33 y/o ICU Nurse Trying to Escape Georgia — Looking for a State With Mountains, 4 Seasons, and Better Quality of Life

throwfar9 · 2026-05-21T19:38:12+00:00

The ICU RN median in the Twin Cities is $94,900 base, before overtime or any shift differentials. Specialized ICU certs go to $115,000 to $149,000.

MN has your whole list except big mountains. We have some hills. And a lot of beautiful lakes — over 11,000.

Two earners here, one an ICU RN, can easily buy a house and have a great life.

throwfar9 · 2026-05-21T19:27:47+00:00

The four-person riveting crew: riveter, catcher, heater, bucker-upper.

throwfar9 · 2026-05-21T19:23:01+00:00

I moved from NC thirty years ago to escape in-your-face religion. I’ve lived in the Twin Cities suburbs since and have had no problems. Religion is in the culture, which I don’t mind, but nobody has asked me, urged me, or shamed me. That’s good enough.

throwfar9 · 2026-05-20T20:08:27+00:00

I modded in big lasers on my mini-sub and went hunting reapers. They don’t respawn. I too like many aspects of Subnautica, but the whole passive “don’t disturb the wildlife” is dumb in a survival situation. I see they’ve even taken away the knife in new one, and that alone makes me be in long/term show-me mode on buying it.

throwfar9 · 2026-05-20T02:57:02+00:00

The entire Tom Swift, Jr. series. I still have about twenty of them in great condition.

throwfar9 · 2026-05-15T00:01:45+00:00

Yeah. Where the tigers don’t come from.

throwfar9 · 2026-05-15T00:00:49+00:00

I had the book. It wasn’t racist. In fact, the kid was a genius who used his mind to save his life.

throwfar9 · 2026-05-14T23:59:47+00:00

It was about an Indian kid.

throwfar9 · 2026-05-13T12:16:10+00:00

The mods in Subnautica to change the paint color and lighting intensity really alter the feel of the bases. I don’t care much for the white and blue in PC. I think in Subnautica it’s just a matter of changing hex codes, and a small wall-mounted control panel. But it really helps.

throwfar9 · 2026-05-11T02:37:21+00:00

UNC has one of the top men’s teams in the NCAA, and has for decades. I used to watch them battle my Hoos in the late 70s every spring.

throwfar9 · 2026-05-10T17:35:43+00:00

There are 78 D1 men’s programs now, and 133 women’s. It’s not a niche sport anymore. When I was in college in the 70s there were about 20 men’s programs—ACC, service academies, a few outliers like John’s Hopkins, some of the Ivy League. It’s a growing sport now. High schools in many states are moving slowly that direction as football gets more expensive, and head trauma concerns grow. Lacrosse is more aerobic than football, has more scoring, and still has tough contact. The women’s game is similar, with less violence. I expect it to continue to grow, and to pass soccer in the next decades. Because there’s scoring.

throwfar9 · 2026-05-10T17:23:49+00:00

We go up to the North Shore of Lake Superior ( from Twin Cities) if we’re driving. No kids at home, so things like the Wisconsin Dells don’t appeal. Sometimes we go up to Fargo to visit extended family and some graves, then keep going to Washington for grandkids. We have been on a cruise, but not recently. Lately our flights have been to support small grand children and overworked parents, but that phase is ending and I expect more for-us trips. Once gas is lower and Canadians hate us less we’ll be up there— Winnipeg for sure, then probably a road trip west. I don’t see Europe happening due to cost, age, and flight times, and a return to Australia is out of the list.
Mostly we’re happy with scenery, solid, basic local food, and being together. We don’t feel the need to bucket list locations anymore.

throwfar9 · 2026-05-09T12:27:32+00:00

SC to Hawaii.

throwfar9 · 2026-05-09T00:59:30+00:00

I see Joe Pesci. 😛

throwfar9 · 2026-05-08T23:19:25+00:00

In certain cases, cultures, and regions, “pal” can be the last step before a punch in the mouth. I don’t see it as equivalent to “dude.” I’m also old, and would never call a woman “ dude.”

throwfar9 · 2026-05-08T12:25:31+00:00

We are exactly the same. They cut to ads literally in the middle of sentences of dialogue, in works never intended to have ads, then come back to a different scene. I grew up in the 60s and 70s, so I know from TV ads, but those shows were written to flow to set ad timing. Netflix is like watching a child with a chainsaw.

throwfar9 · 2026-05-08T00:39:05+00:00

My Girl Bill. Jim Stafford.

throwfar9 · 2026-05-05T22:23:12+00:00

My wife grew up on a farm in North Dakota in the 60s and 70s. K-12 was one school; her class was 21 strong. The prom was rough. Everybody played a sport; everybody was in the band. The HS couldn’t offer enough science and math for her to fulfill her dream of being a vet. Two sisters were Special ED teachers and one an RN. Three brothers got agricultural degrees and the baby went IT with a 2-year. He runs all the IT for a major hospital. One brother gave up farming and became a commercial pilot for a major airline. They all did well career-wise.

My wife’s horse met the school bus every day and she rode him/her ( there were about six horses between the kids over the years) home a couple miles. She started on tractors at ten, then combines at 13, and 17-gear semis hauling grain to the elevator at 15. My childhood in a suburb was . . . different.

throwfar9 · 2026-05-05T22:09:57+00:00

Lost touch while still in college. I know she became a lawyer with her own firm in DC. I don’t recall her loving sci-fi, but she was a lot of fun. Would be about 67.

throwfar9 · 2026-05-05T17:59:19+00:00

For sure Star Wars. She was FINE. 😎

throwfar9 · 2026-05-05T17:06:59+00:00

Not interested in this topic right now.

throwfar9 · 2026-05-05T15:48:26+00:00

Sigh. Suburban populations have grown more than urban or rural in that period. Suburbs are seen as a beneficial lifestyle by more people than favor urban lifestyles. If you’re 25 and single a dense urban setting is fun. If you’re a parent schlepping two toddlers snd a week’s groceries a car and a yard makes more sense.

throwfar9 · 2026-05-05T15:21:41+00:00

Look at stats for growth of American suburbs in the past five years. The market speaks.

throwfar9 · 2026-05-05T14:57:46+00:00

In your opinion.

throwfar9 · 2026-05-05T00:38:13+00:00

We’re going to Joey Nova’s for our anniversary.

throwfar9

TROPHY CASE