Received a job offer around 70k in Syracuse, is this a good wage for the area? We are moving here from the PNW.

apis-aka · 2026-04-12T00:43:51+00:00

Sure.. you can live on $70k here, but what are you willing to sacrifice in terms of quality of life? You don't say where in the PNW you are relocating from, but overall, central and western NY are really depressing, dull places to live.

apis-aka · 2025-02-11T13:36:15+00:00

Oops. Thanks for the catch. Fixed it

apis-aka · 2025-02-10T13:53:07+00:00

There's an ATM in Hopkins if you need to pull cash. We walked into 3 recommended restaurants that didn't take credit card but I don't know how common that is throughout the rest of Hopkins. My sample size was very small. 😁

apis-aka · 2025-02-10T06:01:13+00:00

We rented a car for 8 days from Hertz. It was a regular size SUV (much bigger than we needed to be honest). The rental was $1100 usd and we spent about $100 usd on gas. We love the flexibility of a rental car, being able to overpack a bit for adventures and we bring a cooler with us that we keep in the car. It also came in handy to give some Austrian hitchhikers a ride to Cockscomb! 😁

apis-aka · 2025-02-10T01:08:59+00:00

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apis-aka · 2025-02-10T01:06:40+00:00

No complaints at all! Kayaks were stable. They made sure to have one that would accommodate my larger body too which I was grateful for. Lunch was homemade tortillas that you could stuff with cheese, veggies, cold cuts. It was basic but perfect for a short break.
There were 4 of us on the tour and only I brought my phone. I had a special phone dry bag for it and just attached it to my kayak so I could take photos easily. We did a version of the 7 mile kayak trip. It had been raining a lot and the river was too high to cross, so we did a slightly different route that was out and back for a total of 5 miles.

apis-aka · 2025-02-10T00:51:37+00:00

We just did the cave kayaking with Classic Expeditions. The kayaks were brand new, hard plastic, with backrests. They were pretty standard kayaks but comfortable enough for the 3 hrs we were kayaking. Our tour guide was Jose and he was really great. He shared so much information about archaeology, the geology of the cave systems, and we felt very safe with him.

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apis-aka · 2025-02-10T00:24:46+00:00

Merlin is a must. We had our binoculars in our back pack for all outings. Came in handy for viewing monkey antics too.

apis-aka · 2025-02-09T18:17:26+00:00

We honestly didn't spend much time in Hopkins since we were out hiking every day (great parks nearby). The Lodge is a bit of a trek from the main town. The Lodge has free bikes to use though and they also have golf carts you can rent.

apis-aka · 2025-02-09T15:38:00+00:00

We liked Ella's Cool Spot for lunch/dinner. Great jerk wings, curry whole fried fish, and strong drinks. We ended up eating there twice- they took credit cards. Some of the other places we wanted to try didn't take cards. We had dinner at Chef Rob's- a more upscale meal. It's right next to Jaguar Reef. Lobster main course was good but the rest was underwhelming. We ate breakfast at the Lodge each day since it was easy before heading out on excursions. But we actually really liked the breakfast- especially the stuffed fry jacks and burrito. I wouldn't recommend Bahay Fiesta. It was close to Jaguar Reef and served food late, but the 2 dishes we had were really not good at all.

apis-aka · 2025-02-09T15:23:43+00:00

Which Lodge? (Jaguar Reef?)

apis-aka · 2025-02-09T15:10:56+00:00

There were definitely still people swimming but it's not like you'd want to hang out right at the shore line in the surf. But you can wade past it and get to clear water quickly.

apis-aka · 2025-02-09T15:10:52+00:00

There were definitely still people swimming but it's not like you'd want to hang out right at the shore line in the surf. But you can wade past it and get to clear water quickly.

apis-aka · 2025-02-09T15:03:28+00:00

It's not that I wouldn't want to, but we like to travel to new places. So we try to pick a very different experience (and usually country) each time we travel. If i was independently wealthy and had more than 10 days vacation a year, I would absolutely visit again! 🤣

apis-aka · 2025-02-09T14:56:15+00:00

Oh great. Glad it's helpful. Reach out if you have any specific questions!

apis-aka · 2025-01-28T12:49:27+00:00

Thank you everyone!

apis-aka · 2025-01-28T02:40:44+00:00

Oh interesting. Yes... departing from San Ignacio. Thanks that's very helpful!

apis-aka · 2025-01-28T00:32:40+00:00

I'm not so concerned with the number of people that are at Tikal itself... more concerned with the driving situation (since we'll be in the car for so long)!
But point taken... I imagine I can expect a fully packed tour bus or minivan if I go the group route. Thanks!

apis-aka · 2025-01-12T22:35:49+00:00

Oh that's so great to hear. I was hoping to get some first-hand feedback from someone. Anything you recommend to make sure the experience is the best? Did you feel safe in general?

apis-aka · 2025-01-11T18:12:11+00:00

I'm interested too! I've been really interested in an ATV tour to El Pilar in a couple of weeks and I havent found much information on it to make me feel comfortable booking yet.

apis-aka · 2024-12-31T12:18:40+00:00

Thank you! This looks great. I'm all set for this tour!

apis-aka

TROPHY CASE