what city did you choose for the test?

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What audition city did you choose for the April 2015 test?

Boston, MA
26
34%
Tampa, FL
8
10%
Atlanta, GA
10
13%
Kansas City, MO
11
14%
San Francisco, CA
7
9%
Los Angeles, CA
10
13%
Seattle, WA
5
6%
 
Total votes: 77

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BobF
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Re: what city did you choose for the test?

Post by BobF »

mfc248 wrote:
jjwaymee wrote:I ended up choosing Boston. It looks like the airport is closer to downtown than Atlanta. Plus, I've never been there and I'd love to walk some or all of the Freedom Trail.

It may all be for naught anyway, even if I score an audition. Starting in July my professional life is not my own for a couple of years while I train to become a control room operator. If there is an exam on the Friday before the audition date then I prolly ain't going.
You've just described a large part of why I'm on the fence about even taking the test at all. I'm well into the same training program at another nuclear plant, and so my ability to take time off from work on short notice is quite constrained, especially from September through next March.

I took particular note of the responses to one question on Monday's Jeopardy! Fan live panel; "how long between test and taping?" Eric's reply that it was about a year leaves open the possibility (though highly unlikely) that if I were to get through the test and an audition, The Call could come at a time when I'd have no choice but to decline the offer to play. Combine that with a long haul to any of the audition options (I live between Philadelphia and Reading) and I'm leaning toward waiting until the next test.
You worry too much. The audition in and of itself is a lot of fun. If I wasn't in the contestant pool, I might be tempted to try again simply because there are fewer audition cities and therefore a greater percentage of people who go will be selected.

(Yeah, I know, I said the drive would dissuade me earlier in the thread, but I've had time to rethink my position. I was for skipping the audition before I was against skipping the audition.) :-)
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This Is Kirk!
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Re: what city did you choose for the test?

Post by This Is Kirk! »

What's with all these posts about "driving distance." They have these things called airplanes now, you know!

[says the guy who auditioned within a five mile drive of his house three times]
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dhkendall
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Re: what city did you choose for the test?

Post by dhkendall »

This Is Kirk! wrote:What's with all these posts about "driving distance." They have these things called airplanes now, you know!

[says the guy who auditioned within a five mile drive of his house three times]
Bit more expensive. One of the main reasons why I haven't been on a plane in 35 years - I wouldn't mind it, but travelling by plane is more expensive than by car, plus less interesting (seeing the country and all it has to offer on the way.

(FYI: when I was last on a plane it was when my family was living up north, at the time there was no road out of town so plane was the only way in or out.)
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Re: what city did you choose for the test?

Post by cinemaniax7 »

This Is Kirk! wrote:What's with all these posts about "driving distance." They have these things called airplanes now, you know!
I fly probably once a year on business. Otherwise, if my meetings are within eight hours by car, I usually drive. Like Kirk, I enjoy the alone time, especially if I have a good audio book and pleasant scenery or an interesting side trip to some historical point of interest. I'm particularly fond of the curving highways of western North Carolina. Besides which, it generally takes just as long to fly if I have one or more layovers.

If I'm picked to audition in Atlanta, this will be my fifth audition in five different cities — Atlanta, Cincinnati, Raleigh, Nashville, and Seattle. Other than the audition here in Nashville, every one required a drive of at least four and a half hours. I've even picked up a pair of J! ball caps for being the person who traveled the farthest for the audition.
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Re: what city did you choose for the test?

Post by Volante »

dhkendall wrote:
This Is Kirk! wrote:What's with all these posts about "driving distance." They have these things called airplanes now, you know!

[says the guy who auditioned within a five mile drive of his house three times]
Bit more expensive. One of the main reasons why I haven't been on a plane in 35 years - I wouldn't mind it, but travelling by plane is more expensive than by car, plus less interesting (seeing the country and all it has to offer on the way.

(FYI: when I was last on a plane it was when my family was living up north, at the time there was no road out of town so plane was the only way in or out.)
Ugg, the only thing I see when driving are all the pains in the ass who can't drive (which in turn makes me more dangerous to be around on the road too).

I'd fly into Vegas if that's where the audition was, which is only about 4-5 hours away. (San Diego I'd take Amtrak.)
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Re: what city did you choose for the test?

Post by alietr »

dhkendall wrote:I wouldn't mind it, but travelling by plane is more expensive than by car, plus less interesting (seeing the country and all it has to offer on the way.
Less interesting? Are you off your bloody rocker (to put it in Canadian-like terms)? Watching the world go by from a plane is one of the most interesting things you can do in my not-so-humble opinion.
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Re: what city did you choose for the test?

Post by dhkendall »

alietr wrote:
dhkendall wrote:I wouldn't mind it, but travelling by plane is more expensive than by car, plus less interesting (seeing the country and all it has to offer on the way.
Less interesting? Are you off your bloody rocker (to put it in Canadian-like terms)? Watching the world go by from a plane is one of the most interesting things you can do in my not-so-humble opinion.
"Oh, there's the Grand Can ... oops, there it goes. That's the Mississ ... ipp ... i ... Oh well. There's Teddy Roosevelt's boyhood home, but you can't see anything from up here ... "

No, I like it better on the ground. A history buff like me can stop at interesting sites along the way (there's always an interesting cairn along the Interstate every few hours or so) or a neat roadside attraction. And of course, going from, say, Winnipeg to Vancouver, I can visit (and possibly stay with) friends and relatives in Saskatchewan, Calgary, and the BC interior like we did on our last big road trip (and make a side trip to our friends in Portland, glad I got to see that wonderful city, my favourite American city of the ones I've been to so far), again, harder to do via plane.

I will give plane the advantage of getting you there in a hurry if you need to, but, as I said, it is more expensive, and for someone who is looking for work like me (and, even if I get work by the the The Email comes, I've never really made a whole lot of money), cost is a key factor. The fact that I really enjoy road trips, especially as a geography and history geek, helps.
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Re: what city did you choose for the test?

Post by nightreign »

alietr wrote:
dhkendall wrote:I wouldn't mind it, but travelling by plane is more expensive than by car, plus less interesting (seeing the country and all it has to offer on the way.
Less interesting? Are you off your bloody rocker (to put it in Canadian-like terms)? Watching the world go by from a plane is one of the most interesting things you can do in my not-so-humble opinion.
Plane rides during the day are boring, but plane rides at night (and especially landing at night in a big city) are really cool, IMO.
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Re: what city did you choose for the test?

Post by econgator »

nightreign wrote:but plane rides at night (and especially landing at night in a big city) are really cool, IMO.
Or taking off! I took a red eye back from San Francisco when I visited and got a gorgeous view of the city on the way out.
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Re: what city did you choose for the test?

Post by Woof »

You're all nuts. Train travel is hands down the most civilized way to travel. It's just too damn bad that the U.S. can't muster the political wherewithal to build a 21st C rail network.
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Re: what city did you choose for the test?

Post by TheyCallMeMrKid »

Woof wrote:You're all nuts. Train travel is hands down the most civilized way to travel. It's just too damn bad that the U.S. can't muster the political wherewithal to build a 21st C rail network.
If I passed the test, I may consider getting there via velocipede. Then I'd have at least one interesting story to tell during the interview. :shock:
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Re: what city did you choose for the test?

Post by dhkendall »

Woof wrote:You're all nuts. Train travel is hands down the most civilized way to travel. It's just too damn bad that the U.S. can't muster the political wherewithal to build a 21st C rail network.
Train is great! Once when I was younger i found the cheapest way to Vancouver was via Amtrak (car to Grand Forks, ND, Amtrak to Seattle, Amtrak bus to Vancouver, BC) - Canadian VIA Rail was much more expensive - and I still remember the experience fondly nearly 20 years later, Amtrak is awesome.
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Re: what city did you choose for the test?

Post by Holocene Hero »

Tampa crew represent!
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Re: what city did you choose for the test?

Post by Volante »

Woof wrote:You're all nuts. Train travel is hands down the most civilized way to travel. It's just too damn bad that the U.S. can't muster the political wherewithal to build a 21st C rail network.
I thought we were limiting ourselves to realistic means of travel, not fantasy. Might as well say dragon or unicorn is the most civilized way to travel.
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Re: what city did you choose for the test?

Post by This Is Kirk! »

alietr wrote:
dhkendall wrote:I wouldn't mind it, but travelling by plane is more expensive than by car, plus less interesting (seeing the country and all it has to offer on the way.
Less interesting? Are you off your bloody rocker (to put it in Canadian-like terms)? Watching the world go by from a plane is one of the most interesting things you can do in my not-so-humble opinion.
Totally agree. It always shocks me when I'm flying on a clear day (or night, even) and I look around and no one seems to be looking out the windows. I find it endlessly fascinating.
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Re: what city did you choose for the test?

Post by bpmod »

Hate to be straddling the fence on the car vs airplane discussion, but I find both fascinating, each in its own way.

I have driven to 46 states (so far) and have taken planes to only about eleven, so I might not have a big enough sample size to make a good comparison.

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Re: what city did you choose for the test?

Post by BobF »

This Is Kirk! wrote:What's with all these posts about "driving distance." They have these things called airplanes now, you know!

[says the guy who auditioned within a five mile drive of his house three times]
Sadly, since 9/11, you have to travel several hundred miles before going by plane is cost and time effective.
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Re: what city did you choose for the test?

Post by triviawayne »

I think the rule of thumb (besides hitch hiking) is if you are going 400 miles or less, flying saves no time over driving.
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Re: what city did you choose for the test?

Post by kristinsausville »

This Is Kirk! wrote:
alietr wrote:
dhkendall wrote:I wouldn't mind it, but travelling by plane is more expensive than by car, plus less interesting (seeing the country and all it has to offer on the way.
Less interesting? Are you off your bloody rocker (to put it in Canadian-like terms)? Watching the world go by from a plane is one of the most interesting things you can do in my not-so-humble opinion.
Totally agree. It always shocks me when I'm flying on a clear day (or night, even) and I look around and no one seems to be looking out the windows. I find it endlessly fascinating.
Agreed. Frequently I'm the only one I can see who even has the window shade open.
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Re: what city did you choose for the test?

Post by econgator »

kristinsausville wrote:
This Is Kirk! wrote:
alietr wrote:
dhkendall wrote:I wouldn't mind it, but travelling by plane is more expensive than by car, plus less interesting (seeing the country and all it has to offer on the way.
Less interesting? Are you off your bloody rocker (to put it in Canadian-like terms)? Watching the world go by from a plane is one of the most interesting things you can do in my not-so-humble opinion.
Totally agree. It always shocks me when I'm flying on a clear day (or night, even) and I look around and no one seems to be looking out the windows. I find it endlessly fascinating.
Agreed. Frequently I'm the only one I can see who even has the window shade open.
*nod* That's why I always take window seats. That shade ain't going down. :)
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