Reverse underground railroad journey complete

by philg

Our journey on the modern underground railroad (Maskachusetts to the Florida Free State) is complete as of yesterday!

Billboards on I-95 were interesting. Excluding those for travel-related services (hotels, restaurants, etc.), approximately 1/3rd were from employers begging people to work (curiously, however, the begging stopped at the Florida border; maybe people in Florida are more eager to work? Or the economy in Florida is not as strong as in NC, SC, GA?). The remaining billboards were dominated by personal injury and divorce litigators and by the healthcare industry. I couldn’t get any photos because it was just me and Mindy the Crippler in the Honda Odyssey (jammed with all the stuff that we forgot to pack or that the movers forgot to load).

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25 thoughts on “Reverse underground railroad journey complete”

  2. Happy to hear, great work and congratulations to everyone. I hope Mindy adapts to the climate well or you might have to get her a haircut.

    You are a day early by my calculations and you made it look easy. From this end, barely anyone could tell you were moving except from the occasional snippets and this was a 1,400 mile move across 10 states. Anybody else would have been like: “I’m moving to Florida so my blog will be offline for two weeks and maybe a couple weeks more after we get there.” Then they would have done nothing but kvetch about much of a chore it was, how they were having second thoughts, how the boxes aren’t square, the car doesn’t drive itself, and that things cost money.

    More on the billboards later but I was in the Poor Mines of Worcester yesterday in a dentist’s office watching the morning “news” programs which were all about Britney Spears trying to prove she is Un-Crazy now, sandwiched in between a constant stream of personal injury lawyer ads. I kept trying to block the Big Picture out of my consciousness; it fills me with apocalyptic dread.

    • Agree with everything Alex said. Also think future for US is terrible and terrifying. Prefer not to think about it.

    • @Alex, I’m assuming you mean Worcester, MA? If so, yes as soon as you enter Worcester, billboards flash at you of lawyers offering their services to get you money due to work injury to car accidents. They make it sound like you will strike it rich if you get injured. The same kind of billboards will flash at you in Dorchester, Lowell, Lynn, etc. i.e.: poor cities / towns.

    • @George A: Yes, Worcester MA. When you take the off-ramps into Worcester you’re almost always confronted by the homeless with their signs and you can watch the zombies ambling around town day and night. If you take I-95 into Philadelphia, PA you can see a similar spectacle of PI Lawyer billboards plastered up along the highway all the way into/out of town.

  6. When I lived in Florida, it seems that most of the billboards were for divorce lawyers. It was the first time I’d seen lawyers specific to the husband or wife.

  7. @Philip, I hope there is a Costco near where you will be living in FL. That will be your only reminder of home, far away from home.

    • So like you Phil. You can’t shop at a regular store instead you shop at a private shopping club not open to the public! Next thing we are probably going to find out is that you are an executive member.

    • Best place to get gas..at least here in LA where the price is high. It probably doesn’t matter there. My daughter lives in NC and gas is a third cheaper there.

  8. Thought of you this week with the Robinson sightseeing copters hopping nonstop at the beach. Welcome!

  9. Welcome. I’ve been here for a while (but on the west coast). I still maintain a vacation residence up North.

  11. Congratulations but I am sad.

    The Institute without a Greespun is like Winterfell without a Stark.

    Building 20, then you.

    I feel the cold chill of Winter on an August day.

  12. Just recently returned from a trip to Florida. My favorite billboards were the one advertising iguana pest control services, and another for tiki hut thatch roof repairs.

  14. Mazal tov! Good for you, too bad for Maskachusets and those of us living in this cradle of American revolution. Can’t wait to see your posts about the flip side of Florida coin – the healthcare, the government services (at least in Miami), the NY expats, the traffic (at least south of Boca), the humidity, etc. Feeling sad for myself, though, because it was comforting to have at least one voice of reason in this land of pseudo-intellectuals. Now the last of the Mohicans has left… You will be missed here – but probably the right move for you. Hope this Florida Free State will remain as such despite the influx of those who turned their former places into socialist paradise.

  15. Welcome to Florida! Maybe one day in the future I’ll get to meet you. My parents are in Tampa, and my dad takes regular RV trips, I’ll have to ask him to take me to Jupiter one of these days when I come to visit.

  16. My my my, a Floridian now, guess easier 2 take more cruises. I’m thinking g of doing same thing within the next couple of years. Best wishes to you and the Fam

  17. Good! We we will NOT miss you in Massachusetts! Say hello to your Fuhrer, Cadet Bonespurs Trump!

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