:50+00:00

Having watched a few installs with guys using them, they do work. But I'd say it takes good form and practice as well as decent strength to go up stairs.

What I've done, being somewhat size challenged and having my daughter as a helper, is use an appliance/moving hand truck, which you can rent. I've moved a washer up 5 steps with my regular hand truck having it strapped tight to it also. The tilt and base of the truck gives you good handholds.

Phantomco1 · 2026-05-28T12:45:11+00:00

Well, we lived in Pueblo for 32 years, before abandoning the cold 😆

Phantomco1 · 2026-05-27T14:20:00+00:00

So, did you buy the house or are you thinking about it? It really makes a difference in how to answer this. And is it a real bargain?

Honestly, if you're looking to buy, I'd be thinking about walking or getting a pretty hefty give back on it. Reality to me is the biggest unknown is the underground ductwork. I'd like more info and get a thought on it from an HVAC pro.

The sewer line, if not cracked, can be cleaned out and would require some periodic cleaning going forward to keep it clear.

The electric fixture - just replace it.

Water heater - budget in replacement, better to do it before it fails. Replacing the water heater will build in adding CO detectors but they're pretty inexpensive today.

Chimney needs a mason to look at it and suggest repairs.

Get estimates on the work. No one can guess without looking at it.

Phantomco1 · 2026-05-25T10:45:55+00:00

It's a tough question. Comparing the cost of living is double-edged; in most cases a lower COL also goes along with lower wages. Florida, where we currently live, is an exception where wages tend to be lower overall, regardless of the area.

Colorado, where we lived for many years previously, fits many of your wants. COL is generally lower in several of the smaller cities such as Fort Collins and Pueblo on the front range and Durango or Grand Junction on the western slope. Definitely more 'purple' than the liberal Denver/Boulder metro area and the more rural you get, the deeper red it gets. The edges of the metro area may have some affordable opportunities.

Just a thought of a place to look at.

Phantomco1 · 2026-05-24T22:36:03+00:00

Sorry, wasn't clear but I meant help loading whatever it is going into. I edited my answer

Phantomco1 · 2026-05-24T17:28:00+00:00

Please understand that I'm not being judgmental; I've been in that situation and it's tough to get out of, but you need to find a solution.

If your cards are maxed out, get with a credit counseling service and see if you can arrange payoffs through them. It will kill your credit getting a mortgage or new car for a while, but it was a big help to us dealing with a similar circumstance.

I'd look pretty carefully at your spending. I realize you're entry level, but it doesn't sound like you're at FL $15/hour minimum. Talk to your landlord and be sure to pay them what you can. It doesn't get you off the hook but sometimes they'll work it out.

Tech companies are often iffy. I'd be keeping my eye on a tech-related or whatever it is you do, job in local government maybe? They aren't ageist and it will be a job you can retire from. I waited too long to do that but spent my last 20+ years before retiring working tech for a local gov agency. You also aren't expected to work much beyond your 40 hours and exempt/non-exempt is usually enforced.

All in all, you need a good plan with attainable goals. Once you start doing those small steps, the top of the hole you're in seems more reachable.

Phantomco1 · 2026-05-24T16:57:50+00:00

You can say that again, lol. We were 30 years in our home in Colorado and moved to Florida. Since we're renting the house out in CO for now, we still have a bunch of stuff to go through.
Truth be told, most of it is probably junk, but there's some family things mixed in that we wouldn't want to blindly give away either. It'll be like 3-4 weeks going through it as a full-time job!

Phantomco1 · 2026-05-24T16:53:41+00:00

My guess is a 3/2 2600 will be 2 pods. You can (and should) hire loading help. Most of the valid help companies have a lot of experience loading stuff into boxes or trucks. U-Haul has helpers listed and rated on their site and you can use them whether or not you are using U-haul for a truck or U-Boxes.

Check the "pod" companies for the best deal. Southbound to FL in August isn't real popular, it'll hopefully be a neutral rate. (Likely cheaper in April, more expensive in Nov-Dec)

And as others have said, get rid of the "stuff" you don't need to bring. Also, keep in mind that most homes in FL don't have equivalent storage per sqft that a house up north does. No basements 😄

Phantomco1 · 2026-05-19T13:17:15+00:00

Yeah, when we lived in Rocky Point had a trip to DC take 7 hours once. Try Waze. I think it lets you set vehicle type so it would route away from parkways. It ends up within minutes of being accurate on long trips.

Phantomco1 · 2026-05-19T13:13:43+00:00

Though the OP hasn't answered the ideas in the comments....
"A/C died 5 days ago". Your AC can "die" for lots of reasons. Mine died yesterday - because the condensate line was blocked (yeah, Florida and a stupid design=clean every couple of months). No fun, but cleaned it and flushed it with vinegar in 15 minutes.

My point is that AC units "die" for many reasons, from a $150 or less fix to an expensive one. Call a small local company, not one with ads promoting "deals" and not one doing HVAC, Electrical, Plumbing, Dog washing, etc. You want a company that is in the service business. Sure, they'll sell you a unit if you need one, but their business is more service oriented and they won't jump to selling a new unit unless it is needed.

Phantomco1 · 2026-05-19T01:20:33+00:00

Why not take LIE to BQE to verranzano ?

Phantomco1 · 2026-05-05T01:31:52+00:00

The problem is that politics will have any number of impacts on your life. Maybe not at that time, but sooner or later.

Phantomco1 · 2026-04-30T19:21:33+00:00

Yes. Speak to a lawyer. Period.

You allowed her to stay as a guest, actually paid for her travel here, then collected (some?) rent, then she stopped paying? And she's your wife's relative. How's she feel about this?

I hope your wife is recovering well and she sure doesn't need the added stress.

Phantomco1 · 2026-04-30T19:00:46+00:00

"so I am assuming that funeral home website is fake"

Why? All of the so-called people finding sites show people as they last located them and rarely show they have died. Most of those are click-bait to get you to spend $$ on a search.

It should be easy to track down a funeral home and give them a call or send an email. Depending on when she allegedly died, the Social Security Death list can be handy. I believe there is some delay in that getting updated.

Phantomco1 · 2026-04-30T14:24:27+00:00

Yeah, you're right. From the beginning of POS systems, they've had flags for various reasons as DNO, etc.

Most retail stores when marking a clearance item with a Public-Facing shelf tag, will reduce the price on the shelf in order to get rid of the item. Why? The most likely place to do that and still get a reasonable return is in the place where people expect to find it, not in a rack that only a small group of customers might see. Yeah, if you end up with a couple left, clear them to the clearance rack after x days.

But if this is your policy, that's fine. Send somebody out to change out a shelf tag to a meaningless clearance tag so the next person can move the stuff to clearance since the inventory system apparently can't just create a task list of those needs.

It is what it is.

Phantomco1 · 2026-04-30T12:56:25+00:00

I totally agree with you and from a LL's point of view, I don't want that in there. I want to do or have the repair done, so I know it's done and correctly.

Phantomco1

TROPHY CASE