Originally Posted by Rain Man (Post 15963148)

The more we talked about it yesterday, the more I realize that the difference between a $250,000 stipend and a $700,500 stipend is huge. And the reason is services, not buying stuff. For $700,500 I can buy myself a full-time personal chef, a full-time personal trainer, and get things like massages and bookkeeping frequently. I can't get that for $250,000, or at least not full-time. I need to keep that in mind because at this point in the tournament all of the houses are going to meet my needs.

That said, Wyoming. I want to sleep in that bubble bed and see those views. The New Hampshire house is great and it's near Boston, but in this heat I still have to go Wyoming. I could thrive in that Wyoming house and I like the culture of the West.

Originally Posted by Buehler445 (Post 15963352)

It's round 3 and you're just now coming around to the cash whore life? Welcome to the dark side.

This one is tough. I'm a whore and 500K is lot. But WYO is more appealing than NH.

I stared at the pictures a long time, and I think I can live with NH. As long as I can keep the horse culture off me.

Originally Posted by ChiefGator (Post 15963399)

The Wyoming house and the river by it are beautiful.. except.. books don't belong in kitchens. That is strange.

Originally Posted by Rain Man (Post 15963320)

Yeah, that was a bit of a design mistake on my part. I should've made the stipend a function of the most expensive house in the tournament rather than the most expensive house in each heat. But we'll live with this system given our progress so far.

Originally Posted by Zebedee DuBois (Post 15963700)

I have been, for the most part, ignoring the stipend in all these matches. it only comes into play when I can't choose between the houses/locations. The stipend can change depending on the matchup - so it really is meaningless (in my opinion) especially when all the other costs are already taken care of.

I love both these house. I could be happy in either location. I *think* winters are longer and harder in Wyoming than New Hampshire.

A question: in the movies when NYC people say they are vacationing in the Hamptons, is this the place they are taking about?

I'm going NH this round.

Originally Posted by Zebedee DuBois (Post 15963700)

I have been, for the most part, ignoring the stipend in all these matches. it only comes into play when I can't choose between the houses/locations. The stipend can change depending on the matchup - so it really is meaningless (in my opinion) especially when all the other costs are already taken care of.

I love both these house. I could be happy in either location. I *think* winters are longer and harder in Wyoming than New Hampshire.

A question: in the movies when NYC people say they are vacationing in the Hamptons, is this the place they are taking about?

I'm going NH this round.

Originally Posted by Zebedee DuBois (Post 15963707)

What about cookbooks?

Originally Posted by Rain Man (Post 15963398)

I don't know why I had this lapse, but I was pretty much thinking about the stipend to buy goods and not services. I don't need a lot of stuff, so the base stipend was fine, and the only real service that I spend money on is travel, which is limited by the rules. But then once we started talking about paid masseuses and trainers and chefs and back ticklers (thavirus's gig, but I'm willing to check it out), I realized that the stipend can really add to my quality of life.

Originally Posted by oldman (Post 15964118)

I'm out on WY, just too far from anything. While not a big fan of NH, the house, money, and proximity to Boston wins. I wouldn't turn to the dark side and be a Pats/Red Sox fan.

Originally Posted by Buehler445 (Post 15964138)

Yeah, good thing too. I'd have to murder you and bury you in a shallow grave in the back 40.

Originally Posted by oldman (Post 15964173)

I'd probably do that myself if I became a Sox/Pats fan. I would ask you to cover the grave with one of your many John Deeres though.