New to WAMAS - midwest transplant

[bues0022]

Hello all! I'm jumping the gun a little, but I'll be moving to the area late summer/early fall and wanted to start plugging in to this group a bit. 

 

A little bit about my previous tanks: I had a reef tank going for around 5 years, but I tore it down a couple years ago due to several moves and birth of my second child. After my wife and I move, I'll be looking to set back up again. My reef tanks before were mixed: 58 gallon Oceanic mostly SPS side-by-side with a 30 cube softy tank, all plumbed together with a common fuge. Needless to say, moving such a setup proved difficult! I also used to nerd out with different clownfish and anemone relationships and figuring out the nuances of keeping everyone happy.

 

I'm not entirely certain yet what I'm aiming at with my next tank, but I'm thinking of doing something a little different than a mixed reef. Maybe use the 30 cube as NPS, or garden eels, horses, or something else that's just a little off-the-beaten path. I'm sure I'll have clownfish - one of my best friends is a fantastic breeder out of Chicago - Mitch May with Booyah's Clowns. 

 

Like I said, we'll be moving due to my wife's job, but I'm desperately searching for one myself. My background: Ph.D. in mechanical engineering with a biomedical device design focus. I've worked at St. Jude Medical/Abbott for about 7 years. We're looking at being in an area from Chantilly to McLean, so if anyone could help me network for a job I would be most appreciative! (shameless self-plug....)

 

I'll have to search my home computer when I get back home tonight, I don't have any images of my old reef here at work. In any case, I'm excited to start getting to know you guys, and get my tank back up and running again after the move!

[Bruleyii]

Good news is Maryland isnt too far away and they do a lot of medical research there. Im sure it wont take long for you to find something. 

I saw you mentioned Chicago. Is that the part of the midwest you're from?

 

As for the tank, a nps tank would be cool. Saw someone one r2r just won tank of the month with one.

[bues0022]

I'm actually from the Minneapolis area, but my wife went to school in the Chicagoland area, so that's how I met Mitch and got to be good friends with him. He's got some unbelievably good looking fish, IMHO.

 

Not being from the area, I'm nervous about crossing bridges to get to/from work. I've heard stories about the traffic getting across them. Is the 495 bridge all that bad? (living Va, work Md?)

 

I've had ideas tossing around my head the past few years for NPS, and how to do some auto-feeders and nutrient management. It might be a fun challenge to tackle!

[Origami]

Welcome to WAMAS. We look forward to getting to know you better. So, you're in the Twin Cities area. Were/are you a member of TCMAS? Good club. Angie's kind of an acquaintance as we bump into each other at MACNA and on the phone at an occasional MASNA meeting. 

 

As David said, above, there's a lot of medical research going on up the 270 corridor in MD. The medical stuff that I've seen in my professional circle here in the western suburbs (VA) tends to be more IT-centric, focusing on Government contracts. It's good that you're looking early, though. Traffic around these parts can be brutal. Where your opportunities lie may help you decide where you'll first live. "Chantilly to McLean" is a pretty broad and densely populated (and heavily traveled) chunk of ground taking in some big parts of the Capitol Beltway and the I-66 parking lot. 

 

On the topic of tanks, you would have liked a talk that we had last year at one of our quarterly meetings. Kyle Martin (of Seahorse Savvy, a local enterprise and one of the largest commercial breeders of seahorses in the country) talked about ponies and their commercial operation. Kyle's at just about every meeting, as he's also a principal player at Dr. Mac's Pacific East Aquaculture (a WAMAS sponsor), so I'm sure that he'd be happy to tell you more about seahorses. In addition, there's at least one member here that's playing around with breeding ponies (though I've not checked in with him about what he'll be doing with the latest brood).

 

I take it that you'll be starting from scratch again- that your old tanks were sold and are gone? If that's the case, you'll probably want to join WAMAS as a supporting member (http://www.wamas.org/join.php) closer to your move. People are always selling stuff here in our members-only forums, which includes the For Sale, Auction, and Trading forums. There should still be a link in my signature that gives one old member's take on the benefits of membership. Anyway, with a little patience and advance planning, you'll probably be able to save a few bucks making re-entry a little less painful.

 

Again, welcome to our community. I hope that your move goes well and that you'll find a position soon enough. We've got a pretty good job market here. It may even be that your future employer will want you here even sooner!

[Origami]

Not being from the area, I'm nervous about crossing bridges to get to/from work. I've heard stories about the traffic getting across them. Is the 495 bridge all that bad? (living Va, work Md?)

 

 

Traffic is brutal here even without considering bridges. 

[Bruleyii]

Welcome to WAMAS. We look forward to getting to know you better. So, you're in the Twin Cities area. Were/are you a member of TCMAS? Good club. Angie's kind of an acquaintance as we bump into each other at MACNA and on the phone at an occasional MASNA meeting. 

 

As David said, above, there's a lot of medical research going on up the 270 corridor in MD. The medical stuff that I've seen in my professional circle here in the western suburbs (VA) tends to be more IT-centric, focusing on Government contracts. It's good that you're looking early, though. Traffic around these parts can be brutal. Where your opportunities lie may help you decide where you'll first live. "Chantilly to McLean" is a pretty broad and densely populated (and heavily traveled) chunk of ground taking in some big parts of the Capitol Beltway and the I-66 parking lot. 

 

On the topic of tanks, you would have liked a talk that we had last year at one of our quarterly meetings. Kyle Martin (of Seahorse Savvy, a local enterprise and one of the largest commercial breeders of seahorses in the country) talked about ponies and their commercial operation. Kyle's at just about every meeting, as he's also a principal player at Dr. Mac's Pacific East Aquaculture (a WAMAS sponsor), so I'm sure that he'd be happy to tell you more about seahorses. In addition, there's at least one member here that's playing around with breeding ponies (though I've not checked in with him about what he'll be doing with the latest brood).

 

I take it that you'll be starting from scratch again- that your old tanks were sold and are gone? If that's the case, you'll probably want to join WAMAS as a supporting member (http://www.wamas.org/join.php) closer to your move. People are always selling stuff here in our members-only forums, which includes the For Sale, Auction, and Trading forums. There should still be a link in my signature that gives one old member's take on the benefits of membership. Anyway, with a little patience and advance planning, you'll probably be able to save a few bucks making re-entry a little less painful.

 

Again, welcome to our community. I hope that your move goes well and that you'll find a position soon enough. We've got a pretty good job market here. It may even be that your future employer will want you here even sooner!

What he said ^ Can't stress enough about how crappy traffic is here. You can almost guarantee traffic will take you twice as long during rush hour as normal. Minimum. I myself moved from the midwest and had to deal with that adjustment, but I lived in a small town. 

[davidm]

welcome to the area.  Yes, traffic is brutal - I avoid it by either taking the metro or biking to work.  You might want to consider renting for a year to get settled and figure out the best place for you to  live after you land a job - and share/split the commute with your spouse.  The good news is that there are lots of good housing options/locations, with plenty of good schools for your kids.

 

I work at GWU (George Washington Univ) and collaborate with folk in the Biomedical Engineering Dept.  Happy to put you in touch with them if you think it would help.

 

Best, David

[zygote2k]

work as close to possible as home. driving to MD in the morning and returning in the evening is brutal- think an hour each way or longer.

270 corridor has lots of work but unless you live along it, it's gonna be rough

[bues0022]

Thank you everyone for the welcome and tips on the traffic in the area. I'll definitely admit it's going to be rough figuring out where to find a place to live with the appearance that mine and my wife's jobs might be some distance apart. I'll definitely be keeping your thoughts in consideration with respect to job prospects.