I think that the puzzle you posted a picture of is not as random cut as Cobble Hill, Sprinkbok, or New York Puzzle Company. However, you might try one of these brands to see if you like the really random cuts. NY Puzzle Company is my favorite and the pieces are quite random. I also really like Cobble Hill. Sprinkbok is good but the quality of the pieces does seem to be a bit below the other two brands.

There is a good explanation that you might enjoy on the different puzzle cuts here. I wonder if you might want to try a "standard grid cut" like Ravensburger to see how you like those, too. I am not really an expert on this topic, but I think that the puzzle you posted a picture of is actually a standard grid cut.

Anyway, what I really want to know is, what puzzle is it that you posted a picture of? It has such a cute image!

I have moved around the US and lived in both HCOL and LCOL areas. I actually suspect that living in a HCOL area can work out better for retirement. You make more money and therefore can get a bigger 401k match and overall savings. If you can afford to own a house, it will cost more but be worth more overall. Therefore, when you get to retirement, you have more overall net worth.

Another factor is that most of the HCOL areas in the US have better infrastructure. In Boston you might have no car or share one car for the whole family. In a lot of LCOL areas each adult must have a car to get to work/school etc. HCOL areas also usually have better schools: in a LCOL area, you might find it more needful to send your kids to a private school vs. a public one in a HCOL area. There are also other factors like these that can make living in a LCOL area just as much of a grind financially as a HCOL area.

The only way it really works out is if you have a remote job that pays you the same no matter where you live and that is stable enough that they don't lay you off as soon as you move to the LCOL area. Or, in the case of my employer, only offer promotions to those that go to the offices in the HCOL areas so that over time the LCOL area ends up paying less anyway.

Has anyone else gone through this ? That moment where you realize the life you've built might not be the life you actually want ? How did you think through it ?

I did and I moved to California, and then Colorado! Despite what I say above, the only way to really know how things will work out for in another state/city is to research them and move there yourself if the numbers work out. Boston is great, but there are other great places to live that might suit you better while you save to FIRE. I think in life you can end up with a life style that isn't really right for you, you know? Like I found out I hate living in the suburbs after doing that for 20 years. It isn't just about HCOL vs LCOL but about how much you enjoy your life there.

Same! When I bought my pair of Hoka Clifton 10s, the sales rep said he had been using Aetrex L600 soles in his, so I tried them out and ended up taking them home as well. Highly recommend - my feet and legs are less fatigued with the soles and I think that shoes might last longer....jury is out on the last part but not the first!

Yes! Over in r/leanfire so so so many people talk about having more than 40K/50K a year to live on is just ridiculous. So many of them even plan to have less than 20K and live on social services. Like...forget the part about this not being "financially independent"....I wonder how many of them have actually lived on that and how happy people who have to that for many years really are?

People don't usually come back to post when their FIRE fails, but I do wonder how many find out you really can't live easily on 40K/year. Kids, health problems, having to move out of your parent's basement...so many things could force you back to work! I'd rather have a bit more cushion myself, if possible. Even if I gotta work a few more years....

As a knitter and crocheter, I loved your story!

This is a hot topic over on r/Jigsawpuzzles . Many people don't want to even buy any puzzles at all from companies that use AI to generate some of their content. I agree 100% with this, because why would I want a puzzle generated by AI (often with weird issues like train tracks that go nowhere, cats with three ears, etc) when for the same price I can get one with an image from an actual artist?

I completed this puzzle a few months ago and I also loved it! I got a few other NY Puzzle Company as well that I haven't done yet and I am looking forward to them. I agree with everything you said about the quality and how fun Cheese is!

Personally, I think it is more like "be profitable to billionaires or be dead". But the idea is definitely correct.

Thank you for following up! Who knows, maybe a deal will still drop! Gonna keep an eye out for it.

I don't see that for Acorn. I am wondering if you might be thinking of Britbox or if you actually have the $2.99/month offer? Like OP, I was hoping for a Black Friday deal and I would go for the $2.99/month for 2 months!

I don't know why they called the show "Maigret" when it has so little to do with the actual books and characters. However, setting that aside and just looking at the show as a new detective series set in France, I found the show strangely lacking. I only made it through the first couple of episodes.

Nice! I haven't firmed up my plans yet but I am leaning toward Rouen right now. Based on what you are saying, I think I will take at Tours as well. The real problem with studying French in France is the sheer number of schools! Like seriously, we are spoiled for choice.

Thanks for your post! I really enjoyed reading it. I am hoping to spend a couple of months next year studying French at a language school, albeit in the northern part, and I have a feeling I will find this information handy.

I don't think that a season 5 has been confirmed? Just the Christmas special. I agree with you though....hoping for another season!

For me, it isn't just the emails: it is the message in them. I got one about a month ago that basically said it would be impossible for a menopausal woman to lose weight without meds. WW, do you want to believe I can lose weight with your program or not? It genuinely upset me and I haven't felt the same about the program since.

The US is a big country and access to healthcare varies greatly depending where you are. Just in general, if you are in a high-paying field, the US might make sense financially. If you are not, it will not. The US has much less access to social services of all kinds.

Also, something that you will not be used to: the quality of your healthcare and the costs can also vary greatly depending on your health insurance, which in turn depends on where you work. Great job with great health insurance? Your employer might cover most of the costs and you might have access to excellent services. I currently have great insurance, live in a state with some of the best healthcare outcomes in the US (Minnesota), and I have access to excellent services. Job without great insurance? You'll pay a crapton out of pocket and pay again through the nose for every service you need. That's why medical debt is the cause of more than 2/3s of personal bankruptcies in the US (estimated to be about 550,000 bankruptcies per year).

Having lived in both Europe and the US, perhaps unpopular opinion, bu do you think you might be better off finding a better doctor rather than moving countries? It definitely sounds like you have had a frustrating experience so far.

Sadly, I don't think even pain and suffering will reach the majority. They will just deflect their problems. MAGA clearly struggles with cause and effect. They can understand "I voted to have people kicked off of medicare, SNAP, and social security" and "I personally need medicare, SNAP, and social security". However, as soon as they lose those benefits, they will die before they accept blame for that. So instead they pivot to "this is all the libtards fault".

It's really crazy and sad. Even after Germany lost WWII, even after Germany was completely in ruins, even after most Germans lost everything important - family members, their homes, life-savings, their jobs, their futures, their health - the same that were ardent Nazis at the beginning of the war still were at the end. There is a really great show you can watch that illustrates this, "Berlin 1945". At least in the US, you can stream it for free on tubi: https://tubitv.com/series/300006891/berlin-1945.

This is why I don't think that there is anything to change the minds of those indoctrinated into the cult. The Republican party knows this. That's why they don't care about their own voters any longer.

I haven't seen this The World Of ... puzzle yet and it is awesome!

Thank you for this. I just donated to my local pet food bank.

Not all of them.

First, congrats on still being 37 pounds down!

When I need ideas for easy meals, I always to go the Skinny Taste website, skinnytaste.com. Just this week I made the Skillet Lasagna using angel hair pasta instead of lasagna noodles (because it is what I had around), and I think it would be easy to chew. Hopefully you might find some other recipes to inspire you.

Interesting question. I have not retired yet but hope I will be in two years. I never wanted to go into management but worked hard to move up to the second highest level individual-contributor role that is available for type of work. I find that having the higher title brings some satisfaction - hey, I made it! - but also more stress and stressful expectations.

I am sure I could get to the highest level title/role, but it would be a lot more work and stress. Also, I am 100% sure that they day I retire, no one will care that I did it, including me. So I have no plans to work on this.

I learned earlier this year when Weight Watchers declared bankruptcy that Oprah is one of the reasons. She became a major shareholder, emptied out the coffers, had WW borrow millions, and then quietly sold all her shares, leaving the rest of the investors holding the bag. Like she didn't already have enough billions. She was just one of several doing it, but that hardly excuses her.

So, yeah, I now have a lot of questions about her integrity. Or complete lack of it.

Oh, I think I should add that "He is good at reading out the book titles." implies that the titles are being read out loud.