Garages

"CaptDale - is secretly British" (captdale) 10/06/2016 at 20:20 • Filed to: garage, house

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I am like most of you Oppos (I assume) and when a peruse houses for sale, I sort by having a garage. I know I can’t afford a house on the terrible income I have and probably won’t , unfortunately, for quite a while. But I like to look and see how prices are and what’s going on around me. So I found a lovely home in Los Osos. That is still in SLO county, close to work, and probably my favorite place in the county to want to live. Its also between work and my guy friend. Anyhow 2 car garage, 2500 sq ft, huge drive way, 3 bed, 2.5 bath, and a very open design with a great kitchen. But it is listed at $699,777. Which isn’t too bad for where in California I am, but it is a lot of money. We are talking 2 Ferrari F12s for that money.

But then I thought about how I have friends that just moved to Sioux Falls,SD and keep trying to get me to move in with them. I haven’t 100% made up my mind yet. But I figured I would see how much a comparative house would be. So try this on for size; 2+1 garage, 3 bed. 2.5 bath, 1632 sq ft, beautiful, good kitchen, and it is on a lake with its own dock. How much? $379000... FREAKING HALF and its on a lake. To get that here double the price of the other house and add some more.

Plus they get seasons there... Hmmm, if I had the credit or capitol to buy a house, I would buy that one in SD and rent it to my friends and visit a lot. Also I could register my cars there and have no emissions or inspections. Stupid California.

*UPDATE* Technically in Iowa... Stupid CL, but still.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > CaptDale - is secretly British 10/06/2016 at 20:28

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I don’t know how anyone affords anything. My wife and I don’t make bad money at all, but just looking at what a mortgage payment would be on even a $300,000 house (which here, doesn’t get you much)... How do people afford kids, cars, fun, etc.

CaptDale - is secretly British > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 10/06/2016 at 20:29

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I haven’t the foggiest. Between the bills I have, I don’t understand how you afford kids and a wife.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > CaptDale - is secretly British 10/06/2016 at 20:31

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Wives aren’t expensive — mine works full time and for a few years made more than me haha.

CaptDale - is secretly British > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 10/06/2016 at 20:34

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But you know what I mean....

The Crazy Kanuck; RIP Oppositelock > CaptDale - is secretly British 10/06/2016 at 20:34

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Where I live housing is going crazy. It is north of Toronto. So people from Toronto buy up here because it is cheaper then Toronto. They are driving up prices. It is great for sellers, not for buyers. Since last year the avg house price has went up 25%. 

Phyrxes once again has a wagon! > CaptDale - is secretly British 10/06/2016 at 20:37

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What fun stuff? It all went away with the munchkins. We bought close to 10 years ago (Metro DC) our stacked townhome *cough* condo *cough* which is about 1700 sq ft with a 1 car garage was $300k right before things hit bottom. Once we stop being underwater we are so selling/renting this place and moving further out into the “country.” We are close to edge of the suburban sprawl and are looking to go out a county or two as I’ve changed jobs since then and now teach in the “country.”

DC3 LS, will be perpetually replacing cars until the end of time > CaptDale - is secretly British 10/06/2016 at 20:38

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Move to Texas. When my family moved there, there was a 2 story house that had 4 bedrooms, a pool, a very nice kitchen, and a two car garage. All for 150k. The only reason my mom didn’t get it was because it was stupid big for us.

Edit: Then again when I say nice it wasn’t nearly as nice as the second house you show.

RallyWrench > CaptDale - is secretly British 10/06/2016 at 20:40

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Nice place, in both cases. There is much to be said for living elsewhere, as nice as it is here. Our mortgage is hundreds less than our house would rent for, but it’s still nearly half what I make. It’s really fucking hard to support the family here.

Mondial goes to 11 > CaptDale - is secretly British 10/06/2016 at 20:40

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The one very mild dislike I had about SLO was it getting too cold in the winter. I pay out the nose to live in southern California because I don’t want seasons.

I didn’t realize home prices were so high now. Los Osos is where everyone lives because it’s cheaper than SLO. You could find something cheap in Atrashcadero.

Mondial goes to 11 > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 10/06/2016 at 20:46

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The secret is people can’t actually afford it. My boss lives in an affluent community living in near million dollar houses (actually not all that expensive in SoCal) with soccer moms driving their kids in luxury SUVs, jet skis in the driveway, and Caribbean vacations. They rack up huge debts, declare bankruptcy, and refinance to somehow keep there homes and continue the hedonism. If you can overlook the stress of enormous debt, fiscal irresponsibility actually does pay.

lone_liberal > CaptDale - is secretly British 10/06/2016 at 20:49

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We toured a glorious garage, I mean house, last weekend. It had the doors that would be typical of a 3-car garage but it was extra deep so you could get 4 or maybe even 5 cars in there. It was a thing of beauty. The house was $400k so way out of our range, but I loved it.

BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind > CaptDale - is secretly British 10/06/2016 at 21:13

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Housing prices are stupid high right now. There is nothing in life worth $600,000.

Buy cheaper house. Buy nearby garage. Still will cost less than $300k+

comes over to help work on your car and only drinks beer > CaptDale - is secretly British 10/06/2016 at 21:13

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If that Iowa house wasn’t on a lake, it’d be closer to $200K, maybe less depending on what county you’re in. I live in the second most expensive county in Iowa, and you can get a new construction, 2000 SF, 3 car garage for probably $350K (been a few years since we bought and we weren’t that high).

How do people afford things? Delayed gratification...if you can get ahead of the interest curve (making it instead of paying it), it starts to build itself. I’m 16 years out of college, haven’t had a car payment in 8 years (vehicles are 2005 Focus and 2011 Sienna), I love cooking so we go out to eat maybe once a month (even less as ‘entertainment’, most of the time it’s time related). 2 kids, my wife works part time only because she wants to.

Oh, yeah, and living in a low cost of living state helps a lot.

deekster_caddy > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 10/06/2016 at 23:09

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Many years ago when my wife and I were looking at getting our own apartment in Boston, we found rent comparable to a 300K mortgage. We decided to go for it and take the mortgage. (Actually was before we got married)

The only way we could afford it was to buy a mutlifamily house and rent out part of it. That life adventure started 15 years ago and only recently we were able to afford the place without tenants.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > deekster_caddy 10/06/2016 at 23:16

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We were thisclose to embarking on a similar path. We found an amazing house. Tucked away, private road, total privacy, five wooded acres. But it was over $100,000 more than what we could comfortably pay. Basically we would have had to rented out the bottom floor to someone. We ultimately decided on a more practical (ie: small small small) purchase for our first home.

Pickup_man > CaptDale - is secretly British 10/07/2016 at 09:25

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I live right near Sioux Falls!! Just north of it actually, born and raised here. It really is a nice area around here, not a ton to do automotive wise, but the Black Hills are a good weekend trip, and there are a few more things starting up lately. Autocross, lots of different car shows etc. Other than a couple months of bitter cold the weather is pretty nice year round.

Housing up here is crazy cheap too, I recently bought a house, built in 2005, 1600 some odd square feet 1879 ft^2, big yard, two car garage, driveway big enough for 4 cars (soon to be widened as well) and street parking if you really wanted to, for $160,000. If you’re not afraid of some renovation work houses can be had for well under $150,000.

Sometimes I think about living in a place like California, a place with fun roads, and no winter. But then I’m reminded by the crazy living expenses, the fact that there are way too many people for my tastes, and all of the hassles of registering cars out there, and I realize that I’m perfectly happy where I am. Plus all my family and friends are here as well.

If you don’t mind a little cold for a few months of the year I side with your friends.

CaptDale - is secretly British > Mondial goes to 11 10/07/2016 at 11:18

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Eww, I am not on meth ;). I lived there for a while, but North COunty sucks.

There is no such thing as too cold in the winter

CaptDale - is secretly British > RallyWrench 10/07/2016 at 11:19

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Right?! And the kids keep you from getting out and having a beer.

CaptDale - is secretly British > DC3 LS, will be perpetually replacing cars until the end of time 10/07/2016 at 11:20

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I’ve been to the south. And while it was nice enough to visit I hate the heat more that stupid people. I can’t move there

CaptDale - is secretly British > The Crazy Kanuck; RIP Oppositelock 10/07/2016 at 11:23

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Wow that’s a lot

CaptDale - is secretly British > Pickup_man 10/07/2016 at 11:24

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I do love the winter, and real winter. I want to experience living in snow.

bob and john > CaptDale - is secretly British 10/07/2016 at 11:32

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you should see what the housing cost to begin with!

I live 1 hour away from torontos downtown core. a 1200sqft townhouse, 1 car garage, 2 car drive way? 800K. we bought it 17 years ago when it was 200K and the area around wasnt developed.

DynamicWeight > CaptDale - is secretly British 10/07/2016 at 11:36

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I love living in California. That being said, I have completely given up on home ownership. I am an engineer making, what I feel, is a reasonable income, but there is just no way to afford a house I would want to live in here. It doesn’t help hearing my friends who make more than I do talking about how they would even think of buying a house without putting at least 300,000 down. The fuck!?

kanadanmajava1 > CaptDale - is secretly British 10/07/2016 at 11:38

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Is there such place as rural California? On the map there seems to a lot of unused space so everyplace cannot be really expensive.

CaptDale - is secretly British > kanadanmajava1 10/07/2016 at 11:44

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No I could move to California City ....

CaptDale - is secretly British > DynamicWeight 10/07/2016 at 11:45

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I would rather rent a warehouse with a cot and buy $300k worth of cars

and 100 more > CaptDale - is secretly British 10/07/2016 at 11:48

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The flip-side is property taxes... I know SLO-area property tax is likely going to be equal to the GDP of a small country, but I’d look deeper into average property tax for the homes in SD. Sometimes they are surprisingly high, which discourages people from buying a home, thus driving down the sale prices.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > CaptDale - is secretly British 10/07/2016 at 11:50

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If you like bad news read the next line, if you don’t just move on.

First house in Michigan - $72,000. Second house in Michigan -$198,000

California’s weather can’t be worth it, especially when you consider traffic.

CaptDale - is secretly British > bob and john 10/07/2016 at 11:50

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That is wild. Sounds a lot like where my grandparents built their last house. They built it in the 80's in Arroyo Grande before anything was developed there. I remember as a kid when a developer came in and put row houses a few blocks up the hill from them. Definitely raised the cost of houses there. Their house is now worth some where in the $2.5+ million. Its stupid.

CaptDale - is secretly British > MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner 10/07/2016 at 11:52

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Not much traffic here, but at the same time people can’t figure out how two lane roads work (right for driving, left for passing). I lived in the LA area for most of my life. Personally I liked the traffic. I hade weaving down as a sport.

Needmoargarage > MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner 10/07/2016 at 11:54

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I’ve lived in both. MI cost of living is excellent. I don’t miss the CA weather much, but I really miss rust free cars and decent roads.

CaptDale - is secretly British > and 100 more 10/07/2016 at 11:54

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Not a bad point

Milky > CaptDale - is secretly British 10/07/2016 at 11:57

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This is why I like Detroit. Just signed another year lease, but my roommate, myself and a friend just started talking about buying a warehouse. Quick search found us some nice, read shitty, ones in areas we like for $50-200k. Think another $100-200k, depending on building condition to make it perfect? Provided we’re doing the work.

We would have garage doors, park inside, it would look amazing and we could walk to our favorite bars.

The issue is hoping on the right one when it pops up and making sure its zoned so you can live in it.

Baskingshark > CaptDale - is secretly British 10/07/2016 at 12:00

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I like Los Osos, my grandmother lives there. They have shitty roads though with no sidewalks whatsoever which I find odd. I prefer Morro Bay if I were to move down there.

I bought a house in Marina, just outside Monterey and I couldn’t see myself leaving coastal California. I don’t like the snow, a weekend in Tahoe is about as much as I can handle.

CaptDale - is secretly British > Baskingshark 10/07/2016 at 12:06

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I kinda like that about Los Osos, keeps it from getting snooty.

I like Marina. I have a friend that live up there. I grew up on the ocean, so I doubt I could ever leave permanently, but maybe just to get life going again. Been stuck in a pretty bad rut recently.

CaptDale - is secretly British > Milky 10/07/2016 at 12:08

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That or I am sure Detroit would love the money for you to have it rezoned. Honestly I would love to rent a two or 3 car garage and live in it. There were these cool apartments about shops where you rented both, but the owners tuned the apartments into offices. Super lame.

and 100 more > CaptDale - is secretly British 10/07/2016 at 12:17

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Damn. For your sake, I was hoping I’d be wrong.

CaptDale - is secretly British > and 100 more 10/07/2016 at 12:22

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Yeah same property tax for a 600k house here and a 300k house in SD

handyjoe > Milky 10/07/2016 at 12:30

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I wish I had lived here a couple years ago and jumped on one of the firehouses they sold recently. I just missed those.

Baskingshark > CaptDale - is secretly British 10/07/2016 at 12:34

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Yeah I kind of know how you feel; my wife and I have tossed around the idea of selling and moving somewhere cheap, like the Central Valley where I grew up. The same thing twice the house for half the money, but then the reality of the terrible weather, less money for the same jobs, etc etc and we decided to stay where we are .

Milky > handyjoe 10/07/2016 at 12:43

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Would have been so cool.

Tristan > Pickup_man 10/07/2016 at 12:47

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I grew up not far from you in SW MN. SF was the hangout spot! I even spent a summer living in Salem and working at the grocery store. I miss it there!

TheRealBicycleBuck > CaptDale - is secretly British 10/07/2016 at 12:48

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“... and a very open design with a great kitchen.”

My wife and i have come to HATE open designs. The typical situation: we are cooking in the kitchen and the kids are watching the TV in the living room. We can’t hear each other talk over the TV and the kids can’t hear the TV over the noise emanating from the kitchen. Even something as simple as getting ice in a glass is so loud that we have to rewind the show so we can hear what we missed.

Separate functions demand separate facilities in our next house. The problem would be mitigated with a good den space, but we really don’t want more house, we just want separation of function.

#OpenSpaceDesignSucks

Tristan > CaptDale - is secretly British 10/07/2016 at 12:54

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I bought a house in Florida in 2014- 1,600 sf, .25 acre, 2cg, 3bd/2ba... $124,000. It had been on the market for over a year. Roughly 6 months later my wife talked me into quitting my job and moving to Oregon... I put offers on 7 different houses here! If you aren’t viewing the house at the exact minute it’s posted online, you have no chance. We finally managed to buy a 60-year old ranch with similar specs to the FL house (minus 100sf and .5ba) for $300,000, and that was on pure luck.

Pickup_man > CaptDale - is secretly British 10/07/2016 at 12:54

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Living in snow is fun, living in bitter bitter cold, not so much. Luckily it doesn’t last all that long.

Pickup_man > Tristan 10/07/2016 at 12:57

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Cool! It’s surprisingly a very nice town and they do a great job at giving it a small town feel, especially the down town area.

I’ve got friends that live in Salem, small world.

RallyWrench > CaptDale - is secretly British 10/07/2016 at 12:57

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That they do. The house was a special kind of destroyed last night, it was ridiculous. They’re an awful lot of fun though. Stressful and difficult, but fun like nothing else.

Tristan > Pickup_man 10/07/2016 at 12:59

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Indeed! One of my childhood best friends lives in Salem- I loved with him that summer. Sadly, I haven’t talked to him in roughly 10 years. Time has a way of sneaking by...

CaptDale - is secretly British > RallyWrench 10/07/2016 at 13:04

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That’s what I hear. Gonna be around the shop tonight?

CaptDale - is secretly British > TheRealBicycleBuck 10/07/2016 at 13:08

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I like it. Though I could see the issue, but that’s why I will substitute kids for dogs.

TheRealBicycleBuck > CaptDale - is secretly British 10/07/2016 at 13:13

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You aren’t alone. It’s hard to find a new house these days that doesn’t have “open” design. Ever watch those house flipping shows. Open Design! Every single time.

Noise interference happens any time one person is trying to use the kitchen and another is trying to use the living room. It’s not just the kids.

RallyWrench > CaptDale - is secretly British 10/07/2016 at 13:29

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They don’t unlock the ankle chains until at least 6:00 on Fridays, so yep.

CaptDale - is secretly British > RallyWrench 10/07/2016 at 13:50

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Ok I have a Pioneer to drop off.

CaptDale - is secretly British > TheRealBicycleBuck 10/07/2016 at 13:52

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Interesting I never thought about that... Maybe I could get the BMW design team to come in and pipe quietness into my house where needed to keep things sounding better, but still have a the preformance of an open design.

RallyWrench > CaptDale - is secretly British 10/07/2016 at 13:54

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And I have a beer for you.

CaptDale - is secretly British > RallyWrench 10/07/2016 at 14:13

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Woo

TheRealBicycleBuck > CaptDale - is secretly British 10/07/2016 at 14:19

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I suppose we could invest in some noise-canceling headphones. But then I’d always look like this:

CaptDale - is secretly British > TheRealBicycleBuck 10/07/2016 at 14:21

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HA HA HA

kanadanmajava1 > CaptDale - is secretly British 10/07/2016 at 15:47

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Interesting. There seems to desert test facilities for both Honda and Hyundai/Kia just couple of miles from there. Also Edwards AFB and Mojave Spaceport are pretty close. You might find some interesting work from those places.

CaptDale - is secretly British > kanadanmajava1 10/07/2016 at 16:11

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Cool huh?! I noticed that too. And WW is there too. I don’t think I could live in the desert though.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > Needmoargarage 10/07/2016 at 16:59

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Can’t have it all!

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > CaptDale - is secretly British 10/07/2016 at 17:00

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true, but I left NJ and I don’t have any interest in regaining the traffic nightmare

kanadanmajava1 > CaptDale - is secretly British 10/07/2016 at 18:14

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Yes. I’m pretty done with the road salt so desert sounds very tempting...

CaptDale - is secretly British > kanadanmajava1 10/07/2016 at 18:17

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Uggg, yeah I would hate road salt.... Plus I guess the desert gets cold in the winter....

kanadanmajava1 > CaptDale - is secretly British 10/07/2016 at 19:05

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It should get quite cold during winter night in desert. But I could sleep over those times. Hibernating during the winter would be a very good solution. Those desert tortoises (that even seem to live near that place) are quite good at that...

CaptDale - is secretly British > kanadanmajava1 10/07/2016 at 19:10

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I love the cold, much more than heat. You can always get warmer, you can never get colder. In a general sense.