Whoops! Here's AD; the other pic includes Chrysler Imperial, William Baffin, Flamenco Rosita, Bishop's Castle, and who knows what else together!

Steven

I’m in MI, north of Detroit and we lost power. My in-laws have a generator so we’re heading to their house. The latest update from the power company is that 95% of affected people will

have power by Sunday. Lots of people without power in my area.

Hopefully, my houseplants and seedlings I started will be ok.

Diane, I have family in the Nampa valley and have heard their complaints on taxes. If it’s not property tax, the state is generating revenue somewhere else, and if they’re not, you can bet their publuc works/roads/infrastructure are suffering for it. I still own a house in PA and the property taxes are higher there than where I live in Maryland (my daughter lives in the PA house) plus they have one of the highest taxes in gas in the country but no sales tax on non-luxury items.

We might get up into the high 70’s tomorrow, but then temps will plummet and we might get sleet tomorrow! Meanwhile my wintersown seed trays have started to sprout.

Steven: Your AD looks great, very tall compared to my much shorter AD. My zone 5a is too cold for some roses. I love your bush-shots, as always.

seasiderooftop Thank you for your fantastic tips, I love them !! My 20-year old daughter is going to work this summer as an actuary-intern REMOTE for a company in Seattle, WA, but I won't move to Seattle, WA. It's the least sun in the entire nation, and both I and daughter are tested low in vitamin D.

3/4 of actuary jobs are remote, so we can live anywhere in USA, plus my husband works as a computer-programmer, and his company also allows remote work with his experience.

Husband helped a friend (with remote job) to move to Texas. This friend knew zero people in Texas, but he loves Texas compared to our Chicagoland.

rosecanadian I joined Nextdoor forum for the past decade. I also recommend that to my Swedish mother-in-law in Colorado Springs. She lost her husband and was lonely, but through Nextdoor she found a gal whom she walks with daily, so it helps her a lot.

cab84 I'm so sorry about the power loss in MI last night 2/23/23. Here in NW Illinois, there's massive power loss, and some folks won't get power until this Sat. Thank God, I'm NOT affected since I'm in a newer residential area, with all the electrical cables are buried deep in the ground.

Diane Brakefield I'm so sorry that gophers destroyed a few of your roses. I look at this year David Austin 2023 catalog with several pics. of Olivia Austin, and I'm NOT impressed. The quality of Austin catalog has gone done. I still keep their much prettier catalogs dating back to 2011.

I guess that some of you got our snowmageddon. We definitely got a ton of snow in the mountains including Crater Lake.

Im with you Steven, let's get to real spring, I am so ready!

Diane, your stupid gophers got to Olivia. Regardless of how you felt about her, seeing gopher damage is so sickening. Time for the Gopher Hawk before they get one of your purple beauties.

Straw, my recommendation, don't buy sight unseen

II agree with Seasider, talk to the neighbors, visit at night and weekend . We had horrible, mean neighbors and if we had taken the time to meet them we wouldn't have been so surprised when they yelled at us day one.

Also pick a warmer Zone lol

Oregon has fairly low property tax, no sales tax but high state taxes. It is also a very liberal state that factors in but it is incredibly beautiful and things grow like

Crazy

Good luck in your search

Kristine LeGault 8a pnw Thank you for your experience. I have 8 older sisters across USA, plus 2 younger brothers. They stated that the people matter more than the statistics on any location.

Friends & family told me they want to move out of their homes NOT because of the weather, but because of icky neighbors: barking dogs all day, or just mean people. I'll make sure that I talk to the neighbors before buying a place.

A guy in my neighborhood died of stomach cancer at a young age. His neighbor has a barking dog all day and he could not even take a nap, that contributed to his early death. He's a very nice and easy-going guy.

My 78-year-old sister who lived in several places in the world, plus Texas, Michigan, and Florida gave me this tip: smaller neighborhood (Court, Drive, Circle) is more friendly than the bigger neighborhood (Road, Boulevard, Ave.)

She bought a house in a Cul de sac in Florida with 5 families in that enclosure and they form good friendships. She sold her house in Florida, but that circle of friends told her she can visit and stay with them anytime.

Seeing that I basically live in Seattle I can attest to the high cost of houses but I love it here-I however don’t get seasonal depression so I can see how that would be a deterrent to a lot of people. I have multiple relatives that get it and our grey days can make for a long winter

If I was going to move it would definitely be Oregon for me. A beautiful state that would still let me grow everything I love.

sultry_jasmine_nights (Florida) No State taxes for FL plus Homestead Exemption is a great deal !!

Your property is a great deal at under 130 K. 2 wells and ponds and spring plus fenced pasture are expensive to create, and they are priceless natural resources. My sister bought a house in Port Charlotte back in Dec. 2011 for $149,900 ($95/sqft), right after the price dropped by -61 % due to hurricane. Now her house is sold at $535,000 on 2/13/23 at ($340/sqft).

I have 3 siblings who live in Port Charlotte and Fort Meyers. One sister moved back to Michigan. My brother, the doc, reports that hurricane insurance is very expensive for that area. A few years ago, Fort Meyers was flooded, and he had to park his car more than a mile away.

Straw, I'm still voting for you to move to Missouri near me! lol

oursteelers 8B PNW My sister who moved from sunny & friendly Florida to Michigan has to cope with less sun. Her doc. has to double her anti-depressant meds.

My city crime rate is very low thanks to freezing cold winter and humid summer (I have central-air on for months in summer, and my cooling bill is higher than my heating bill).

One sister who lives in Northern CA (near Stanford University) travelled to many places in the world, and she said Oregon is the most beautiful state. From the news: "Oregon becomes the first state to decriminalize hard drugs like cocaine and heroin. It will allow people arrested with small amounts of hard drugs to avoid going to trial and jail time, by paying a $100 fine and attending an addiction recovery program. The treatment centers will be funded by revenues from legalized marijuana, which was approved in Oregon several years ago."

I grew up in Michigan and a teenager told me that after using marijuana, she did crazy things at night with her friends, and completely forgot what they did in the morning. From Homesack: " total crime rate in Portland is 5,261.6 per 100,000 people. That's 124.28% higher than the national rate of 2,346.0 per 100,000 people and 78.30% higher than the Oregon total crime rate of 2,950.9 per 100,000 people. "

I asked a rose grower about the crime rate in Portland, OR, and he shared with me the below:

"My soil is rich and loamy, friable, and well drained, but that's all me. I worked it hard and grow cover crops to dig in and innoculate with wine cap mycelium. I use chip drop twice a year to top dress chip mulch that the worms or something seems to bring the goodness from into the soil below. I grow bananas and palm trees and am growing banksia roses up onto the roof of my house, which is designed for it. They're not there yet though.

As for crime, we're out of control. I called Fire services for 35 gallons of spilled stolen gas in the street. 911 was 3 days out, and I had to call the state emergency line, which, oddly is a thing out here. City was just sloppy incompetent, not even regular incompetent. Couple of weeks ago near me there was an armed robbery on a busy street with children during rush hour. Police refused to follow the tracker in the stolen car. 3 arsonists started 35 fires in SE Portland this summer. The district attorney thanked the community for bringing the offenders to justice, then promptly released all 3 arsonists with no explanation. Thieves wake us up trying to break in through my soundproof ish basement door, which is supposedly thief resistant. I had to import it from Florida to get one that would resist possible future thieves trying to break the glass and gaining entrance. I had hoped I was being paranoid. nope. When my neighbor needs a ride home, he just steals a Subaru and dumps it running with keys in it may be hoping another thief steals it again. So, like I say crime is out of control out here. San Fran is worse I hear. My car has not been stolen." Rose grower in Portland, OR.

Yes, Ft Meyers and all the FL coastline is very vulnerable to hurricanes. They are getting scarier. If you are right on the coast, insurance is very expensive. Many coastal cities here are close to sea level. If one can go a little inland and higher above sea level, stuff gets cheaper and very cheap even compared to much of the country, thus its dubbed Poor Man's Paradise lol.

When people think of FL they want to live on the beach! However, there are a lot of great places inland in central and N FL, away from the larger coastal cities.

I dont want to live right on the beach due to flooding and high winds, overcrowding, crime, high costs, traffic, etc. Our last place was on a river, beach, & very low lying on the East Coast of FL at the edge of a major city. We had our barn flood flood knee-deep several times. I did not want to go through that again.

Here, we can still drive to the beach whenever we want but don't have to live there. Our car insurance dropped by half when we moved up here too!

There can be disasters in most places. Hurricanes, floods, tornadoes, earthquakes, fires, severe drought/water issues, mudslides, blizzards etc. I think you kinda have to pick what you can live with and position yourself to be able to prevent the worst damage. Plus, now we have other issues in todays world of more violence, political unrest, dwindling government & other resources, pandemics, yada yada. If one can be self reliant as possible no matter where one lives, they can withstand the harder times which surely will be coming.

Hopefully someone else can post more house hunting ideas. That was just our experience here lol. Now that the housing market is cooling down, it may be more of a buyers market soon especially in the rural areas.

Rural in some places may be harder to navigate than others. For example, in very mountainous or snowy area, it will be harder in the winter to get to town, work, etc. In a warmer, flatter, climate it will be an easier drive. We drive further to work now but it is faster due to NO traffic! So gas is actually cheaper with no stop and go traffic. It is a pleasanter drive too no scary crazy bridges full of truckers & speeders sliding around in the storms like our last place haha.

Sadly that is all true of Oregon.

Being on the I 5 is a big contributor to trafficking.

It runs the length of the west coast from Mexico to Canada.

Oregon has the highest rate of overdoses and homelessness is epidemic.

Home prices are crazy high.

I guess that the Chamber of Commerce won't be recruiting me any time soon.

But, all of that being said we have great churches and friendly people . Mild temperatures and a wonderful growing season.

Love Kristine's sense of humor .. I don't think the Chamber of Commerce recruit me either. I googled "best cities and states to garden", and found the below list from The Mercury News:

"Here’s the top 10 most beautiful rose gardens in America:

• John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art Rose Garden, Sarasota, Florida
• San Jose Municipal Rose Garden, San Jose
• International Rose Test Garden, Portland, Oregon
• Longmont Memorial Rose Garden, Longmont, Colorado
• Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden, New York City
• Berkeley Rose Garden, Berkeley
• Butchart Garden Rose Arbor, Victoria, B.C.
• The Park of Roses, Columbus, Ohio
• Jardin Botanique, Montreal
• Elizabeth Park, Hartford, Connecticut."

From the above list, I visited Elizabeth park in zone 6b with 212 rose beds and 75 rose arches. The climbing roses arches were the most impressive, it was like paradise. CT has longer spring season than Chicagoland, so the roses were perfect beauty. I lived in CT for more than a year back in 1987, summer was cooler & less humid than Chicagoland. A table fan was sufficient for summer heat & no need for central air.

Anyone visit the above rose parks? Would love to hear your experience and the climate in each garden. Thank you.

Dade City, FL (not the same as Dade County FL/Miami) is also known in FL for good rose growing. It is a little bit inland, NE of Tampa. My maternal great grandparents retired there after farming in N Iowa their whole lives. My great grandmother always had lots of roses.

I think Phoenix and surrounding areas were great for growing roses. As long as they got watered enough. I had no issues with pests or disease other than an occasional Japanese Beetle or two. My mom and grandmother grow/grew awesome roses there too.

S Cal is pretty good for roses too, as far as I remember. I think I had some rust issues there..here its summer blackspot lol.

San Jose is the place I'd move to if there weren't so many people in the area. I lived there for a number of years and always thought it was just the best climate for flower gardens. In the older parts of town grew lots of roses and everything else. I've read many good things about the Municipal Garden and looked at the outstanding photos of their roses, which is no.1 on my list of gardens to visit. I didn't realize British Columbia and Quebec had joined the US. I visited Butchart Gardens a couple of times many years ago and didn't like the gardening they were doing at the time--lots of massed flowers in beds like the old Victorian planting out. It's certainly not a look that's in style now, but this was so long ago that they could have changed a lot since then. I lived in Southern California and would pick San Jose over SoCal for roses, though lots of lovely things grow well there. Then I'll put my two cents in for Idaho, a Mediterrean type climate with a zone 7 winter. Roses grow great here, with few insect pests and no fungal disease. But you have to irrigate, preferably with a drip system, and we do have winter.

Kristine, western Oregon is still the best place on earth to live in, and I speak as one who lived there, had family there, and lost count of the many times I've visited over the years. Home prices are crazy high here, too. It's all those Easterners that want to live in the West--ha. Diane

I love Oregon. I thought Washington state was my second choice. California and Boise would be great too.

cab84 - I sure hope you get power back soon. It's great that you have someplace to go with power.

Straw - come to think about it...I think I learned about Nextdoor from you! LOL Maybe you should move to Calgary. LOL We're the best city for sunshine hours in all of Canada. :)

Kristine - we have so much snow (and it's cold) that my dogs won't even go outside. They stick their heads out and look at me...I can hear them saying "are you crazy?" LOL

@rosecanadian I'm desperate for sunshine with my low vitamin D at 35.8 (norm is 30-100). During cloudy days, I get more sleepy. My 20-year old daughter is also low in vitamin D. My brother, the doc. in Florida was tested low in vitamin D, he's 2 years younger at 59.

Sunniest States 2023 (worldpopulationreview.com)

Florida ranks less in sun than 9 other states. Arizona ranks the most sun. Below ranking is from most sun Arizona to least sun in Washington (going from left to right down descending rows)

"Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Texas, California, Colorado, Oklahoma, Kansas

Utah, Florida, Arkansas Louisiana Mississippi Nebraska Georgia Alabama

South Carolina, Missouri, Tennessee, Wyoming, North Carolina

Kentucky, Illinois, Virginia, South Dakota, Iowa, Indiana, Maryland, Idaho

Delaware, West Virginia, Ohio, New Jersey, Wisconsin, Michigan
Rhode Island, Connecticut, Minnesota, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania,

North Dakota, New York, New Hampshire, Montana, Oregon, Vermont, Maine, Washington."

From above ranking, I would move to WARMER WINTER and CHEAPER states of Georgia, Missouri, Tennessee. The above ranking of sunlight is correct. Summer was a breeze in less sun CT, was moderate warm in Michigan (we didn't have air-conditioning when I grew up in MI). Illinois in my zone 5a with more sun is brutal in summer, I need trees to shade myself while working in the garden. I visited my mother-in-law in Colorado Springs and the sun was unbearable. I should had worn a hat.

For our house of $353,600 (as of 2/14/23), our property tax is $8,026 yearly in Illinois at 2.27%. The same house would cost only $2,510 in annual property tax in Tennessee at 0.71%. We save $5,500 in property tax, plus don't have to pay $3,500 state income tax for husband's job, plus don't have to pay $3,500 state income tax for my daughter's job. Total savings per year of $12,500 if we move to Tennessee with no income tax. Florida also has no income tax and low property tax of 0.97% but it's too far from us.

I dispute those rankings above. This area of Idaho is incredibly sunny--it's sunny as !@#$ right now. I certainly don't have low vit C at 77 years old. Diane

Lots of sun produced this.

Sunniest States 2023 (worldpopulationreview.com)

It's sunny now in Illinois, zone 5a as of 2/24/23. The ranking above is based on average annual sunlight for ALL seasons. I never wear a hat when I lived in CT, but in Illinois I needed a hat to work in the garden before my trees got big enough for shade.

Polluted cities are more cloudy & less sun than non-polluted countryside. When I drove from my NW Chicago to Michigan, it's like going through the "gray" zones, very cloudy through polluted cities of Chicago and Indiana's Gary & Benton Harbor & South Bend. The minute I get into Michigan's country side, it's bright blue sky and wonderful sunlight.

A countryside always has more sun than polluted cities with smog like Los Angeles. I offered to mail a friend near Los Angeles some tomato seeds from my garden in Illinois, and he cited not enough sun to grow them.

The sun was non-stop in Colorado when I was there for 1 week, there's no clouds, it's just bright blue sky. My head suffered with no hat during my visit.

Cooler summer Michigan has more clouds (I lived in Michigan for 12 years, 1 year in CA in San Jose, 2 years in CT, and 33 years in Illinois). My skin was much lighter in Michigan and CT due to lack of sun, and my skin got very dark & deep tan in CA, and also tanned in IL with more sun.

I grew up in Vietnam for 13 years before coming to USA as legal refugee escaping from Communism & air-lifted by US helicopters from Saigon embassy. Vietnam was brutal in sunlight. No one wore short sleeve shirt nor shorts; sun was too hot on bare skin. My Dad broke out laughing when he saw my sister wearing long pants, long sleeved shirt, plus a big cone hat, plus walking with an umbrella in full-sun. People in Vietnam carry umbrellas to shield from the hot sun, rather than the rain.

I have darker skin as an Asian, thus less vitamin D from sunshine. See below excerpt: "According to research, the higher amount of melanin in dark skin interferes with the skin’s ability to create vitamin D from sunlight. It helps reduce how much UV radiation penetrates through the epidermis (2). Black skin essentially allowed about 3x LESS radiation in than light skin.

With all of this information combined, this means that darker-skinned people must spend more time out in the sun to produce the same amount of vitamin D as lighter-skinned people."

Just drink a glass of milk every day of your life and drink a glass of orange juice, too. Maybe some grapefruit juice when you tire of orange juice. I don't take any vitamin supplements, either, or calcium supplements, which have been discouraged in recent years for women who aren't lactose intolerant, or who do not have osteoporosis. Diane

Thank you, Diane for those tips. I'm lactose-intolerant and recently I switched from Flax-milk to soy-milk since it's more fortified with vitamin D.

Researching on the statistics of different states help me to understand about growing roses. I don't sleep well with high humidity, so I check on the statistics of humidity across USA, and below research showed that the most humid states are, ranking from most humid: Alaska, Florida, Louisianna, Mississippi, Hawaii, Iowa, Michigan, Indiana, Maine, Vermont, Alabama, Wisconsin, Ohio, Rhode Island, Washington, Georgia, MA, AR, DE, and my Illinois.

TN is a bit more humid than CT and Missouri, and TN has way more rain at 51 inches. per year, beating Georgia at 50 inches. per year

The most humid states have more blackspots pressure. I prefer drier IL over more humid Michigan, still remember how foggy it was in spring for Michigan. IL rarely has fog, one day per year the most.

The most dry and least humid states are: Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, California, and Idaho.

Most Humid States 2023 (worldpopulationreview.com)

We have crazy late night and early morning fog sometimes. One morning when we first moved here, I looked out from the back porch and it looked like the the barn was floating in a sea of fluffy white clouds. I couldnt see across the road or even an half acre away in any direction. Our white dogs looked like giant ghost wolves running through white smoke. It was weird! lol

Straw - I don't remember my Vit D numbers, but I did get osteoporosis when I was in my 30s. They said my numbers were extremely low. So, we're twinsies on this. LOL You're doing all the right things by researching so heavily. Good job!

Diane - gorgeous!!!! SWOON!

Sultry - that would have been a very beautiful and eerie sight!

Straw, you are so right about the humidity of Michigan. Considering we were a swamp and completely surrounded by the Great Lakes, it makes sense. We have many foggy, damp, overcast days autumn through spring and hot, humid summers. The black spot pressure is very high. However; I love it here. All four seasons. No volcanoes. No earthquakes. No tsunamis. Lower wildfire risk especially in the developed southern LP. Tornadoes, snow, and occasional ice are our banes, but we usually avoid the worst of it. Like I've stated before and can be checked, Michigan's agricultural diversity is second only to California. Think about how incredible THAT is!

Steven: Thank you for those wondrous pics. that remind me of my Mom's house in Michigan countryside. The humidity and fog cuts down on the intensity of summer sun, thus MI has cooler summer compared to zero clouds and bright blue sky of Colorado Springs (zone 5b), where my Swedish mother-in-law lives.

Here in my Chicagoland, we don't have fog, but we have smog and air-pollution. That takes away full-sun and blue sky. Driving from Chicago through Indiana and into Michigan is like going from a gray movie to a bright and sunny color movie where the sun is brighter, and the sky is bluer.

Crime rate is another consideration. My Mom lived in Michigan countryside for most of her 90+ years, and she only locked her door at night when she went to bed.

Below link lists the states with the most crime for 2023, Washington moves up as most crime through the past few years. My 20-year-old daughter got a REMOTE actuary summer internship with a company in Seattle, WA. But we won't move there if they offer her a full-time job when she graduates in spring 2024. WA also has the least sun in the entire nation, and I'm vitamin D-deficient.

Crime Rate by State 2023 (worldpopulationreview.com)

Here are the 10 states with the highest crime rates:

1. District of Columbia - 7,986 per 100,000 people
2. New Mexico - 6,462 per 100,000 people
3. Louisiana - 6,408 per 100,000 people
4. Colorado - 6,091 per 100,000 people
5. South Carolina - 5,973 per 100,000 people
6. Arkansas - 5,899 per 100,000 people
7. Oklahoma - 5,870 per 100,000 people
8. Washington - 5,759 per 100,000 people
9. Tennessee - 5,658 per 100,000 people
10. Oregon - 5,610 per 100,000 people

If you are not slready familiar with the site StrawChicago, Sperlings Best Places is s good resource for data on crime, climate, cost of living etc.

Markay MD-Zone7A Thank you, will look that up.

Straw, I don't know how accurate your listing of crime rates is--it depends on the accuracy of your source and their political leanings. I just read a listing with a lot of differences from your posted listing. Stats can be played with. I don't believe anything until I see it in two or three independent sources, and I prefer a lot of scientific evidence to back any claim up. My background and education are in science like yours. That's my final post on this topic. Back to roses. Diane

Diane: Accuracy is my utmost concern (My B.S. is in computer science, and I worked as a C-programmer). Relocation is costly so I research thoroughly before moving out of IL when my daughter graduates from college in spring 2024. My nephew also depends on my info. as to what law school he attends in fall 2023. Law school tuition is over 200K per 4 years at top-law universities. Crime Rate by State 2023 (worldpopulationreview.com)

The listings above are done by: World Population Review is an independent organization without political affiliations. Their address is: World Population Review, 340 S Lemon Ave, Walnut, CA 91789. Any questions email them at shane@worldpopulationreview.com.

I googled "how trustworthy is world population review?", and I get below result:

World Population Review - Media Bias/Fact Check (mediabiasfactcheck.com)

" Overall, we rate World Population Review Least Biased based on providing data with minimal bias."

Their data is from the FBI and police report for each state. My daughter's career is statistician/actuary. Cities hires statisticians to compile the crime rate, then report it to the FBI.

For each location with actuary job openings for my daughter, I subscribe to Google News on that city. The news from Seattle, WA and Portland, OR are just as bad as Chicago, IL.

Oregon had second-highest addiction rates in the nation in 2020 - OPB

Washington state’s rise in homelessness outpaced the nation’s, according to report | The Seattle Times

New Data Reveals Which States Have Most Car Theft, When Drivers Are Most Susceptible (newsweek.com) From Newsweek Dec. 2021: The top states for vehicle theft per 100,000

1. Colorado — 524.3
2. New Mexico — 427.6
3. California — 427.6
4. Missouri — 393.2
5. Oregon — 391
6. Hawaii — 379.8
7. Oklahoma — 378
8. Washington — 356.1
9. Nevada — 336.4
10. Utah — 316.6

Here's a report from the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Census Bureau in March 2022. These are the 10 states with the worst homeless problem: NY, Hawaii, CA, OR, WA, Alaska, MA, NV, VT, CO.

U.S. News and World Report is a trusted source of ranking. It ranks below 10 states as safest. I agree, I have sisters and friends living in Idaho, CT, and Wyoming. One sister lived in MA, then NY, and now Idaho. She didn't even lock her house in MA. The 10 safest states are in this order: Maine, New Hampshire, Idaho, New Jersey, CT, Vermont, MA, Rhode Island, Wyoming, and Virginia. Safest States in the U.S. | US News Best States

I find that real estate companies share the most accurate ratings for their clients. Here's a ranking of the 10 Most Dangerous Cities in America 2023 by PropertyClub. I have 2 nephews who live in Rochester Hills, only 30 min. from Detroit, and Rochester Hills is ranked A+ in safety by home-rating sites. So it depends on how far from a big city, and the quality of law enforcement in that suburb. 10 Most Dangerous Cities in USA (2023) | PropertyClub

1. Memphis, Tennessee
2. St. Louis, Missouri
3. Oakland, California
4. Albuquerque, New Mexico
5. Baltimore, Maryland
6. New Orleans, Louisiana
7. Detroit, Michigan
8. Lubbock, Texas
9. Chicago, Illinois
10. Stockton, California

Housing prices are out of control here in Oregon. It's really hard for working class folks to afford any place to live. It takes two incomes to try to get stable housing. Rent prices keep going up for really awful little apartments. My husband and I were lucky to be able to tbuy a house 10 years ago before everything started ballooning. Our mortgage is considerably less than rent for a tiny run down apartment. And I don't know how we'd awe'dawe'd (gremlins 🙄) buy a house today.

TheThe number of people without safe and stable housing grows every day in Oregon and it's heartbreaking. I see more and more people struggling day aand it simultaneously breaks my heart and make me incredibly angry that we live in a society that..is so unjust

Straw, what you may find interesting about Oregon having such high. addiction rates....we also have the fewest amount of addiction treatment services per Capita. I see a relationship. It's also heartbreaking.

@librarian_gardner_8b_pnw It's sad for Oregon being the most beautiful state, but with drug problems and out-of-reach housing. At least Washington gives retirees a break in tax, here's the info. from below link:

2022 Best States to Retire In for Tax Purposes | SoFi

"Generally Social Security income is subject to federal tax. But some states also tax Social Security above a certain income threshold, while other states offer tax exemptions for individuals in lower tax brackets.

The states that tax Social Security benefits are Colorado, Connecticut, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, and West Virginia.

Many states tax income from pensions and 401(k) plans, but 12 states do not. These states are Alaska, Florida, Illinois, Mississippi, Nevada, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wyoming.

Most of these states don’t have state income tax at all, EXCEPT for Illinois, Mississippi, and Pennsylvania. Alabama and Hawaii tax 401(k) plans and IRAs, but not pension plans.

What are the 3 states that don’t tax retirement income?

Nine states don’t tax retirement plan income because they have no state income taxes at all: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wyoming.

Illinois, Mississippi and Pennsylvania don’t tax distributions from 401(k) plans, IRAs, or pensions. Alabama and Hawaii don’t tax pensions, but do tax distributions from 401(k) plans and IRAs.

Which states do not tax your 401k when you retire?

Alaska, Alabama, Hawaii, Florida, Illinois, Mississippi, Nevada, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming do not tax 401(k) plans when you retire."

I find that the crime rate goes UP with higher population density, plus warmer weather. Not much crime in my zone 5a since it's freezing here at -30 F below zero windchill factor during Christmas.

Naperville is 15 min. from me. Naperville is ranked the safest city in America for 2023, according to a study by online personal finance data company MoneyGeek.

The Safest Cities in America | MoneyGeek.com

"The company combined the most recent FBI crime statistics with academic research on the societal costs of different types of crimes to estimate the cost of crime in 263 cities with populations greater than 100,000. "

Other cities within my driving distance in Chicago suburbs: Joliet, Schaumburg, Palatine, Arlington Heights are also named the top safest cities in America. Too cold and too windy outside for crime. Also too hot in summer for crime. My electric cooling bill for the summer is higher than my gas heating cost in winter.

Looks like I'll be going on a solid week (full seven days) without power.

I'm betting based on the competencies of the crews and how things go (one of those things you just /know/) it will be Friday before I get power. Absurd. They keep bumping the date another day out. Of course, we're supposed to get a snow event this Friday, too.

Steven

Getting back to roses and the winter garden (much more enjoyable topics than acknowledging the important statistics of crime in higher populated areas which also tend to be blue), does anyone else enjoy touring their gardens and visiting your roses and plants on the better days? 

Here we have Gertrude Jekyll by the fence post, Sweet Spirit at the corner of the house, my poor Therese Bugnet which was decimated my cane girdlers over the last two years, and I pulled Madame Issac Pereire's blankets back to discover multiple bud eyes just waiting to burst forth in a glorious spring rush! 

I heard Redwing Blackbirds the day after the ice storm, so it is now spring. Buds are forming on my southern daffodils, too!

Steven

Gertrude... She didn't show in my initial post, but might appear later

My seeding of Chianti appears hardy, hyacinths and daffodils are getting going, and my pussy willows!

Steven

Steven, watch the stats from biased sources.

Sheila, great to hear from you! Not to mention, my own personal observations and experiences bearing this out being from Michigan and having lived in Detroit proper while attending schools. It's not just reference sources, it's where many of the media-covered violent crimes happen, and it's more than other district types! Chicago and Illinois alone are fantastic examples.

I'm always leery of biased sources; like those that say law-abiding citizens with guns of any type being a dangerous threat to society. Or those that say I'm a racist because of my skin colour or that my struggles as a member of the LGBT community don't matter either because same said factor. Or perhaps the fear mongers that claim gas stoves are responsible for climate change and are too dangerous to have in a house.

I know exactly what bias looks like, and it's the mainstream media.

Or those that attempted to discredit, shame, insult, and smear me and my opinions and wished ill upon me for it during COVID even though statistics are bearing ME out as correct. I quite clearly recall you being one of those hate-filled and nasty people, my dear. I'm afraid that my experiences interacting with you and others on this forum in the very recent past indicate you really shouldn't be throwing such stones in glass houses regarding watching out for bias. It just is what it is, and I'm not going to back down or forget these things. Remember; this whole response could have been avoided but the choice was made to encourage explanation. What it comes to down to at this point is maintaining civilized conversation and respect; something over also not been able to have from many here. All because I disagreed or noted an observable phenomenon.

I would never entertain anyone that tells me not to trust what I've experienced or seen first-hand.

Steven

Oh, I will probably regret not just minding my own business but here goes...

Steven, 

I remember a certain thread very well, and actually just went back to reread it. It was one of the old seasonals, where you shared your experiences and were met with a very rude reply. I actually said something back then because I thought it was unfair that you were being denigrated for merely stating your experience. But it was not Sheila who attacked you there! 

Sheila was the first person to help me out here on this forum when I was a total rose newbie and patiently answered all my silly questions (along with Roseseek). I have never seen anything but kind and sincere comments from her (not to mention beautiful rose pictures!).   I don't think it's ok to cast her as a nasty person, just because she has a different opinion than you, just like I didn't think it was ok when you were being maligned for your opinions. I really enjoy her posts, and yours too! You both grow such beautiful roses. Can't we all just get along? 😅

It's sad that the last two years have been so full of division and intolerance, but I don't feel that this forum was the worst of it in any way shape or form, if anything in my experience this was a nice place to come and NOT have covid/vaccines be the topic of conversation… Just the love of roses!

I wish you the best in your new garden!

seasiderooftop You did not witness how Steven was attacked for his NOT getting Covid-shot due to ALREADY got Covid and already has natural immunity. That was worse than the attack on me for NOT getting flu-shot, after my 2015 flu-shot reaction that I wish I could die, it was worse than child-birth.

I witnessed 2 people were harsh on Steven on Covid-vaccination. Steven has a right to defend himself in his OWN thread for what he was criticized unfairly for his right to refuse FORCED vaccination when he already got Covid.

My entire family ran away from Communists back in 1975, leaving everything behind in Vietnam.

This is a democratic country, and NOT a communist country.

I believe in freedom of speech for Steven, esp. in HIS OWN THREAD. I don't like forum-cops who nitpick on others. It's communism when everyone has to think alike and has zero right to defend oneself or stating one's opinions in ONE'S OWN THREAD.

I agree with pretty much everything you said there Straw. I wasn't trying to be any kind of forum cop, that sounds exhausting. It just bothers me when online disagreements turn into painting someone as a bad person over a difference of opinion.

I think I should stop commenting about this, because (predictably) I am making myself into a lightning rod in this conversation. I really don't care about anyone's covid vaccine status, that wasn't my point at all. 

Best wishes to you, to Steven and to Sheila in this lenten period, and can I just say let's keep in mind that none of us is perfect... Not even me 😜

Seaside, I appreciate where you're coming from. It's just that I have truly been a victim of the mob mentality of particular socio-political groups and demographics within this forum, and I do believe that I have handled the hatred and ill-will with far more grace, respect, and tolerance of these transgressions against me than what I received from them to begin with. It's part of true maturity to accept the experiences, opinions, and observations of others. This is what freedom of speech truly is. It's not permitting ONLY what oneself agrees with. Unfortunately, I don't experience such tolerance, intelligence, reason, and maturity in return.

I can accept that. Certainly no one is perfect, either, and never will be. I can assure that my points of view are not somehow "evil" or nearly as barbaric and people-threatening as I've been accused of!

Without respect of others and willingness to accept another's opinion and real experiences, there will never be progress made socially or otherwise. We have clearly slid backwards from where we were at in the 1990's. Today's world is not the one that I experienced or was promised growing up.

Straw, thank you for your support, respect, and informative feedback regarding the situations we experience today. I appreciate and value it very much. It can be so stressful being the pariah, but I consider it to be one of the important life burdens I must bear and why I continue coming to this forum to view everyone's gorgeous photos and listen their stories and experiences.

We certainly wouldn't be telling someone what they're experiencing their own microclimate is wrong because of our own gardens' climate being different now, would we?

I've been here over ten years, many others longer than that, and I will continue to visit, share, and get my warm and fuzzies from ALL y'all's beautiful gardens that fill me with inspiration! 

'Albertine' cloaking a dead plum tree...

No matter the disagreements, never forget I still value you!

Steven

Steven - I'm very sorry that you've felt vilified on our rose forum. I wish everyone here was treated in a safe manner...we all need a safe place, where we can be who we are without judgment. Hang in here with us. :) :)

Ah, I love your photos of Spring, Steven! I know I shouldn’t be complaining because spring comes sooner in my area than for some of you, but I’m impatient anyway! Just now my husband and I are in Ireland enjoying a visit with two daughters who are currently working at a wilderness camp for troubled young people. I knew we were coming at a bad time of the year to really enjoy the beauty of the countryside, but I am finding lots of beauty anyway. Some of the best beauty is seeing my lovely daughters happy and thriving. Our original plan was to come later in the spring or summer and extend our visit long enough to hop over to mainland Europe and visit several gardens on my list, but plans changed. Maybe someday… One of Ireland’s gardens I hoped to see is Jimmy Blake’s Huntingbrook Gardens. I even thought a winter visit might be worthwhile, but it doesn’t open till April. So we’re enjoying lots of other attractions.
We plan to be home by this weekend and I was hoping to come back to warm Arizona spring! Not to be. It’s supposed to snow there tonight and hit the 20’s through the weekend. Seems so much of California and the Southwest are getting hit with bizarre weather patterns. But Spring will come! Thanks for showing us some hope, Steven.

Judi - we did just about the same thing a few years ago when my daughter was taking part of her grade 12 year in England. We brought her over there....I wanted to go to Austins greenhouse...but it was the opposite direction and we didn't have time. Darn.

@sultry_jasmine_nights (Florida-9a-ish) I tried to message you to ask about Northern FL but your profile doesn't allow message. Would you please message me (my profile allows anyone to message me). I have a few questions to ask about northern Florida, I have 4 siblings who live in lower parts of Florida, but not in northern Florida. Thank you.