The Cost of Living.......

in Omaha is OUTRAGEOUS! I laugh because people from here think it's so inexpensive relative to the east coast. What a hoot! they don't know what they are missing when there's a little healthy competition! Here's my latest example.....

I decided that I wanted my downstairs power room to be fancy, like my Boston power room, and like all my friends' power rooms. We are having the whole house painted since the original cheep contractor's paint shows all the kids' fingerprints, so I figured it was a good time. I found a reasonably priced granite remnant, and thought the painters could just take down the mirror which I would replace with my fancy one coming from my Boston house. WRONG! I need to pay a glass guy $60.00 to come take it down because painters here don't do handiwork.

Then there's the faucet. We could just use our old faucet, right? WRONG! Neal needs to figure out how to take it off, or else I need to pay a plumber to come out here and do it, and they might not do it because they are union, so if I am taking a faucet off, then I will need to replace one, and I will need to buy said faucet from that plumber, who will mark it up 400 times. The lady at the lumber store said that she had a pedestal sink she found for $200, but the plumber wouldn't install it unless she bought it from him for $800! HIGHWAY ROBBERY!

In Boston, we have a great plumber who always answers his phone and comes when he is scheduled to be there. He charges reasonable rates and he even specs things out for you so you can buy it yourself.We put in a high end shower in Boston and Tom, the Awesome Plumber told us everything to buy and gave us no grief installing it at all. I think he even has a key to our house so he comes and goes as necessary. This whole thing would be such a non issue if I were home!

So, my simple little project has turned into a great big pain in the ass! Ah.... Omaha!