A stroke of luck
 

*jumps up and down like a little kid*

I got a job!!! I got a job!!! Whoooohoooo!!!

Sorry about that...after 5 weeks of unemployment, I've nearly lost my mind. The job sounds exciting and I think it will be a good fit.

Bad part: Unfortunately, living in Torresdale will no longer be practical, as I will be in King of Prussia and my fiance works in University City. Therefore, I will have to abdicate my King of Torresdale status, as we will probably be moving to Roxborough in September. Another new part of town to conquer. :)

Heres to Kaiser Sycamore I
 

SWEEEEEEEEEET! Unenjoyment can be such a drag, congrats. Griff

I guess "King of King of Prussia" would be kind of silly, eh?

Congratulations.

Nooooooooo! I don't WANT to be the King of King of Prussia. That would be like being the King of Owings Mills in your neck of the woods. :) A king in suburbia just doesn't sound quite right...

On a serious tip though: This has been one of the more trying times in my short life. I was almost at the point where I considered relocating again (which I have done twice in the last 2 years). But Rho and I like it here in Philadelphia, even though our luck here has not been the best. I'd like to stay here at least 4 more years--the only other places I would consider moving to at this point are Chicago or Baltimore. (And Baltimore is already a second home, given that my in-laws live there and Rho is from there.)

I did a lot of soul searching during the last 5 weeks, asking God to guide me on this leg of the journey. I will be 26 in October, but still have the spirit of an 18 year old. I would love to find that job that will give me the ultimate satisfaction...maybe this one will be it. But I want to do so much more--like paying off my debts from college, getting my masters, starting that 401(K) plan, buying my first new car. I figured the first step was just deciding to stay put here in Philadelphia. Now as long as I don't unemploy myself again anytime soon, things will begin to fall into place. :)

Congratualtions syc!!!!!
Great to hear =)

Hey, Owings Mills is an up-and-coming place nowadays. Lots of new businesses and housing, anyway. Good place to be King.

Consolation
 

Well, you might be able to console yourself with the %5 of your paycheck you will be getting back, unless KoP has their own. I work in East Whiteland which has a 1% tax.

The sad thing is that even some of the 'services' that you would think the wage tax covers are not really covered. For instance, ambulance companies charge seperately. As a commuter, I was paying the city $2000+ skimmed off the top, before health care and 401k.

Not worth it..at all.

Even if KoP has a %1 wage tax, you are still keeping an extra 2 grand for every 50K you earn, which makes your tax cut a better deal than the "Bush cut".

Upper Merion, probably thanks to taxes from the Mall (and rich guy Annenberg), has no wage tax.

Now, if I were say, King of Canton, or King of Catonsville, then I could live with that. Even King of Highlandtown (but not Essex or Dundalk). But not Owings Mills...it's just like King of Prussia, and almost similarly located in relation to Baltimore as KOP is to Philadelphia. If I were to live anywhere in the Baltimore suburbs, it would be Catonsville. Owings Mills just feels too...suburban for my liking. I would absolutely NOT live in the Philadelphia suburbs with maybe the exception of New Castle County, Delaware.

Actually Rich, I believe I'm actually getting taxed more now, b/c I live in the City and work in the suburbs. I believe it's around 6 or 7% if you do this or vice versa. In any case, it sounds like they'll need that extra money for the school district.

Congratulations!
 

What's even better is that I got a job today as well! Looks like the heavens are smiling on both of us right now, doesn't it?

Outstanding! :)

Also, I would like to note that I will not be relenquishing my title as King of Torresdale. After viewing several apartments, it would seem that the folks over in Roxborough and Andorra are smoking crack in the amount of rent they want to charge (with the lack of amenities). Especially given that Roxborough is about the same as Torresdale in terms of safety, conveniences, etc.

I'm staying put...I like it here. And in all honesty, unless I lived in Norristown, there will always be a commute to King of Prussia.

So, without any further ado...hail to Sycamore, King of Torresdale! :)

Norristown is crappy.

That is all

I drove around there when I doing this whole interview/testing gig out in KoP. It has that historical charm about it, but beyond downtown, it looked like hell...

Yeah. I'm currently half-looking for a house in the area (KoP, Upper&Lower Providence, West Norriton), and ran across quite a few in Norristown. I'd never live there, but if I could stand it, I could buy outright two townhouses there for about the cost of a down payment on one in a more reasonable area....