Schif Posted May 2, 2017 Report Share Posted May 2, 2017 Hello PASR!!! It's been entirely too long since I've posted on the finest skiing message board in all of Eastern Pennsylvania. How is everyone doing? I kind of accidentally missed the vast majority of ski season this year, but it would seem that most people (probably not you guys) did as well. Well here's the short version of my absence for anyone who cares, and also for those that don't. I decided I kind of hated civil engineering last year so I decided to quit my job and go back to school for Supply Chain Management. This led me to Harrisburg for the past year. Turns out that Harrisburg is a cultural, food, skiing, and enjoyment black hole. Seriously, there is nothing here. You would think that the capital of a fairly decent state would be OK but it's really not. Even Hershey gets boring fast and Hersheypark is hardly open except for mid summer and is prohibitively expensive. Upside to living here is that there are some sweet breweries. Troegs is kind of my go to hang out spot. Someone told me that with literally no experience in the Supply Chain field I would have a bit of a tough time finding a good job, so I snagged myself a gig at Atlantic General Hospital for the summer. Some of you may remember that name because it's the place the Ocean City Maryland paramedics will take you to if you do really dumb things at the beach. So life was pretty killer, I lived at the beach, spent almost all of my free time boating, beaching, boozing and falling off paddleboards into schools of jellyfish. I also got to see Huey Lewis and the News live in concert so it's safe to say I had a pretty good time straddling the border of DE and MD. Seriously, if any of you guys gets a chance to live at the beach for any length of time, do it. Summer ends, boat gets pulled out of the water, I get pulled back to reality. In an effort to finish quickly I took a pretty hefty course load and I've been pretty damn busy with school since this past September. No snow, no good mountains, and no time to get to Blue made me pretty sad this winter, but it's all good, it's paying off with graduation coming up this Saturday. So here comes the part where I ask for advice from all of you kick ass guys. I've snagged myself a job doing supply chain analytics for Day and Zimmerman at their Chester location. A lot of you guys have seen the building I'll be working in, it's the tall one that says Delaware Power Company or something that's right next to Talen Energy Stadium. I'm sure I'll wind up staying after work a few times and Dooping or whatever it is that happens in that swanky stadium. So I'll be relocating to the greater Philly area soon and I need advice on any good spots to live. Since my girlfriend wants to get a place with me, we have to split the difference commute wise. She works in Bethlehem and I'm down in Chester so to be fair to both we've been looking in and around Lansdale. What do you guys think? I'm not sure what market rates are like there so I don't even know what is a good deal and what is a rip off. Any and all advice would be appreciated. Also: 1. I'll be getting myself a pass to Blue next year. 2. How many of Doug's diets did I miss? 3. I need to get my ass in shape so if any of you guys want to hang out and run or bike or hike this summer hit me up, I'm looking forward to moving to the world of PASR and Wawa. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ride Delaware ? Posted May 2, 2017 Report Share Posted May 2, 2017 First... I live in the OCMD/DE Beaches area. Good on you for the summer gig. Second... had friends that stayed in Hatfield for a couple years. Easy commute for both. Fiber Optic internet. Hatfield butcher and packaging nearby. Competitive rent iirc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schif Posted May 2, 2017 Author Report Share Posted May 2, 2017 First... I live in the OCMD/DE Beaches area. Good on you for the summer gig. Second... had friends that stayed in Hatfield for a couple years. Easy commute for both. Fiber Optic internet. Hatfield butcher and packaging nearby. Competitive rent iirc. Awesome, I was in West Fenwick all summer. I'll be heading down that way in a week or so for a few days. Pumped to get back to my favorite local bar, yellowfin's Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ride Delaware ? Posted May 2, 2017 Report Share Posted May 2, 2017 Yellowfin's is awesome. Haven't gotten back there too often. So much stuff in Bethany to hit that it deters me from driving back there too often. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrilledSteezeSandwich Posted May 2, 2017 Report Share Posted May 2, 2017 (edited) You had me at Huey Lewis and the News!!! Good to hear from you Schifdawg...my job is essentially supply chain management crossed with customer service. I like supply chain management because I like logistics and tracking things. Going back to school is pretty normal since most don't know what they wanna do with their lyfe when they're 18.. I know nothing about Harrisburg except that it's an hour and a half away..even though Harrisburg is in our 100 mile radius I have always had trouble getting funeral directors from the capital city. I've had dealers in reading and also Lebanon but I've always done best in the philly suburbs and all of a NJ due to the higher cost of living which makes Allentown prices extremely competitive. Up in schuylkill county and the area you grew up in along with the coal regions I have a difficult time due to demographics. As for your move the lansdale area is a popular locale for philly commuters and there are a lot of high end apartment complexes due to Merck and being an exit or two down 476 from the Philly mainline. Matt edge lives in lansdale and he makes it to blue in 55 minutes-an hour. Lansdale to Bethlehem is about 35-40 minutes. Chester would be a pretty equal length commute..with no traffic it's about a half hour. You wouldn't want to live in Chester anyway and if you were living in center city philly it would still take about as long to get to Chester but Bethlehem would be an hour and 15 to hour an a half. Market rates for rent in lansdale are gonna be in the $1,000-$1500 a month which isn't bad considering you have two incomes and no kids. From experience I know that apartment leasing managers hate having empty apartments so you might be able to negotiate an early move in(like a lease starting June 1 but you can move in mid May for no additional $$$$ and some even throw in a free month where you do a 13 month lease and the final months rent is free. I had that deal where I live now. Season pass at blue is a must...without one none of us would ski as much as we do. I haven't been on an official diet in a long time but I make solid choices to maintain my physique like skipping fries and onion rings and only getting one hash brown at McDonald's when I really want two. If you ever want to hike on the Appalachian trail let me know. I want to get back into it this summer mainly to get outdoors more. Edited May 2, 2017 by GrilledSteezeSandwich 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phillycore Posted May 2, 2017 Report Share Posted May 2, 2017 Welcome back Schif, I've been absent myself but for very different reasons. Anyway, being as I think Dan and I are the sole DelCo residents on here pretty much, I figured that I should probably chime in. I don't know what kind of hours your job is, but it can have a HUGE impact on where you choose to reside. SERIOUSLY, this is something that you are going to want to do a dry run and see what it's going to be like from-to where you want to go. If you aren't working 2-3 shift than you want to avoid needing to take I95 from Chester to I476 North (and the reverse) at all costs. Unfortunately, there's really no good way to commute between the Bethlehem/Allentown area and Southern Delco during the am/pm rush hours whatsoever, so it ultimately may be unavoidable. It can easily double the length of your trip compared to non rush times. I know that there's traffic everywhere, and there's tons of bad spots to travel through at any given point. I'm just being honest with you here when I say that traffic around the I95 corridor and the blue route can be downright insanity. The other thing is that you really don't want to go exploring your route options through Chester too much. I've lived a mile from there my whole life. I live 4 miles away from Talen Stadium. Chester just isn't one of those places where you want to be if you don't know where you are or where you're going. Get in, get out there's nothing there other than the stadium,casino,Crozer hospital and Widener. (Chester doesn't even have a supermarket unless you want to count the fare and square....which is a philadundance thing) Congrats on the new career choice and finding a job as well!! I hope that you realize that I'm trying to be of value here and not being negative.... That commute isn't going to be easy, so I'm trying to give you a heads up so you can plan it out and lessen the blow. I'm sure that you already have found this out though Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RidgeRacer Posted May 2, 2017 Report Share Posted May 2, 2017 Congratulations on the career move man. See you at Blue next year. In Lansdale you may be able to hop on the regional rail depending on where you work. Didn't read the whole post yet so apologies if that was addressed. Good luck! Sent from my P00A using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schif Posted May 2, 2017 Author Report Share Posted May 2, 2017 (edited) Great to hear from you guys, thanks for the warm wishes and the advice. I have to be into work around 7:30 every morning and apparently we stay until around 5. On Friday the office closes at 11 so that'll be nice in terms of me getting down to the beach or up for an afternoon session at Blue. I'm pretty concerned about traffic which is why I'm trying to convince my lady friend that we should live closer to where I work rather than where she works because distance will probably mean nothing compared to drive times. Her main concern is being somewhat close to 309 though because spending $3,500 a year on turnpike tolls seems a little unsustainable to her. My best guess is that this will be temporary though. Both of our corporate offices are in center city and from all indications, we will both be getting promoted to HQ within 2 years or so. Edited May 2, 2017 by Schif 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrilledSteezeSandwich Posted May 2, 2017 Report Share Posted May 2, 2017 Just an FYI blue season passes are now $599 but sometime between now and the fall they are raising the price to $749. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrilledSteezeSandwich Posted May 2, 2017 Report Share Posted May 2, 2017 With easy pass the toll is $2.45 from lansdale to Lehigh valley interchange. That's about $25 per week. 309 takes a lot more time to get from the lansdale area vs 476 unless your girlfriend is working south of Bethlehem like center valley area 476 to 22 prob much faster. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Law Posted May 2, 2017 Report Share Posted May 2, 2017 Good to hear from you dude, hit me up if you want to ride later in the summer in the PHL area. I got a thing I gotta get fixed before then but I'm hopeful I'll be back on the bike by June. If not see you at blue, I got nothing on the living situation as I live in the wilds of Berks....I would say Macungie is pretty nice LOL 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootDKJ Posted May 2, 2017 Report Share Posted May 2, 2017 Welcome back Schiff! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadows Posted May 2, 2017 Report Share Posted May 2, 2017 309 / turnpike fuckin sucks. you will hate life. did that commute from bethlehem past landsdale. garbage. never again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theprogram4 Posted May 2, 2017 Report Share Posted May 2, 2017 (edited) the rich assholes on the main line are the reason the blue route is fucked up and goes down to 2 lanes around haverford. those pieces of shit fought the highway for decades and fucked all of us Edited May 2, 2017 by theprogram4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrilledSteezeSandwich Posted May 2, 2017 Report Share Posted May 2, 2017 the rich assholes on the main line are the reason the blue route is fucked up and goes down to 2 lanes around haverford. gotta love your positivity lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theprogram4 Posted May 2, 2017 Report Share Posted May 2, 2017 gotta love your positivity lol. am i wrong tho? there is a reason it goes from 3 lanes to 2 lanes out of nowhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrilledSteezeSandwich Posted May 2, 2017 Report Share Posted May 2, 2017 am i wrong tho? there is a reason it goes from 3 lanes to 2 lanes out of nowhere. How is it rich assholes fault??? 309 / turnpike fuckin sucks. you will hate life. did that commute from bethlehem past landsdale. garbage. never again. Gotta love your positivity. I was trying to be nice and welcoming and then he'll realize later how much the commute will suck for him and his girlfriend lol. Oh well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theprogram4 Posted May 2, 2017 Report Share Posted May 2, 2017 How is it rich assholes fault??? i assume you aren't aware of the blue route's history. one of the most opposed highways in american history Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrilledSteezeSandwich Posted May 2, 2017 Report Share Posted May 2, 2017 i assume you aren't aware of the blue route's history. one of the most opposed highways in american history No fill me in on its history. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theprogram4 Posted May 2, 2017 Report Share Posted May 2, 2017 No fill me in on its history. As one of the most controversial Interstate Highways in Pennsylvania, construction of I-476 began in 1967, but was not completed until 1991 between MacDade Boulevard (Exit 1) and Interstate 76 (Exit 16), and until 1992 between Germantown Pike east/Chemical Road (Exit 19) and Interstate 276/Pennsylvania Turnpike (Exit 20), due to litigation between the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and several communities in the road's path over environmental concerns. However, the section of Interstate 476 (south end of I-476) between I-95 and MacDade Blvd. (Exit 1) was opened in 1987, but signage labeled it as a route "To MacDade Blvd" until 1991 when I-476/The Blue Route was opened between Exits 1 and 16, and connected with the short existing section of roadway dating back to 1979 from Exit 16-Exit 19. An agreement in 1985 led to many environmental compromises in the road's design, including a downsized four-lane design south of Pennsylvania Route 3, ramp meters, and federal scenic route status, prohibiting the erection of advertisement billboards along the entire freeway portion. While the redesigned highway was largely well-received, the constriction to four lanes has led to bottleneck conditions in the area, and many communities that originally opposed the road have now called for its widening.[40] The Philadelphia Inquirer dubbed I-476 "the most costly, most bitterly opposed highway in Pennsylvania history" due to the decades of opposition it garnered.[41] 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadows Posted May 2, 2017 Report Share Posted May 2, 2017 i like the no billboard thing thats cool. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theprogram4 Posted May 2, 2017 Report Share Posted May 2, 2017 up until like 10 years ago they never used the on ramp traffic light things, but they use them during rush hour now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadows Posted May 2, 2017 Report Share Posted May 2, 2017 i dont see how they even work. has made no difference in my ability to merge better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrilledSteezeSandwich Posted May 2, 2017 Report Share Posted May 2, 2017 i like the no billboard thing thats cool. No billboards allowed in Vermont. I had no idea the blue route was so new. Thanks for that TP4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theprogram4 Posted May 2, 2017 Report Share Posted May 2, 2017 To answer Schif's questions 1. if you have to be at work by 7:30, blue route shouldnt be a huge issue in the morning. leaving at 5 will absolutely suck though 2. 309 is not a very feasible route (time wise) compared to the northeast extension 3. landsdale is probably a good half way point, if not that maybe conshohocken so you are a little closer cause your traffic will be worse than hers. No billboards allowed in Vermont.I had no idea the blue route was so new. Thanks for that TP4 growing up going to the city for sporting events or airport, it was always listen to KYW when you get on the school kill to see if you should take that or the blue route. now the school kill is not even an option and it is blue route every time 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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