# So, help me "Escape From NY".



## Bob Hubbard

So as NY taxes our taxes, I've made the decision to Escape, before they tax my breathing.

Destination: Austin Texas.

I'm about $30,000 short of loading up a truck, tossing the cats in a box, and heading South.

I can sell MT for $40k, but I'm kinda attached to the place and all of y'all.

So, I'm asking for help.

I realize the economy is a mess, uncertainty is at an all time high, and the Mayans said the worlds ending in a year or 2.

Despite that, I think that there's enough good will and good hearts out there to help me get close to my goal.

What can you do to help?
- Become a supporting member.  
- Go Gold Key!
- Sponsor a forum, or forums.
- Host with me.
- Hire me to do some photographic work
- Hire me to do some web work for you
- Buy some photo prints.
- Spread the word about MT, and bring in others who will do the same.

Every bit helps.

I have 5 months to hit this goal, lest I be stuck here another year.

As always, thank you for making MT one hell of a great community, and one of the best there is!


----------



## Omar B

Best of luck Bob.  As you know I'm also not in NY at the moment.


----------



## CuongNhuka

Omar B said:


> Best of luck Bob. As you know I'm also not in NY at the moment.


 
It would probably be cheaper to move to a closer state. Nebraska is nice.


----------



## Bob Hubbard

But Nebraska has snow, which I'm allergic to.


----------



## CuongNhuka

Bob Hubbard said:


> But Nebraska has snow, which I'm allergic to.


 
So does New York and Texas. And there is no snow right now anyways. Infact, the Omaha area mostly gets snow in January. It's normally gone by Feb.


----------



## Bob Hubbard

But Nebraska and NY get feet of snow.  I can handle a dusting, which is all I believe the Austin area gets.  Course, I'd still love to visit in the summer or fall.  

2010, gotta do a couple months on the road doing photography.


----------



## Omar B

CuongNhuka said:


> It would probably be cheaper to move to a closer state. Nebraska is nice.



I'll live in Nebraska when pigs fly.  I've lived in 7 countries and many of the world's great cities and have been in NY for the past 12, NE is more than a step down man.


----------



## seasoned

I second that Bob. A good site like MT, deserves the support of all its members, in word and deed. Becoming a supporting member is a pretty cheap date, and enjoyed by all.


----------



## Jade Tigress

Bob, I was looking at the Supporting Membership page and regular supporting membership, gold key, and business are listed, but what about lifetime? What is the cost for that? Thanks and best of luck making it to Austin.


----------



## morph4me

seasoned said:


> I second that Bob. A good site like MT, deserves the support of all its members, in word and deed. Becoming a supporting member is a pretty cheap date, and enjoyed by all.


 
Yeah, what he said:bangahead:


----------



## Bob Hubbard

Jade Tigress said:


> Bob, I was looking at the Supporting Membership page and regular supporting membership, gold key, and business are listed, but what about lifetime? What is the cost for that? Thanks and best of luck making it to Austin.


I'll update that soon.  Thanks for the reminder. 
I believe lifetime is $99.95 right now (Says 50 years because of software limits)


----------



## Bob Hubbard

Bob Hubbard said:


> I'll update that soon.  Thanks for the reminder.
> I believe lifetime is $99.95 right now (Says 50 years because of software limits)


Reasons for Texas are many.  I liked what I saw there, the economy's a bit better, the people were pretty friendly, and there's a lot of opportunity for me and my soon to be wife. Given my eyes, I need to live somewhere with a fair humidity level, and I'm also looking for a cost of living close to what I'm used to. With most of my photography being outdoors, the longer summer means more shoot time, and I seem to work better in hot than cold.  There's alot of other nice areas around the country, but for now, TX is the destination.


----------



## CuongNhuka

Omar B said:


> I'll live in Nebraska when pigs fly. I've lived in 7 countries and many of the world's great cities and have been in NY for the past 12, NE is more than a step down man.


 
Whats wrong with Nebraska?


----------



## Jade Tigress

Bob Hubbard said:


> I'll update that soon.  Thanks for the reminder.
> I believe lifetime is $99.95 right now (Says 50 years because of software limits)




Cool. Thanks Bob. I'll take a look at the budget.


----------



## Bob Hubbard

I'll also sell "Absolution" at $1500 a pop.
"Absolution" is this thing, it erases all IC points, and gives you a clean slate.

A "Power Up" is $1,000.
"Power Up" gives you 30 days no IC's (unless you break the law)


----------



## Omar B

CuongNhuka said:


> Whats wrong with Nebraska?



Aside from the fact that I'm a music journalist so living in Nebraska would effectively take me out of the my field?  Not much, just that as a musician and journalist there are certain cities that are better for work.  New York, LA, Boston, Nashville, New Orleans.  Outside of those I might as well be interviewing bar bands.


----------



## Tames D

CuongNhuka said:


> So does New York and Texas. And there is no snow right now anyways. Infact, the Omaha area mostly gets snow in January. It's normally gone by Feb.


 
Southern Calif gets snow only where I like it: On the ski slopes


----------



## CuongNhuka

Omar B said:


> Aside from the fact that I'm a music journalist so living in Nebraska would effectively take me out of the my field?


 
That is the kind of thing you should mention before insulting someones home state. Aside from that, Omaha has more then Bar Bands. We have one of the largest Local scenes in the country. Something many of us are proud of. 

If you're ever in the Omaha area (vacation say), drop by sometime. I'll introduce you to some people.


----------



## Bob Hubbard

In some industries, anything outside LA or NYC is bad.

Me, I need lots of sun, lack of snow, and lots of open land. That eliminates a lot of the US.


----------



## Omar B

Plus I need the beach.


----------



## Steve

Bob Hubbard said:


> Reasons for Texas are many. I liked what I saw there, the economy's a bit better, the people were pretty friendly, and there's a lot of opportunity for me and my soon to be wife. Given my eyes, I need to live somewhere with a fair humidity level, and I'm also looking for a cost of living close to what I'm used to. With most of my photography being outdoors, the longer summer means more shoot time, and I seem to work better in hot than cold. There's alot of other nice areas around the country, but for now, TX is the destination.


Look seriously at San Antonio.  Austin is a great city, but has grown too much too fast.  The traffic is terrible and the infrastructure abysmal.  San Antonio is a great city, too.  Close enough to Austin that you can drive there for a nice day trip or occassionally for business.

The cost of living is cheaper in San Antonio, as well.   Or you can split the difference in a place like Cibilo.  I spent the first 13 years of life in Texas as well as time there in the military.  My parents lived there for many years, too.  If I could do my job there, I'd consider moving, too.


----------



## Steve

Omar B said:


> Aside from the fact that I'm a music journalist so living in Nebraska would effectively take me out of the my field? Not much, just that as a musician and journalist there are certain cities that are better for work. New York, LA, Boston, Nashville, New Orleans. Outside of those I might as well be interviewing bar bands.


Seattle has a very healthy music scene and always has.


----------



## jks9199

CuongNhuka said:


> Whats wrong with Nebraska?


Maybe you're there?  

Bob put a lot of thought and time into deciding where he wanted to move.  

I'm going to encourage everyone who reads these forums regularly to skip a few lattes or sodas or even a single pizza with all the toppings and pony up.  A supporting membership isn't even two dollars a month.  A 16 oz soda runs about a buck-fifty or so.  Skip a single soda month, and you've probably achieved it.


----------



## Omar B

stevebjj said:


> Seattle has a very healthy music scene and always has.



Yeah, I know, but it's a city I was never comfortable in.  One of my best buds went to UW so I used to be over there all the time when I was on that coast.  Some cities you just instantly click with and some you don't.


----------



## jim777

stevebjj said:


> Look seriously at San Antonio.  Austin is a great city, but has grown too much too fast.  The traffic is terrible and the infrastructure abysmal.  San Antonio is a great city, too.  Close enough to Austin that you can drive there for a nice day trip or occassionally for business.
> 
> The cost of living is cheaper in San Antonio, as well.   Or you can split the difference in a place like Cibilo.  I spent the first 13 years of life in Texas as well as time there in the military.  My parents lived there for many years, too.  If I could do my job there, I'd consider moving, too.



I was about to say the same thing, I've heard nothing but raves about San Antonio. Back when I was with Citibank I had to travel there briefly to check a satellite office, and I seriously didn't want to come back  Good food, beautiful city, great weather too. If you're really going all the way to Texas, I think San Antonio should get serious consideration.


----------



## Bob Hubbard

We're looking at the San Antonio-Austin area over all, hoping to get back for a week or 2 to really check out various areas.  I lean towards SA, she's more Austin, but we're also liking Kyle and Buda right now.


----------



## Drac

Bob Hubbard said:


> But Nebraska has snow, which I'm allergic to.


 
How did you survive in Buffalo all this time??????


----------



## Bob Hubbard

Drac said:


> How did you survive in Buffalo all this time??????


Wasn't easy.   The allergy crept up on me slowly.  The older I get, the stronger it gets.


----------



## Makalakumu

Bob Hubbard said:


> Wasn't easy.   The allergy crept up on me slowly.  The older I get, the stronger it gets.



I hear ya, I made in 30 years in Minnesnowta before I fled.  Bob, if you don't mind me asking, how did you arrive at 30,000 K?  I moved "overseas" for less then that.  Perhaps by changing some assumptions you could cut that and make the move sooner?

Here's the thing, it's easy to start low when you are willing to work and make things happen fast.  I pretty much got rid of 75% of my stuff when I moved and I'm already on the rebound as in things are pretty stable.  Just wondering...


----------



## Bob Hubbard

Need to find multiple pet friendly living. So far, every apartment I check out online has a 2 pet limit (we have 3), wants them declawed (I don't believe in that), and wants huge per pet deposits.

We're liquidating as much as we can, but we're hanging on to a few things (books, dvds, swords, home office stuff). So moving's going to be a few grand.

I'm also wanting 6 months rent/living exp. on hand to allow for the current economic issues and possible longer run finding work. Plus, I need to move 2 businesses.  

Add to it my "unemployability". Injuries limit what jobs I can take, my PC skills aren't "current" (no experience with windows 2003, or vista, or newer macs, or current hardware).  I'm hoping to find a position as a photographer while working to open my own studio, or a coffee house, and she's looking for management level work.  I'm not opposed to taking a crack at management or going back to hell desk (though I'd rather not).  Getting a reliable car once there, would also open up other possibilities.


----------



## searcher

Bob Hubbard said:


> In some industries, anything outside LA or NYC is bad.
> 
> Me, I need lots of sun, lack of snow, and lots of open land. That eliminates a lot of the US.


 

Not KS, for the most part.    We don't get a lot of snow and decent sun.    And there is not much else here but land.


----------



## arnisador

My college-student son likes it in San Antonio...of course, he has _me_ paying for it for him.


----------



## Bob Hubbard

I like that idea.  How can I get you paying for my move dude?


----------



## morph4me

Bob Hubbard said:


> I like that idea. How can I get you paying for my move dude?


 
Maybe he'll adopt you


----------



## arnisador

He's too old for me to get the deduction.


----------



## Bob Hubbard

But I'm cheap to feed.  Pizza and cola.


----------



## arnisador

Do they have decent pizza down there? He and his friends mostly eat at Chipotle.


----------



## Twin Fist

Are you addicted to big cities? Texas has a lot of options in the middle sized places where you can make a living and dont need to spend 2K on an apartment.


----------



## Bob Hubbard

I want an acre of land, running water, electric, sewer and preferably gas to cook with. Trees are nice.


----------



## Twin Fist

look up Tyler, mid sized city, easy to get rentals, smack in the middle of Dallas and Shreveport.


----------



## Bob Hubbard

I'll check into it. Thanks!


----------



## Twin Fist

oh, another concern, what martial arts are you wanting to be close to?


----------



## Bob Hubbard

Sword arts.  Eventually, I'll be able to train again, be nice to finally dig into sword work.


----------



## Andy Moynihan

Another bonus is I'll be moving down there after this year's holidays.


----------



## Bob Hubbard

I actually need more like $60k, but $30k seemed more doable.   Given the cat situation, we want to buy a house and skip the year in an apartment bit, and take advantage of the $8k first time buyers credit.  Wedding however, and about a dozen deadbeat clients are screwing up the budget incredibly. 

$30k works out to:
1,500 supporting memberships
252 Gold Keys
300 lifetime supporters
40 forum sponsors
35 web sites
200 hosting accounts
1,500 8x10 prints

or a combination of the above.

I figure, that seems doable.  Plus, anyone bringing in hosting or design work for me, or forum advertisers, my offer to kick a good % back to you is still there. 

Like I said, I'm not looking for handouts, but want to be sure you're getting something of value too.


----------



## Tames D

Bob Hubbard said:


> I actually need more like $60k, but $30k seemed more doable. Given the cat situation, we want to buy a house and skip the year in an apartment bit, and take advantage of the $8k first time buyers credit. Wedding however, and about a dozen deadbeat clients are screwing up the budget incredibly.
> 
> $30k works out to:
> 1,500 supporting memberships
> 252 Gold Keys
> 300 lifetime supporters
> 40 forum sponsors
> 35 web sites
> 200 hosting accounts
> 1,500 8x10 prints
> 
> or a combination of the above.
> 
> I figure, that seems doable. Plus, anyone bringing in hosting or design work for me, or forum advertisers, my offer to kick a good % back to you is still there.
> 
> Like I said, I'm not looking for handouts, but want to be sure you're getting something of value too.


 
Ok, I'll make the first challenge. If Twin Fist buys a Supporting Membership then I will also.


----------



## Bob Hubbard

Those interested in prints of my photos, lemme know. I'll be putting a bunch up shortly, but most of what you've seen me posting here n there is available.  

I'm also able to do in-school photo sessions, but have to drive there as flying with all that gear is risky (thieving TSA) and expensive (thieving bag fees).

I'm also doing a Masters series of portraits which are suitable for hanging on a school wall, rates are negotiable and you can buy prints from me, or a fully licensed cd with print ready files.


I just did a livabilty comparison between Buffalo and a few places in TX.  Kyle & Buda came out better to live, but a little more expensive, Tyler and San Antonio were cheaper, with equal crime, and Austin was the most expensive. Unfortunately the data was from 2007. >_<.


----------



## Carol

I'll make the second challenge.

If someone buys a lifetime supporting membership, I will also.


----------



## Twin Fist

I accept the challenge




QUI-GON said:


> Ok, I'll make the first challenge. If Twin Fist buys a Supporting Membership then I will also.


----------



## Jade Tigress

Carol Kaur said:


> I'll make the second challenge.
> 
> If someone buys a lifetime supporting membership, I will also.



And I accept this challenge.


----------



## Bob Hubbard

2 LT SM's
2 SM's


----------



## Tames D

Twin Fist said:


> I accept the challenge


 
Damn! I was afraid you'd say that, lol. 

But seriously, glad you did, I think you'll like it.


----------



## Bob Hubbard

1 LT SM received from Jade Tigress.  Thank you!


----------



## Bob Hubbard

1 SM received from Qui-Gon  Thank you!


----------



## Jade Tigress

Bob Hubbard said:


> 1 LT SM received from Jade Tigress.  Thank you!



It's well worth it Bob. C'mon guys, jump onboard!  A regular Supporting Membership is only 20 bucks! And you get some really cool perks.


----------



## Bob Hubbard

I've received $120 so far, have commitments of about $900 so far.


----------



## Twin Fist

mine's in


----------



## Carol

Bob Hubbard said:


> 1 LT SM received from Jade Tigress.  Thank you!



I'll have mine in to you by mid-month.


----------



## Scott T

I'll go for a supporting membership in a few days. When I get back to work I'll do the lifetime.

Also, once I get the last website completely paid for, I may have another one on the way.

And I know how much you love my website ambitions... :ultracool


----------



## Bob Hubbard

Scott T said:


> I'll go for a supporting membership in a few days. When I get back to work I'll do the lifetime.
> 
> Also, once I get the last website completely paid for, I may have another one on the way.
> 
> And I know how much you love my website ambitions... :ultracool


I love the challenge.


----------



## Bob Hubbard

Bob Hubbard said:


> I love the challenge.


Got 1 SM from Twin Fist and Bruno@MT 

$422 received so far, $899 promised.

That's more than 1/30th there. :asian: Thank you!


----------



## searcher

Bob, how much it a LM?    I might have to get serious and go for at least a SM.


----------



## Bob Hubbard

A lifetime supporting membership is $99.95.  The system says 50 years which is the max I can enter, but when it comes in I make it permanent.


----------



## Drac

Bob Hubbard said:


> Wasn't easy. The allergy crept up on me slowly. The older I get, the stronger it gets.


 
and here I thought I was the only one that suffered from that 
affliction.


----------



## Drac

Bob Hubbard said:


> A lifetime supporting membership is $99.95. The system says 50 years which is the max I can enter, but when it comes in I make it permanent.


 
I wish I could help you out, but I am fighting with the Authority about denied Workmens Comp claim....


----------



## Bob Hubbard

But, you already are helping us.


----------



## Bob Hubbard

LT SM - Rich Parsons :asian:


----------



## Bob Hubbard

So far:
2 LifeTime Supporting Memberships Received so far
Jade Tigress
Rich Parsons

4 Supporting Memberships Received so far
Qui-Gon
Twin Fist
Bruno@MT
Haze

Plus a few others pending.  Thank you! :asian:


----------



## Tames D

Omar B said:


> *I'll live in Nebraska when pigs fly.* I've lived in 7 countries and many of the world's great cities and have been in NY for the past 12, NE is more than a step down man.


 
Omar - Better start packing. :rofl:

http://news.aol.com/article/when-pi...p://news.aol.com/article/when-pigs-fly/210953


----------



## Karatedrifter7

Have you considered Fredericksburg Texas? Its 45 minutes from both San Antonio and Austin. Its an old German with a lot of kitschy shops, strudel and rathskellers, plus wineries near by. The cost of living is lower than the national average and I think it would be an easier move than Austin.
Here's a link.

www.*fredericksburg*-*texas*.com/- 

Or you can google it. I visited last year and liked it alot, If you decide on this destination let me know, perhaps I'll visit you?

Dave


----------



## Bob Hubbard

It's possible. We're going to hit the Austin area first, get somewhat situated, then start checking out other areas before settling in and buying a house.

We crunched some numbers and figure we could be ready to go once we've got around $15k in the bank. We're almost 1/2 way there right now, so we're inching closer.


----------



## arnisador

Halfway there? Like, Tennessee?


----------



## Bob Hubbard

LOL. no, cash wise.  Now, if a few more of my AP pay up, a few more new clients come in, and I can avoid spending too much on much needed equipment/software upgrades, we might be in position sooner.


----------



## Bob Hubbard

Looks like the escape is being pushed back at least a year.  Cash has gotten tighter, and business has finally started to slow down for me.   We're investing in a new business venture that might be one of the keys to going but like all new ventures, its going to be tough at the start.


----------

