Living and Working virtually in B/CS...

4,081 Views | 25 Replies | Last: 2 yr ago by littlebitofhifi
TyHolden
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Anybody doing it?
If you travel some for work, do yo fly out of CS usually or drive to one of the major hubs (Houston or Austin I'm guessing).
I figure if your job is virtual, why not live where you want to live.
I'd probably drive more for games in a year anyway.
MiMi
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S
My job, pre-pandemic was 50% travel, 50% WFH. I would typically travel to the west (ie: Seattle, Phoenix, SF, OC, Portland). I preferred the early morning flight out of Easterwood to DFW. I could be in the Admiral's Club by 6-6:30am for breakfast, take a mid-morning westward flight, and be in my hotel room by late afternoon. Of course, there were occasional delayed flights out of Easterwood, so I would make sure to have a reasonable layover in DFW.

I haven't traveled out-of-state since March 2020 but plans are in place to get back on the road. Since being grounded, my role has changed so my travel time will decrease and I'll be spending more time at home.

I've lived in CS for 31 years and moved into my current job after retiring from my faculty position at TAMU. I could move closer to a major airport but I still have one child in high school and, honestly, I like living in CS.
nthomas99
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MaximusDMeridius said:

Anybody doing it?
If you travel some for work, do yo fly out of CS usually or drive to one of the major hubs (Houston or Austin I'm guessing).
I figure if your job is virtual, why not live where you want to live.
I'd probably drive more for games in a year anyway.

I'm not virtual (run a small software company here in town), but in non-pandemic times I fly out of CS (puddle jumper to DFW or IAH) unless it's ridiculously expensive. Much more relaxed (parking, security, boarding) than the major airports.
rodan85
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I moved to College Station 2 years ago specifically because I have a remote job. This was in anticipation of retiring in a few years and we liked the idea of retiring back to Aggieland.

My job changed right before the pandemic hit and I was supposed to travel some. I only got one trip in before things changed. Not sure when the travel will start up again.

75AG
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Same for me, well except I have a kid at A&M, not in HS. But, I fly United out of Easterwood on United. That said, because no one knew for certain when the pandemic would lessen enough to return to traveling, our travel budgets were cut. So, I'll be continuing to WFH and travel will be down to 25%.
doubledog
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MaximusDMeridius said:

Anybody doing it?
If you travel some for work, do yo fly out of CS usually or drive to one of the major hubs (Houston or Austin I'm guessing).
I figure if your job is virtual, why not live where you want to live.
I'd probably drive more for games in a year anyway.
1. I normally fly from IAH (upside : More connections better depart times downside : 90 min travel by car 6-290-tx99 )

2. Internet. Bryan is getting fiber so that will be good for them. Suddenlink CS is ok, but large files transfers can be a annoying.

littlebitofhifi
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Similar story as others have posted. I was remote pre-COVID, but traveling ~70% of the time. I chose to relocate to B/CS to be closer to aging parents who'd retired here years ago. I prefer to fly out of CLL (usually the American puddle jumper to DFW). I just prefer flying over any amount of driving so don't like the hassle of getting down to IAH. Only problem I occasionally had was the return flight home. I'd try to work a full day in NYC on Friday and take the last flight out...had the final leg from DFW to CLL delayed or cancelled several times which made for a rough start to the weekend.

Post-COVID, we also cut travel budgets and everyone realized that WFH is perfectly manageable so I expect my travel to go down to 10-20%.

Re: Internet, I'd also echo that Suddenlink can be a real issue if you need reliable up time and strong speeds. I ended up building in a new development with fiber and it's been a huge benefit.

Overall I'm happy with my decision. Cheap cost of living, Aggie soccer/baseball/track are all really fun, year-round golf weather, easy access to Houston/Austin for larger events. It's a pretty good home base.
BANA89
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I've lived in south CS now for almost 14 years and joined a new firm just over 2-1/2 years ago that required me to travel almost weekly to DFW area and Houston, then Austin or San Antonio periodically. That changed with Covid, not traveling at all for eight months but now traveling to DFW or Houston once a month each though it'll probably slowly pick back up.

We will have three kids at A&M this fall so less travel will be nice for the few years left before we become empty nesters. WFH is great and season tickets to Football, baseball, OPAS has been great, but my technology and investor prospecting portions of my job requires some relationship building. That is best done live so there will never be zero travel except during the height of a pandemic
BANA Class of '86/'89 - Living in Aggieland!
scd88
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I love Easterwood. Reminds of the TV show "Wings."

Flight schedule is manageable whether to DFW or IAH. Plus you get extra "legs" for award purposes. Sometimes, I have found it's cheaper to fly out of Easterwood to, say, Lubbock, than going there from IAH.

I have no desire to live anywhere else in Texas. This is great for work as I drive a lot to the major metro areas and I tend to make day trips out them.
75AG
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There are two problems flying to IAH from CLL:

  • Weather in Houston will cancel or severely delay flights leaving CLL (flights from smaller airports must be on lowest rung of importance), and
  • Any delayed arrival into IAH and you could miss the last flight to CLL

Many a time I've had to race to IAH to make my connection (1 hr drive from CLL to valet parking at IAH). And many a time I've had to rent a car to drive back to CLL because I missed that last flight.

Other than that, the double segments help your FF program!
BrazosWifi
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We have quite a few WFH folks on our fiber services out in the rural parts of Brazos County. I have been told it is a game-changer for rural homesites (as I knew it would be).

When I fly out, I often go to Austin if Easterwood doesn't have the flight I need. The Airport is on the East side of town and an easy drive.
I prefer Easterwood but sometimes the schedules don't line up for me so I have to drive.
Ground Shuttle is also nice if you don't want to drive.
Sponsor Message: http://BrazosWiFi.com | Fast and reliable internet for the Brazos Valley | info@BrazosWiFi.com | 979-999-7000
TyHolden
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BrazosWifi said:

We have quite a few WFH folks on our fiber services out in the rural parts of Brazos County. I have been told it is a game-changer for rural homesites (as I knew it would be).

When I fly out, I often go to Austin if Easterwood doesn't have the flight I need. The Airport is on the East side of town and an easy drive.
I prefer Easterwood but sometimes the schedules don't line up for me so I have to drive.
Ground Shuttle is also nice if you don't want to drive.
what do you consider rural? Curious what kind of internet speeds available in and out of town? Looking for some acreage (1-2 acre min) so might have to look outside a bit.
BrazosWifi
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MaximusDMeridius said:

BrazosWifi said:

We have quite a few WFH folks on our fiber services out in the rural parts of Brazos County. I have been told it is a game-changer for rural homesites (as I knew it would be).

When I fly out, I often go to Austin if Easterwood doesn't have the flight I need. The Airport is on the East side of town and an easy drive.
I prefer Easterwood but sometimes the schedules don't line up for me so I have to drive.
Ground Shuttle is also nice if you don't want to drive.
what do you consider rural? Curious what kind of internet speeds available in and out of town? Looking for some acreage (1-2 acre min) so might have to look outside a bit.


Our fiber map is here: https://gis.brazosfiber.com/public_data/map.php

It is a real time map and is updated as we bring areas online.

We have 1gbps service through the Steep Hollow area (all that pink that is connected together).

Islands of pink without a blue line connected to it tops out at 500mbps today.

Click on the pins on the map to see the speeds available.

Green Branch and Garrison Creek are the places with the most lots available on our network right now.

Millican Reserve might have some lots. You'll need to contact them to be sure.
Sponsor Message: http://BrazosWiFi.com | Fast and reliable internet for the Brazos Valley | info@BrazosWiFi.com | 979-999-7000
EBrazosAg
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One of these days I dream of seeing a pink ring around the city limits on that map I'll cry a little tear that day !!!
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TAMU1990
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MaximusDMeridius said:

Anybody doing it?
If you travel some for work, do yo fly out of CS usually or drive to one of the major hubs (Houston or Austin I'm guessing).
I figure if your job is virtual, why not live where you want to live.
I'd probably drive more for games in a year anyway.
We've done it since 2007. Fly out of CS quite frequently. If the schedule doesn't allow, drive to Austin/Houston.
scd88
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I have back to back coming up - Lubbock on a Monday and then McAllen on a Tuesday. LET'S EFFING GOOOOO!!!
Drilltime
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I spent a career flying out of big airports and hated the hassel of getting there, parking, and processing through and I always felt I needed at least an hour of contingency, with 2 for Int'l. Now I'm 4 min from Easterwood, 9 min to baggage check, 14 min from security, and about 22 min total from the house to the gate, give or take a few. Same for Int'l. I don't think I've ever been behind more than 5 people at security. It means a lot to me to start every trip with such a predictable positive experience. It makes me feel absurdly special.
Bullpen Chias
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2015-2020 I was traveling about 45 weeks/yr. I have been grounded and doing WFH since March 2020. Should resume in September.

In 2015 I started with American and flew out of College Station to Dallas. Easy start to the trip but was seeing the flight home get cancelled or I'd miss it due to a delay.

Switched over to United and have flown out of Houston since 2016. All my flights are direct now and I LOVE direct flights. I leave home 170 mins before my scheduled departure. That gives me enough time to drive, park in the close up parking, get through security and grab a bite before boarding.

Traffic has burned me 2 out of 180 times where I didn't make my flight and had to reschedule - both times there was a later flight that day. No biggie.

Another 2 of 180 were cancelled by United and moved to next day once I was at airport. Not ideal. Drove back to College Station once. Stayed at airport hotel once.

I don't mind the drive and 99 makes it pretty easy. The Aggie Hwy (once completed) should make it even better.

I love living in College Station. Go to a ton of Aggie sporting events, love the light traffic, and all the other great things about being here instead of a place like The Woodlands or another good Houston-area suburb.

Overall I'm a big fan and don't mind the 90 minute drive to and from the airport once a week.
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lawless89
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My wife and I just moved back here last summer from Fort Worth. Pre-covid, I was gone 75 nights a year and flew direct everywhere from DFW with American. Here in CS, 3 of my 4 flights out of Easterwood were delayed and caused me to miss my connection. One time it was coming home and I got stuck in Dallas. No rental cars available at all and ended up Ubering to Waco and my wife picked me up there.

After that disaster, I decided to switch to United and fly direct out of Bush. 90% of the Aggie highway is completed and I can actually get from CS to Bush in 75 min now using that. I'd much rather fly in and out of Houston and have multiple flight options if delayed instead of getting stuck somewhere because there's only a handful of flights to CS. Only issue with parking at Bush is I have to use the parking spot because my truck is too tall for the garages at Bush and I despise waiting and riding that shuttle.


Oh and having Brazos WiFi has been absolutely clutch. We live on 5 acres just off 30 right outside city limits behind C&Js and I thought I was going to get stuck with using wireless hotspots. Brazos WiFi absolutely saved me and have zero issues streaming multiple devices and zoom calls. We had to build a tower, but well worth it.
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TyHolden
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is there any major differences between Consol and College Station High? they look pretty much the same on paper.

if this opens up a major can of worms, just ignore it . i've seen school comparisons get out of hand before on other sites.
scd88
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MaximusDMeridius said:

is there any major differences between Consol and College Station High? they look pretty much the same on paper.

if this opens up a major can of worms, just ignore it . i've seen school comparisons get out of hand before on other sites.


No, they are equal. Don't let that decide where you live as the district may change the zoning at any time. Lol.
JKAG10
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I live in North Zulch. Travel for work 2-3 weeks/month. If I have to fly and I've got the time to drive to Houston or Austin for a flight I will. I typically fly southwest and they are usually cheaper. If I need to bounce around to Regional airports I'll take flights out of CS. Easy to get in and out of but TSA there thinks they are the FBI.

I've got Windstream internet out here and just tested 71mbps.
BQ_90
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Quote:

TSA there thinks they are the FBI.
Last time a flew they went nuts over this poor woman in a wheel chair. I was waiting for them to tear the chair apart. It was kinda disturbing. Was first flight of the day and they started with her, shocked the flight took off on time
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littlebitofhifi
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Not to turn this into a CLL thread (I mentioned earlier that I still do prefer to fly out of CLL as I just don't like driving to IAH/AUS), but I had one flight where there were only 2 of us in line for TSA. We both had our carryons emptied and searched. I was pre-check and the other woman was the flight attendant. Can't even make this stuff up.
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