PROMOTION and, it is time to VOTE: WHERE SHOULD I GO NEXT
I write this entry in a coffee shop down the street from my house. It is a meager attempt to get out of the house and do a little work. The place is small and a bit overcrowded by tables far too abundant for such a quaint café but the wifi is free.
As I write this sentence, I find myself eavesdropping on a Craigslist interaction. It’s something I am far too familiar with, but as these two women hammer out the details regarding the listed used set of skis, I find myself amused and excited to experience such an encounter not as a player, but as a spectator.
People are funny. The encounter displays obvious jousts to protect each party’s self-interests. The seller describes the 2001 K2 powder skis equipped with telemark bindings in great detail, at one point even giving the buyer a short tutorial on telemark skiing. She only looks slightly ridiculous.
Examining this interaction, which, by the way, only lasts ten minutes, I reflect on my Craigslist purchases. I never thought to examine the intricacies of such a purchase but I suppose that is because I don’t really see such interactions as intricate.
People who look for something online typically are very specific about what they want. For this reason, people spend, more or less, the same amount of time actually making a Craigslist purchase, despite the significance or price—the people who bought the wine rack from me few weeks ago and the recently observed coffeehouse ski purchase typically spend more money than time.
From my experience, the hard work is done up front. Research online, email and phone conversations between buyer and seller and discussions with family and friends matter more than the actual transaction itself. I would imagine the discomfort with such an interaction plays a measurable factor. It’s not like going into a store, not at all.
Compare a Craigslist purchase to your most recent shoe-shopping trip. When you go to Nordstrom’s or even Payless, you let someone put shoes on your feet. When you buy from someone off Craigslist, it’s almost like you want the transaction to occur with as little face-to-face time as possible. It’s almost a tollbooth purchase. But because you put yourself in such a scratchy situation, the discomfort has its own small payoff.
I don’t want to suggest store bought skis or wine racks don’t hold value, but I do believe the significance doesn’t extend beyond the price tag. For the most part, the same can’t be said of Craigslist purchases—there is a story, no matter how small.
But, all of this is tangential to the story I originally sat down to write this afternoon.
Denny’s promoted me. It is small, but still worthy of my mentioning. I will soon be qualified to work as an official Denny’s trainer. New hires may learn by experience, but it will be under my supervision. It comes with a small pay increase—please sit down for this—a quarter per hour! This puts my hourly pay at $4.48, though I do get half of the tips my trainees receive. I was one of a few servers to be honored by such a prestigious request.
I guess this means they like how I am doing and my customers seem to think so as well. I made $64 today in tips, putting my week’s total at a bit over $200.
On a completely different note, I need your help!
Tell me where I should go next? I am now soliciting suggestions for my third city. The rules are fairly simple:
- I need to be on the East Coast—preferably a southern town.
- The town with a Craigslist site, and there must be one, must not have a population smaller than 400,000. This eliminates towns like Arlington, Virginia and Great Neck, New York as they fall under larger Craigslist pages—Washington, D.C. and New York City. To give you an idea, I am thinking places like Asheville, North Carolina or Morgantown, West Virginia.
I will be reviewing comments on this post until Monday, March 8. The more suggestions the better so please, do not hold back.
it IS ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests -- that's what this is all about!
PostingID: 1284159082
February 18th, 2010 at 6:48 pm
How about Savannah, GA? Lovely homes, lots of history. All in all, an interesting city.
February 18th, 2010 at 7:17 pm
Columbus, Ohio! Not exactly the coast, but its… um, east of Denver. There is actually a ton of cool stuff to do in Columbus for young adults. People are friendly and the neighborhoods each seem very unique.
February 18th, 2010 at 7:35 pm
Can you give us a list of cities to chose from as most of us don’t know what cities we can chose from and I am sure you have thought of this.
February 18th, 2010 at 7:56 pm
I agree with Asheville. Is Burlington, VT too similar to Denver?
February 18th, 2010 at 9:04 pm
How about Jacksonville, FLorida?? Lots of interesting areas, especially the beach!
February 18th, 2010 at 9:11 pm
Asheville, NC vote or somewhere in Alabama
February 18th, 2010 at 11:59 pm
Savannah, GA. is a lot of fun. I once took a trip from Michigan to Daytona beach with my sister and on the way back we stopped to randomly club at a place called club one. They city was nice and the people were a lot of fun. Good Luck Jason!
February 19th, 2010 at 12:07 am
Eh. Puerto Rico.
February 19th, 2010 at 1:56 am
As someone who has been to Savannah I don’t think you’ll have much success there with jobs unless you want to be a deckhand. Seriously Jason, don’t go there. On the other hand I think you could definitely pick up a job and easy living expenses in Atlanta. I know people there who’d be willing to help you and I think the market there would be slightly easier to break into than what you’ve experienced before. This is all not to mention that its on I-75 AND I-95 giving you access to a world of opportunities.
February 19th, 2010 at 3:54 am
Savannah or Charleston would be cool.
Congrats on the promotion and I’m glad that yours posts are starting to be about Craigslist again.
February 19th, 2010 at 7:18 am
I vote Charleston, SC. It is similar to Savannah but a little big and has more going on. Depending on how long you stay you might be there for Spoleto Festival.
February 19th, 2010 at 7:26 am
I feel like it’s time for you to stop dealing with the snow and go somewhere with a view that’s southern. My pick, Wilmington, North Carolina. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilmington,_North_Carolina
February 19th, 2010 at 7:35 am
I agree, somewhere in the south. Anywhere that has a Waffle House will do, I think you’d like working there better than Denny’s.
February 19th, 2010 at 8:07 am
Suggestion: Huntsville, AL. Definitely southern, but with with some tech influence. And pretty cheap cost of living.
February 19th, 2010 at 8:08 am
i love the idea of savannah or charleston!
February 19th, 2010 at 9:09 am
I vote Jacksonville too! Beach living would be an amazing close to the journey, and that city has a distinct cross between southern hospitality and breezy florida lifestyle.
February 19th, 2010 at 9:35 am
Portland, Maine. Awesome town. It’s not Southern, but New England deserves it’s own shot at being your 3rd section of country.
If you’re stuck being dedicated to Southern, why not head to that Duke/UNC Raleigh/Durham triangle of cities. Plenty of college kids should mean plenty of Craigslist stuffs, including some awesome basketball tickets or something.
February 19th, 2010 at 9:47 am
Charleston, South Carolina.
February 19th, 2010 at 10:05 am
Rochester, NY is beautiful in spring/summer.
February 19th, 2010 at 3:15 pm
I also vote for Charleston. Good Luck!!
February 19th, 2010 at 3:51 pm
Rochester is great, but for a southern city I vote Charleston.
February 19th, 2010 at 5:14 pm
you should definitely consider morgantown. it’s where i live, and i’m a student who’s been following your blog for a while. it’s pretty unique, and you could pretty easily find a place to stay and some sweet job opportunities especially if you’re around when the students are in town. plus it’s a short drive/busride to the great pittsburgh area or DC if you’re so inclined.
February 19th, 2010 at 10:36 pm
Charleston is amazing…. Why not the Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill area? Come to the Triangle…. you would be able to commute to any of the 3 cities when searching for a job…
February 20th, 2010 at 6:00 am
Jacksonville
February 20th, 2010 at 10:47 am
Raleigh, North Carolina + surrounding area. Lots of college students, lots of Craigslist.
For example, a cursory glance at the area’s CL brings up:
- A request for a male salsa dancing partner for a lady who wants to go to salsa classes
- Individuals needed for a Magic The Gathering group
- Volunteers needed for the NC Renaissance Faire
- A volunteer needed for a wildlife hospital
- A young designer looking for males to model his clothes
- Someone who wants someone to see Broken Embraces with
- A professional mom looking for a live-in assistant to help her care for her 10-year old
- A writer looking for a research assistant
- A director looking for people to be in his film, ‘Angels of Hope’
- A church pianist needed (do you play the piano?)
- A local internet radio show that needs guests
I’d love to read about your experiences doing some of these things!
February 20th, 2010 at 12:25 pm
portland would be cool.
February 20th, 2010 at 2:15 pm
you can’t go wrong with south carolina..think steamed mussels and blue crab..
February 20th, 2010 at 2:40 pm
If you’re looking for a challange come to Cleveland, OH…We were just voted America’s Most Miserable City by Forbes Magazine
February 21st, 2010 at 8:17 am
Charleston, SC? It’s a beautiful city – I think you would enjoy it.
Cleveland isn’t such a bad idea either. Although it isn’t on the east coast – I think it may be an interested place to spend some time!
Hope all is well!!
February 21st, 2010 at 5:28 pm
Savannah’s population is just over 100,000 so I don’t think that meets the criteria. What about Daytona Beach, or West Palm beach. Since their busy tourism season is coming up you could probably get a lot of fun jobs.
February 21st, 2010 at 7:43 pm
Orlando FL! Close to Disney, the beach, oh and some warm weather!
February 21st, 2010 at 10:30 pm
Go to Providence, RI!
February 22nd, 2010 at 6:52 am
I definitely vote Charleston, SC. It’s a little smaller than 400K, but it does have a decent CL community. And is just one of the prettiest cities I’ve ever been to.
February 22nd, 2010 at 5:38 pm
With your training you could get a job at any Stuckeys from Virginia to Georgia! Tough decision.
February 23rd, 2010 at 11:00 am
New Orleans is the coolest
February 23rd, 2010 at 11:41 am
You need to provide a list to choose from.
If you are true to the experiment then I think you need to choose a city that has been hit by the economy a bit harder then say NY/Boston/DC. Morgantown is not bad, but Pittsburg would be a good choice. The people of Pittsburg are awesome working class Americans, and I think you will connect with people if you choose a destination where it is not alwaays easy to get by….
March 10th, 2010 at 4:46 pm
I agree with Charleston, SC