GEN 2 Life and job change, do I keep the Raptor?

[DinduMcNugget]

I say keep it. You wanted a Scab, went through the trouble of ordering one then the disappointment of being told months after the fact it wasn’t happening and went out and bought one. No one is 100% the Scab will continue on so if you get rid of it now, who knows if you’ll ever get a raptor scab again.

 

[isis]

I committed to the job today, so we’re going. I have lots of things to sort out. Honestly I could go either way on the Raptor. If I can get close to what I paid I’d probably sell it, if I’m taking a big hit I’d keep it as the value shouldn’t drop too far in the first year. I think it’s going to get listed for sale and see what happens. I drove it across town today and it hit 731 miles. My wife could daily the Raptor and I could have the work truck and all would be well too. Her VW Touareg SUV is pretty ideal for there and will tow the boat, but my VW Passat is not making the trip regardless. If the job had come before I bought the Raptor I certainly would’ve held off.

I spoke to my old man today, he is fine selling the 2000 Ford Expedition, but insists on keeping their Toyota Solera (I call it the GT for Gay Toyota because it the blurple color with a tan interior, why do old people buy that shit?), so there will be Raptor sized garage parking available. I might be able to find another garage to store the GT in the winter, lots of summer only folks up there with empty garages. I’m going to plan on living in the family house for two years for tax reasons. So housing in East Harwich on Cape Cod at minimal cost is secured. Housing prices in MA and Flagstaff are pretty equivalent, $500K gets your foot in the door. We’re going to rent the Flagstaff house so we can return here at some point while building equity. We will use a property manager so they can deal with the BS. We’ll have three years to sell it and still get the capital gains tax exemption if we chose. Living in NH after the two years is not off the table but probably isn’t feasible, I’ll have to see how that would play out with traffic and job sites. RI would be closer but probably isn’t better than MA. Most of my work will be in the Fall River to south of Boston areas and on the Cape.

Looking around my home here, it’s going to be estate sale time, everything must go! The house there is fully furnished and a little smaller than my house now. We really don’t need much past our clothes and personal effects. I’m going to downsize my tools significantly, and my welding equipment doesn’t need to go because I’ll have access to whatever I’d need as part of my new position. The stuff I own had owned me for too long, I sold my diesel truck and trailer in July before I bought the Raptor, so that was a good start. I’m not bringing everything and having duplicates to store, I’ll just buy new shit later as needed.

My 1987 Bronco is probably on the block as well. I’ve had it for 23 years but haven’t done much with it in the past 5. I’ve been planning an LS swap, but haven’t gotten anything started beyond buying some parts. Raptor or not, getting a 2021 Bronco my wife can daily drive in MA makes more sense to me than keeping the 87 which will probably rust out on contact with salt air. One of my friends in AZ will probably buy it from me, so if things went wrong I might be able to get it back later.

As my wife said this morning, sometimes seismic life change is need to move to the next level.

Holy shit man. Good luck. You’re already overthinking it. Get after it. You know what you’re doing.

Your wife is a keeper if there ever was one.

 

[chadp]

As someone with a couple/few years on you, I’ll chime in.

I lived my entire life in and around Washington, DC and have seen first hand what it’s like to live in an area that fosters and foments essentially total government control. MA, as you or anyone else knows, is what I like to call the most far left government in the galaxy. My former neighbor from the soviet union moved there, and fled to northern Virginia because ‘he left the frying pan for the fire’.

I fled the northern Virginia area this year and couldn’t be happier. Instead of worrying about inattentive cell yakkers piloting a 3500 pound rolling anvil pinballing between other vehicles on the road, I have to worry about the periodic bovine breakout and someone maybe going 63 in a 65 signed 2 lane country road.

I have had some business interests in and around Boston.

Humans were not meant to live in this climate. They have roof heaters to keep frozen precipitation from collapsing their roofs. <-- this is, what Drill Sergeant Booth referred to as “a clue”. I was there in April a couple years ago and they still had snow mountains in the parking lots. It was 72F outside.

It’s obviously going to depend on what makes you happy. You’ll definitely have fewer “Raptor” opportunities pretty much anywhere on the East Coast, mostly because it’s overbuilt, overcrowded and has fewer areas that are wide open - essentially none. There are areas to off road, but mostly public access, government regulated.

If you’re more comfortable in crowded cities / burbs, then you’ll be ok but if that isn’t your cup of tea, a better job opportunity may not be enough. Don’t try to talk yourself into this if you know, deep down that being surrounded by *****, commies who sympathize with the Tsarnaevs and routinely elect people with the last name “Kennedy” will grind on you daily. Or if knowing your neighbors will happily rat you out for grass that is 2-3 inches too tall for local regs, or you happen to like pronouncing the letter “R”.

You may need to sell the Raptor to afford a big and bad enough snowblower.

Good luck with your choice.

2nd this, couldn't agree more

 

[BroncoAZ]

Holy shit man. Good luck. You’re already overthinking it. Get after it. You know what you’re doing.

Your wife is a keeper if there ever was one.

My wife is certainly a keeper, we’ve been together for 20 years. We were discussing things last night, she feels strongly that if I’m letting my Bronco go I need to keep the Raptor. We’ll sell her Touareg and my Passat in AZ and she can drive the Raptor, Expedition, or GT in MA until her 2021 Bronco arrives at which time we’d sell the Expedition.

 

[Badgertits]

2nd this, couldn't agree more

Hahahahaha did this guy even live in Ma? Ever been to western MA guy? There’s plenty of open space- Jesus I tried to prep the OP a lil bit bout living in MA - but this is whole other lever shit, aN expat Soviet Union told ya it’s close to communism! Bahaha hold ya horses on that one.

BTW - northern VA is FAR more liberal than Ma, not even close really. And this is coming from some who ******** well knows- I’m a W&L alumni......from Boston. One of a handful, so I have a very good feel for the political climate of various states. The northern VA that I’ve been to in recent months may as well be a separate state from the southwestern VA area I went to college at 20 years ago.

Western MA/berkshires, CNY/Saratoga, all of NH, ME, VT are all sparsely populate its that’s what ya want & all offer ALOT of wilderness to explore...oh, & they have that big ‘ol ocean they call the Atlantic you can access up/down the northeast- beautiful.

AZ is #33 outta the 50 states in terms of population density, VT is 31 & ME is 38 for any reference.

You will get a lot more “authenticity” in New England than AZ....as in people are actually FROM there for generations. You get that feel there aren’t just one or 2 “special” lil restaurants/coffee shops etc. that are unique/privately owned w/ some history- They’re all over the place. The entire region has a very provincial & “homey” feel.

hey - the cold isn’t for everyone, but growing up in it for generations simply makes ya tougher, bottom line. It also makes you appreciate the nicer weather & seasonal changes in general....but OP will see firsthand, its like the whole vibe/atmosphere/attitude of the area does a 180 in the summer & the cape is the epicenter of this.

you have people that actually CARE about the sports teams lol

you have food selection & quality that’s not even worth discussing in “comparison” to someplace like AZ, NM, CO, WY, - b/c it wouldn’t be a comparison.

you have the ocean- duh.

you have access to the best hospitals & education in the country, period.

If you like to ski the northeast offers plenty of it- albeit smaller mountains but also more technical- skiing out west feels “Easy” after mastering the East.

houses are much more unique & bespoke than a lot of what you find in the Midwest- the architecture, again, is not really comparable.



if I hit the lottery I’d probably have a residence Brookline MA, one in Miami, FL & one in Lake Tahoe or Reno.....seems like that’s what a lot of people w/ the $$$$ & knowledge do anyhow, & like I said- there’s a reason people flock to Boston/MA- the cape & islands. There’s a reason they Keep making movies about Boston and/or in Boston (and other northeast cities) - because you simply cannot duplicate the character, architecture, & vibe of the area.

Check out offroad Alliance Brockton MA shop- they run offroad excursion trips, I think they went out to the poconos (PA) or Maine just recently.

you can get a gun permit in MA as long as you don’t have a felony record or violent misdemeanor. Shouldn’t be an issue especially if you already have one. I have class 2a large capacity. No restrictions.

I live in a town very close to Gillette stadium & 45 mins from the mouth of the cape. There’s actually a lil ATV/dirt bike trail on rte1 down the road from the stadium lol- not for Raptor, but just to show you there are lots of “preserved” areas within relatively dense populations. A black bear was seen there....

Just saw a bald eagle at the reservoir down the street from my house while fishing....deer are all over the damn place feel free to start hunting please

all these points being? I was being a lil tongue in cheek when I initially responded to the Op- in reality, esp if raising a family, MA has a lot to offer over AZ & the state & the area also has plenty of wilderness & open area to explore - PLENTY. Check out Acadia National park ME, Franconia Notch in NH, the white mountains/mt. Washington, the berkshires, VT, Lake Placid/Lake George in NY not too far, etc etc

OP- you’ll be all good don’t worry hahaha

 

[1BAD454SSv2]

Keep the truck , if your selling guns let me know i'm interested .

After this brutal summer i want to move as well at least 4 months of summer June to September . Vermont maybe . Live rest of year in AZ .

 

[BroncoAZ]

Yesterday was a productive day of selling some possessions. My Bronco, welder, 10 ton jack stands, a top toolbox, steel rack and steel, and probably the Passat are spoken for by friends. I have a plasma cutter, 80 gallon air compressor, engine hoist and stand, new electric smoker, a workbench, and a bunch of other small stuff to sell off. I won’t have space to store most of these tools where I’m going, but I should have access to most of them in my new position if needed. I am going to keep my Lista cabinets. Stage two of the move will involve a larger rental truck with a lift gate.

I’ll be selling a few guns and a bunch of accessories and optics. I usually sell on AR15.com or Armslist, I’ll keep you posted.

 

[isis]

Funny thing armslist was started here in Pittsburgh by a couple of my friends.

 

[MyRaptorLife]

So, I’ve had my Raptor for a month and have put 700 miles on it, added a Diamondback HD cover, added PPF on the front end, ceramic coated, added E&G console safe, and bought the tire warranties from Discount for the stock tires. I don’t even have plates on the Raptor yet since buying it out of state. The truck is getting dialed in, but I haven’t started daily driving it yet as I still have my sedan and the wife still has her SUV (currently for sale).

Today I got a call about a job out of state that has been in the works for a year, awesome career opportunity in a great industry with room for growth, 50% more salary, comes with a company truck and gas card. I’m 99% sure I’m accepting the position and moving from AZ to MA in the next 6 weeks. My current job I’ve been at for 14 years is solid and predictable, but I’ve hit a ceiling on both salary and position, at 44 I’m not done growing.

I bought the Raptor because in AZ there are plenty of opportunities to use it properly, almost limitless places to offroad, explore, and camp within a day’s drive. With them giving me a company truck (probably a 3/4 ton 4x4 crew cab short bed) I’m not sure how much use the Raptor will see. I will be living at my family’s house on Cape Cod initially, so there is beach to drive on, but I’ll also have access to a boat full time and a Ford Expedition with a beach sticker. I’m not sure what the excursion opportunities are in MA/NH/VT area and if the Raptor makes sense or if I should sell it while it’s still basically as close to new as a used truck can be. If I move with the Raptor it will see a quick 5-10K miles between moving within AZ and the drive across country. Money isn’t the primary factor on the truck decision, but if I sold the truck and rented our current home I would essentially have no bills beyond utilities in the MA house.

Moving to MA posed other challenges related to my firearms and other logistics, but I think this career is worth those compromises. Other benefits include the fact that two of my best friends live within 30 miles of where I’ll be moving to, and my folks spend summers there. My wife’s career in AZ is solid but also somewhat stagnant, and the opportunities for her profession in MA are substantial. We could continue along just fine where we are, but I think this would make me happier long term and likely facilitate retirement sooner.

Do NOT do it. The if you treasure your rights, and like freedom MA is not the place to be going. I am from NH and that is the only legit state left up there. Vermont, no, Maine, No, Massachusetts nope. If you could somehow live in Southern NH you would be better off plus no sale tax. I cannot stress this enough. If you like guns that is not the place to be no matter who lives there.

It isn't permanent but if you have left leaning principles you will fit in fine. If you don't it will start to show up fairly quickly. The AG there is very anti gun and Bloomberg backed. With the unrest as it is, I'd be very hesitant.

Edit: To late but I hope the best for you. Smart keeping your old house, gives you an easy place to return to.

 

[isis]

It’s hilarious that you guys let your hate of other people’s politics shape your lives. Both sides. I lean left with most things, and right with some others. I could easily live in a conservative area. Western PA isn’t exactly NYC or LA. Hating those you disagree with just causes you heartburn. Read BadgerBoobs post. MA has all kinds. Most places do. Can’t we stop demonizing the folks we disagree with? Everyone comes from different backgrounds and has different experiences. This is America. We’re all in this together. Change comes slow no matter which direction you think it should go.