Gaming across the US

[Pbartender]

before we get to that other thread.... part of it is that they bought their house at say $120K and sell it for $250 and then buy a home worth $300... their loan amount is only $50K.

Not necessarily... Remember, you still have to pay off what's left of that $120K mortgage with the money from the $250K sale. If you've only paid off $20K of capital on that first house, then you don't have a $50K loan on that second house, you've got a $150K loan.

But that's what I was trying to get at. Around Chicago, here's what often happens (I know, because three different mortgage officers recently suggested it to me)...

Someone buys a $240K house on an interest only loan, hoping that they can sell it for $350K in a couple years. The idea it to use the $350K sale to pay off the $240K mortage, and then use the remaining $110K as a down payment on the house you actually want. The trouble that's happening right now is that it's really hard to sell houses... A lot of people are getting stuck in houses that they don't want and can hardly afford.


Anyway... That aside, if you can afford it, many of the suburbs of Chicago are great places to live. For the most part, they're quiet, safe towns with good schools.

 

[buzz]

Anyway... That aside, if you can afford it, many of the suburbs of Chicago are great places to live. For the most part, they're quiet, safe towns with good schools.

Another data point...

My wife and I bought our house in Aurora in 2004 for about $218K; three bedrooms (well, two and a study), finished basement, two-car garage, decent-sized backyard, and we're in the Naperville school districts (some of the best in the US). The house was built in '87.

Personally, I think that's pretty reasonable if you're a two-income family of median income. If you're single and looking to rent, you may have to hunt a bit depending on your income. You're probably looking at $800/mo., give or take depending on how big an apartment you want.

There are some $400K homes not too far from us, but those are for suckers.

 

[Ian Demagi]

Gaming

Gaming here in the "freaking Nati" is pretty good. There are a good number of small independant game stores here that support gaming. Games run the gammut of high level serious to munchkin. Traffic here is not too bad yet.

Couple of Provisos-1)There has not been a successful con here in 15 years. For that you would have to drive to Columbus or Indy. Last con our group went to was a good little con in Dayton (about an 1hr 10 away). 2) This is RPGA hell! If you are looking for a lot of RPGA type stuff-you wil not be happy! 3) This is an arch conservative place! The Sheriff of Hamilton County is not a big fan of anything non mainstream and that includes gaming, Ian.

 

[WampusCat43]

The 'nati is good for gaming, and you're centrally located to both the big Cons, but it's not on your list. You've lived in Somerset, so you should know what that's like. uke:

(I grew up in Kentucky, so I can get away with saying that).

If money's no object, I'd take Chicago in a heartbeat.

 

[drscott46]

I have lived here all my life, and I've been a gamer for going on 28 years. I have an amazing group of friends who are gamers, we game every other weekend, and they want me to run it more often (family, work, and study prevent that).

One of my gamers is from Wisconsin oddly enough, and vows he will never move back (his name is Scott, ring any bells kenobi65?).

I moved to Portland a little more than a year ago from Cincinnati, so I've made the Midwest-to-PNW transition that others have referred to. Even though I hadn't played RPGs since my freshman year of college, I decided to pick 'em back up as a way of getting a little more involved in my new home. My group came together off a Yahoo list, and we've done really well with 3.5 and Warhammer FRP for the better part of a year now. Every time we've had an open seat, someone's popped up from the Yahoo group and worked out well.

We were originally sponsored by one of the FLGS in the SE part of town, but have just decided to take things offsite. Despite that particular store's being very well-stocked with plenty of current as well as collectible RPG gear, most of the store's clientele seemed to be teenagers playing Magic: The Gathering (which I used to enjoy, but refuse to endorse any longer as anything beyond a diversion). I rarely, if ever, saw anyone purchase any RPG stuff beyond DDM.

I admit that I thought I'd find more gaming in general in Portland than I have (with its proximity to WotC and Seattle) but I got along just fine. It's not like I can claim to have been to every gaming store or convention, either. The character of this town seems to favor smaller independent business, and I think that spills over into gaming as well. It seems like everyone here is a transplant (often a recent one, too) from other places, so there are lots of people around who haven't been here very long.

 

[Mean Eyed Cat]

I haved lived in the Pacific NW most of my life and have also been gaming for a long time. Currently, I live in a small college town (20,000) and I have managed to put together a good gaming group. Previously, I lived in Portland and I loved it there. I think it's very gaming friendly. I wrote a pretty good summary of it <here>.

 

[drscott46]

Gaming here in the "freaking Nati" is pretty good. There are a good number of small independant game stores here that support gaming. Games run the gammut of high level serious to munchkin. Traffic here is not too bad yet.

Couple of Provisos-3) This is an arch conservative place! The Sheriff of Hamilton County is not a big fan of anything non mainstream and that includes gaming, Ian.

Although if your gaming activities are running you afoul of Sheriff Leis and his cronies... you're probably more hardcore than you need to be. Way back in the '80s, hysteria over D&D and the like was far worse than it is now, and Cincy is likely no different.

WotC ought to have a Colossus-sized statue of Mike Stackpole out in front of its offices.

 

[Mark CMG]

I agree that the gaming is particularly good in the Chicagoland area.

 

[Man in the Funny Hat]

Interesting. Might be that my friend hasn't found the right folks.

I would say that's true, because percentage of gamers aside, all the Mormons I've had the fortune to meet have been people who are kind and generous nearly to a fault. Anecdotal evidence of course, but I've never had reason to suspect that this might not be the case on a wider level.

 

[kenobi65]

I would say that's true, because percentage of gamers aside, all the Mormons I've had the fortune to meet have been people who are kind and generous nearly to a fault. Anecdotal evidence of course, but I've never had reason to suspect that this might not be the case on a wider level.

All I can tell you is that my friend and his family felt shunned when they moved in, once the neighbors learned that they weren't Mormon. The neighbor kids wouldn't play with my friend's kids, the neighbor ladies wouldn't socialize with my friend's wife, etc.

Might just be that particular neighborhood, who knows? Either that, or the locals in Provo don't trust Australians.