Early Retirement Extreme Forums

Wait, is it safe to come outside yet you guys? Should we do a meet up in Houston? I *probably* can't do anything until September, unless you guys want to come party in New Orleans.

WFJ wrote: ↑

Tue Jul 13, 2021 4:21 pm

Gulf Coast Texas... Based on waistlines and cost of pickup trucks, there aren't many ERE followers around the Gulf Coast

Hah. I think there are precisely four of us, which is what? Like 10% of the total ERE population? Not bad, not bad at all.

I’m down to meet up. I suddenly have every other weekend free! Miraculous. If we all have to travel, though, my vote is we just hang out on some beach.

Unfortunately as soon as I'm free to travel I'll be headed in the opposite direction. News out of the UK makes me pause regarding how soon I might want to dash into a big city.

Just move to Dallas for work. Might be able to take a bus down to Houston one day depending on how everything goes. Currently, looking for a permanent position as well so who knows.

Anyone in NOLA, I hope you evacuate if you did not. Ida is gonna be a CAT 4 and is gonna mess up the city bad.

TheWanderingScholar wrote: ↑

Fri Aug 27, 2021 7:57 pm

Anyone in NOLA, I hope you evacuate if you did not. Ida is gonna be a CAT 4 and is gonna mess up the city bad.

This article gives the impression that the levies are built to withstand storms much stronger than Ida, but then again I think we’ve heard that line before: https://apnews.com/article/technology-e ... a425998710

white belt wrote: ↑

Sat Aug 28, 2021 9:20 am

This article gives the impression that the levies are built to withstand storms much stronger than Ida, but then again I think we’ve heard that line before: https://apnews.com/article/technology-e ... a425998710

Agreed. While in theory they should hold, but it is NOLA. The corruption in the city is its downfall.

Thinking of you and NOLA, J+G. Let us know if you’re safe. If you need a place to stay, c’mon then.

For those of you who live around there -- and I live on the Gulf Coast half the year -- the hurricane has potential ER implications. If you live in the declared disaster area you can take out up to $100k from an IRA without the 10% penalty and spread the tax bite over three years.

This is something you'd want to do in order to convert future income taxed at the ordinary rate to income taxed at the usually lower capital gains rate, or to front-run potential large expenses.

https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/tax-relief ... situations

Thanks for checking on me y'all. I evacuated to Mobile, AL, which is sort of like a second home to me. I'm chillin' here waiting for power to be restored in New Orleans.

My gf and I drove back to NOLA yesterday to move some of her shit so it doesn't mold while the power is out. New Orleans is relatively unscathed considering the intensity of the storm (it actually looks like NYC did much worse). No major flooding and no major wind damage (though certainly some personal water and wind devastation amongst a few of my friends). The trailer I live in and my friends shipping container house both made it through the storm completely intact. The garden I live on suffered only minimal wind damage.

A lot of the surrounding areas closer to the coast didn't fair as well.

Also, thanks for bringing that to my attention @unemployable, I'm now hoping to take advantage of that to extract my retirement $$.

Hope everyone makes it through hurricane season!

How's the heat down there?

Oppressive.

It was slightly better much of the past few weeks, lots of overcast rainy days, a little lower temperaturewise and solar energywise with some of that negated by the 105% humidity. It's back to being oppressively hot and sunny with about 75% humidity, but looks like another week or two of cloudy rainy weather may be on the way.

The weather this year has been a little different from the more recent high precip years we've experienced. It was very dry in the winter and spring this year, possibly due to what looks like a stronger La Nina. Instead of experiencing larger smatterings of rain in the spring, when pressure systems above and below are duking it out, followed by routine scattered afternoon thunderstorms once summer sets in, it seems like the Gulf coast has experienced the bulk of annual rainfall so far the past few weeks, during long periods of overcast weather with mostly lighter rains, due to what appears to be low pressure eddies off the southwest flank of the Azores high that form and then hover over the area. That's just my take though...

Oh shit apparently there are five of us. Word up, EricG.

Brutal in this area of the Gulf Coast.

Word up, Biscuits and Gravy

Lately I've been looking as national maps for all different variables that help determine quality of life, and the south is consistently near the bottom. I am becoming convinced that extreme heat and humidity are the primary factors contributing to poor quality of living here, and that everything else follows (lots of violent crime, poverty, poor health, religious and political extremism, lack of education, etc.).

Yes it seems there are heatwaves everywhere at the moment which causes lots of other problems.

Where did you conclude was at the top ?

New Orleans is at the top for me. The humidity is good for the skin.