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Post by trekker on Jul 8, 2013 17:42:30 GMT -5
My GAL looks like I put on a blindfold and threw darts at the 50 states and DC. But there was some logic. Close to family and friends was important (close being a relative term), avoiding high cost areas like NYC and San Fran (as much as I love both cities), and avoiding the gulf coast states. I am from the south but I just can't bring myself to live in one of the gulf coast states even if I have relatives there. And HI was out - not that I remember it being on the list (been there, done that twice -- just too costly and you can't always get home when there is an emergency). And for those worried about DC for the next round in August -- lived there 13 years total. Worked in Falls Church and DC during my second stint there. It is a ghost town except for the crazy tourists in late August. Everyone with any sense and money leaves the city then. Too hot and humid. Although the traffic is more tolerable during that time of the year, if the testing and interviews do get scheduled as some have opined, follow the advice of many posters and stay inside the beltway. There are lots of carpool lanes and Arlington/Falls Church have lots of dead end streets. Not worth the stress. You don't want to arrive all hot and sweaty (as people did for the DC bar when I took it -- another bad story) -- DC metro area taxis are horrible for the most part.
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Post by Ace Midnight on Jul 8, 2013 17:50:42 GMT -5
I left my GAL wide open. The hubby fears we will end up in Alaska or somewhere worse. If I make it to the next round, I expect a drink with one or more of the other Hope-somethings on this Board! We joke specifically about Alaska, too. Meh. I've been worse places than Alaska - after all Alaska is in the U.S.
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Post by philliesfan on Jul 8, 2013 18:50:45 GMT -5
If you go to DC for testing, look into the State Plaza Hotel. It is about 2 1/2 blocks from OPM headquarters. It isn't the Ritz, but it is clean and has families and businessmen staying there, the rooms have kitchens, and they give you breakfast. It saves the hassle and anxiety of using the Metro (there is no stop that close to OPM) or taking a cab in DC rush hour traffic. I stayed there twice in 2007
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Post by Judicially Imployed on Jul 8, 2013 20:38:12 GMT -5
Hello, my name is Judicially I., and I'm a Discussion Forum-a-holic (or DFA for short). (Group: 'Hi Judicially!')
um, optimism, hummm….. I thought that was a nasty food illness, why do you want to talk about that? No wait that’s botulism. I guess I’m just not good with unbridled good thoughts.
O.K. here goes:
The wife-y loves the south and the west. We’re very focused on cost of living, so the coasts are out. Florida, Vegas , AZ or close to where I am now would be ideal, but the GAL is basically everything but places I couldn’t even stomach for 2 years. About 2/3 of the ODAR’s made the cut. I have an elementary schooler so that was a big consideration.
The big concern would be to have to sell/ close my practice and potentially start a move somewhere new all in 6 weeks. Closing the practice would also mean having to let a paralegal and an assistant go, which I am not looking forward to. (Told ya – bad at optimism).
On the bright side I’m always up for a trip to D.C. I interned on the hill for a few months before starting law school. Of course when I actually lived there, the Nationals still played in Canada, AOL on dial up only worked occasionally (and we were thankful!), my cell phone company still charged me by the minute and my phone was so large it doubled as personal security device.
So, if the heavens should point to my side of the ledger and my application allows me to move on, I’m down for a meal et. al.
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Post by JudgeRatty on Jul 8, 2013 20:38:43 GMT -5
If you go to DC, look into the State Plaza Hotel. It is about 2 1/2 blocks from OPM headquarters. It isn't the Ritz, but it is clean and has families and businessmen staying there, the rooms have kitchens, and they give you breakfast. It saves the hassle and anxiety of using the Metro (there is no stop that close to OPM) or taking a cab in DC rush hour traffic. I stayed there twice in 2007 Thanks for the tip! I think anything we can do to cut down on the stress is key. Good walking shoes, cash/change for metros and/or taxis, and the cheapest closest hotel to the testing/interview site are on my list. I think once we all get the email that we are going to DC we need to plan a meet up place so we can coordinate the big sigh of relief before jumping on the next topic for speculation!
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Post by funkyodar on Jul 8, 2013 21:06:15 GMT -5
Hello, my name is Judicially I., and I'm a Discussion Forum-a-holic (or DFA for short). (Group: 'Hi Judicially!') um, optimism, hummm….. I thought that was a nasty food illness, why do you want to talk about that? No wait that’s botulism. I guess I’m just not good with unbridled good thoughts. O.K. here goes: The wife-y loves the south and the west. We’re very focused on cost of living, so the coasts are out. Florida, Vegas , AZ or close to where I am now would be ideal, but the GAL is basically everything but places I couldn’t even stomach for 2 years. About 2/3 of the ODAR’s made the cut. I have an elementary schooler so that was a big consideration. The big concern would be to have to sell/ close my practice and potentially start a move somewhere new all in 6 weeks. Closing the practice would also mean having to let a paralegal and an assistant go, which I am not looking forward to. (Told ya – bad at optimism). On the bright side I’m always up for a trip to D.C. I interned on the hill for a few months before starting law school. Of course when I actually lived there, the Nationals still played in Canada, AOL on dial up only worked occasionally (and we were thankful!), my cell phone company still charged me by the minute and my phone was so large it doubled as personal security device. So, if the heavens should point to my side of the ledger and my application allows me to move on, I’m down for a meal et. al. It has just got to be in the cards that we will get to meet in DC. Followed quickly by an appearance on one of the daytime talk shows to tell how we were split at birth or how my dad had a secret family in your hometown or vice versa. If...um...I mean when we all get to DC Dr Funkenheimer is all for a little group inferno. We can christen an official ALJ/OPM coctail. I nominate the Absolut Stress.
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Post by Gaidin on Jul 8, 2013 21:17:25 GMT -5
We (Mrs. Gaidan and I)initially excluded about 2/3s of the locales. After going back and doing some research we realized we really only wanted to exclude the deep South that wasn't coastal, Florida, or Atlanta. We also excluded a few places in the Midwest that just didn't feel right. Unfortunately, it sounds like that initial exclusion may stand... SIGH....
Of course optimistically I saw on another thread that there may soon be an opening in Chattanooga which would be a top choice. Does anyone know if any of the other offices in Tennessee have openings?
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Post by JudgeRatty on Jul 8, 2013 21:33:52 GMT -5
I have no doubt there will be many open positions in 2014 due to the change in how sick leave is applied to retirement. There are 4 in our office alone that will be leaving next year and are waiting for 2014 for that reason alone. I think ... and this is just my opinion with no factual basis.... that the timing of the next big ALJ hiring will coincide with the mass 2014 retirements. If I am not mistaken, they are not able to be proactive and hire in advance of a retirement, and have to wait until the opening actually exists. So, it seems that it would be good planning to have the next hiring coincide with these upcoming retirements. In that line of thinking, my guess would be that the proctored testing and SI will be complete by the end of fiscal year (end of Sept) so that they have a little time to then score (which will take a while given the numbers) and have a cert ready for the January time frame. This gives the current cert time to fill in the 30 or so immediate needs. That all fits nicely. And that is my tarot for today. LOL!
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Post by trekker on Jul 8, 2013 22:15:04 GMT -5
My Tarot reader is in AK. But when she gets back she is hopeful that she will finally land the ideal job in the administration of courts office at some rural town. So there is hope.
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Post by christina on Jul 9, 2013 10:12:31 GMT -5
something to take into account when developing your GAL.
To determine which city has the biggest nose in the air, Travel+Leisure factored in some traditional staples of snobbery: a reputation for aloof and smarty-pants residents, along with high-end shopping and highbrow cultural offerings like classical music and theater.
Travel+Leisure also considered 21st-century definitions of elitism: tech-savviness, artisanal coffeehouses, and a conspicuous eco-consciousness (say, the kind of city where you get a dirty look for throwing your coffee cup in the wrong bin). Here are the Top Ten Snobbiest Cities ranked by Travel+Leisure:
1. San Francisco (pictured above) 2. New York City 3. Boston 4. Minneapolis/St. Paul 5. (tie) Santa Fe, N.M. 5. (tie) Seattle 7. Chicago 8. Providence, R.I. 9. Washington, D.C. 10. Charleston, S.C.
What are your thoughts?
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Post by Gaidin on Jul 9, 2013 10:21:49 GMT -5
Yeah. Nashville is #13 on that list and it is a lot of things but snobby isn't in it. Chicago has never really struck me as a snobby city at least in the "society" way. I really think the idea that good wifi access and coffee defines 21st century snobbiness is ridiculous.
I loved Santa Fe but it is very "high end". I enjoyed Chicago and several of my law school class mates ended up there and they all love it.
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Post by moopigsdad on Jul 9, 2013 10:28:29 GMT -5
something to take into account when developing your GAL. To determine which city has the biggest nose in the air, Travel+Leisure factored in some traditional staples of snobbery: a reputation for aloof and smarty-pants residents, along with high-end shopping and highbrow cultural offerings like classical music and theater. Travel+Leisure also considered 21st-century definitions of elitism: tech-savviness, artisanal coffeehouses, and a conspicuous eco-consciousness (say, the kind of city where you get a dirty look for throwing your coffee cup in the wrong bin). Here are the Top Ten Snobbiest Cities ranked by Travel+Leisure: 1. San Francisco (pictured above) 2. New York City 3. Boston 4. Minneapolis/St. Paul 5. (tie) Santa Fe, N.M. 5. (tie) Seattle 7. Chicago 8. Providence, R.I. 9. Washington, D.C. 10. Charleston, S.C. What are your thoughts? I would take any one of those places to work. Yes, there are drawbacks to some of them, but I think in the end you could always make a go of it in one of those cities. Unfortunately, the cost of living in some of them (i.e. San Francisco, New York City, Boston, etc.) could make it more difficult to get by on an ALJ's salary.
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Post by Gaidin on Jul 9, 2013 10:35:44 GMT -5
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Post by 71stretch on Jul 9, 2013 12:25:42 GMT -5
Of course, there's no ODAR office in Santa Fe.
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Post by Gaidin on Jul 9, 2013 12:29:40 GMT -5
Of course, there's no ODAR office in Santa Fe. Albuquerque is a reasonable commute.
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Post by sandiferhands (old) on Jul 9, 2013 13:53:47 GMT -5
Too funny. Of that list, Charleston is the only one I'd consider living in.
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Post by funkyodar on Jul 9, 2013 14:22:01 GMT -5
A few years ago I had some training with someone from the Kingsport TN ODAR. Sounded beautiful. Mountains. You could take advantage of TN's lack of a state income tax. But could also live in NC or KY if you so chose.
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Post by Gaidin on Jul 9, 2013 15:22:41 GMT -5
Pick TN there is no income tax in the Volunteer State. VA is also an option out of Kingsport.
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Post by funkyodar on Jul 10, 2013 8:48:54 GMT -5
Ok Optomists, today is the day we hear right? This evening I will either be blowin my meager savings on a ticket to DC or as a deposit on a condo at the beach cause today is the day we know, right? Positive energy. By the hammer of Thor, today will be the day
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Post by moopigsdad on Jul 10, 2013 8:58:58 GMT -5
Ok Optomists, today is the day we hear right? This evening I will either be blowin my meager savings on a ticket to DC or as a deposit on a condo at the beach cause today is the day we know, right? Positive energy. By the hammer of Thor, today will be the day I agree today is to be the "day". Then again, I am thinking very positively. Otherwise, I think I will be hit by Thor's hammer in the head if there is no answer today.
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