Yes I have probably 20 years to go. I am at the stage where I don’t want to 
just hop jobs just for the sake of chance and will soon be in the territory of 
possible age discrimination where they prefer to hire some young kid instead of 
me. 

Sent from my iPhone

> On Aug 15, 2022, at 12:30 PM, dan penoff.com via Mercedes 
> <mercedes@okiebenz.com> wrote:
> 
> Some excellent points, Jim. One thing to consider is how close you are to an 
> exit strategy, that is, retirement. Kaleb’s still got some years before he 
> can start working full time at Okie Acres making yummy Maine treats with the 
> Missus and getting all of that German iron back into shape once he gets his 
> shop sorted out. You gotta be in it for the long game at this point, so 
> that’s  consideration as well that can often overshadow personal preferences, 
> such as travel. I did much the same when I took the job back at the County in 
> Florida over the job in Flagstaff - less commuting and more money/better 
> benefits, even though it’s something I don’t enjoy doing and never will. That 
> could easily change and I could flip-flop again, but it would be a final move 
> that would force me to make (permanent) changes in my life I’m ready for but 
> Mrs. Dan isn’t quite up for at this point. It’s all about compromise, isn’t 
> it?
> 
> I do miss the interaction with my co-workers, as we are a tightly knit team 
> who have worked together closely over nearly 10 years with common interests, 
> more friends than co-workers. That being said, I like not having to spend 
> money for gas, food and clothing, as well as the use of my time to commute, 
> all of which are higher on the hierarchy of needs for me than personal 
> interaction. We make up for it by getting together for lunch at the office 
> maybe once a month.
> 
> -D
> 
>> On Aug 15, 2022, at 1:08 PM, Andrew Strasfogel via Mercedes 
>> <mercedes@okiebenz.com> wrote:
>> 
>> I retired during the pandemic because I missed the human interaction with
>> my co-workers.  That outweighed any financial considerations.
>> 
>>> On Mon, Aug 15, 2022 at 12:59 PM Jim Cathey via Mercedes <
>>> mercedes@okiebenz.com> wrote:
>>> 
>>> Your current company has shown their stripes.  They are in an outsourcing
>>> mood, driven by greed.  I have never seen an outsourcing drive that
>>> resulted
>>> in happier customers.  Usually quite the opposite.  If loyalty was any
>>> factor in
>>> their planning, they wouldn't have been outsourcing.  That, combined with
>>> your
>>> almost-left, means you can probably count on somewhat less than zero there.
>>> Almost all companies basically have zero loyalty baked into them, it's
>>> virtually
>>> guaranteed by the accountant-in-charge mentality that rules these days.
>>> Family companies could value loyalty.  I work for one, they do, and it's
>>> excellent.
>>> But, one shake-up in the family and that could change.  It was almost sold
>>> last
>>> year, and overnight would have been part of a corporate umbrella, but owner
>>> found he just couldn't do it.  So, reprieved.
>>> 
>>> My last company they talked about loyalty and how valuable our small office
>>> was.  (Since we'd invented a major part of their product portfolio.)  But,
>>> there
>>> were continuing small signs that made us nervous.  Yes, we were
>>> 'valuable'...
>>> up until the day they announced they were closing our office entirely,
>>> buh-bye.
>>> We were, arguably, their best people.  We were, arguably, their
>>> least-expensive
>>> domestic resources, due to location in flyover territory.  We were, not
>>> arguably,
>>> their office with the lowest turnover, and thus the greatest knowledge
>>> retention.
>>> But none of that mattered once corporate politics and musical chairs got
>>> started.
>>> They split up our stuff between India, who couldn't retain anybody long
>>> enough
>>> to even complete the training, and a bunch of silicon valley newbies whose
>>> questions in meetings beforehand made me wonder about their basic
>>> competency.
>>> (Bunch of 'did you try turning it off and then back on again' script
>>> kiddies trying to
>>> take over network backbone gear with five-nines SLAs on redundant hardware?
>>> It is to laugh.)
>>> 
>>> I and a few others were offered work-from-home deals.  I also had a lateral
>>> move on the table, working for the theme park doing _very_ different
>>> things.
>>> Also work-from-home.  Hmm, same pay same conditions.  One for the same
>>> clueless lying assholes, and one for a local family-owned company with an
>>> excellent reputation.  Wasn't even a contest, I didn't even look at the
>>> secondary
>>> benefits, and never looked back.
>>> 
>>> So, which people do you trust more?  Money is only one of the factors in
>>> having a good life.
>>> 
>>> If I were offered 2x my current salary, but would have to travel 3 weeks
>>> out of
>>> the month, I would not take it.  Wouldn't even consider it.  Just sayin'.
>>> I know
>>> what's important to me.
>>> 
>>> -- Jim
>>> 
>>> 
>>> _______________________________________
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>>> 
>> _______________________________________
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> 
> _______________________________________
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> 
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> 
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