Canadian area of Lake Eufaula - questions

[peke]

Hi all, I have a few questions for locals. We will be moving in June close to Arrowhead.

Stink, we will be in the same little "cove" as you, but the opposite side. I guess it is called a cove.....

1. Narrowed cell phone company down to US Cellular and Verizon. I heard Verizon might be buying US Cellular.Don't know if it is true. Do they both do well on the lake itself? Do we really need a home phone?

2. Dish, Canadian Valley Cable, or Direct TV? Are there lots of digital problems with all those trees? Anytime or only during a storm? Eufaula seemed to get a lot of storms during May, and I definately need TV service during tornado season.

3. High Speed Internet- any suggestions?

Thanks for any suggestions!
Peke

[OkieDon]

Peke, sorry I can't help you much, just wanted to say it's nice to see you posting again. Keep us informed of your fishing trips once you get settled!

[Stinkfinger]

Glad to know you're on your way Peke, looking forward to having you down here. Now, let me see if I can answer your questions;

1) - U.S. Cellular is what I have because it has the best coverage in this area.

2) - I had DirecTV when I moved here, didn't have any problems, but I lost my equipment two years ago and switched to the local cable company. My largest complaint about having cable is the frequent interruptions with the local emergency broadcast system. By law, they are required to test their system once per month, but these local yahoos test it everyday and when they test, your show is interrupted with the most ungodly noise (the buzzer from hell) and it keeps making that sound for several minutes. I'm probably going to switch back to satellite tv soon.

3) - Internet service is ok, but very expensive and you'll be paying at least twice what you paid before. I didn't want a local phone, but am forced to have one and pay for a phone I never use because they say "by regulations" that I have to have a phone number in order to use their DSL. I think they're full of balogny and milking me for an additional $24 bucks per month. That fee along with $58 for the internet has me paying over $80 per month for internet service.

Stark realization of moving to an area such as this is that these small phone companies have a monopoly on the services. They were given these small areas way back when mainly because A.T.&T. didn't want to invest in rural phone service, the large cities were more lucrative.

So, there's no way of getting around them for internet service. Cell phones have nipped them in the rear and they can no longer charge high prices for phone service, but the internet is a different story. They can and they do charge way too much for internet service.

Satellite internet service is a joke. It's not much faster than "dial-up" and the start up cost for satellite internet is around $600 with a monthy fee of around $60. Satellite internet is only an option for people living in such remote areas that they have no other choice in my opinion.

One good thing about this local phone company, they are decent people and always eager to help you when something goes wrong. You don't get a robot answering your phone call, you get a real person and if you have a problem, they most likely will send some tech right out.

I like all the individuals that work there and don't blame them for the high rates. I suspect the rates are set forth by the greedy owners that realize they have the monopoly. They just laugh each month as they carry big sacks of money to the bank.

Once you get over the mad spell of knowing you're being overcharged, you get along fine because you have only one choice, internet service or no internet service. You either like it or lump it........ did I tell you how much I love our internet service here.......... hahahaha.

Only other complaint I have about living in this area is the culture shock you get when you move here. These people in this area have a whole different attitude about priorities. You'll find their word means nothing to them. If you have to deal with any "professional" contractor, plumbers, electricians, builders, etc......etc.... you'll find that when they tell you they will be there on a certain date and time, they usually don't show up. They don't even go to the trouble to call you and let you know. So you'll lose a day sitting around waiting on them and they're a no show. When you call them they always have some flimsy excuse and will tell set up a new date and time. Well, guess what, that appointment will most likely be like the first one. They just don't care and their word means nothing to them.

I think they're probably fishermen..........lol.

But eventually you can work your way through the needs you will have and get things taken care of by calling enough people that you get someone that will come out. You have to stress that you will not play games with appointments and lack of responsibility on them. Make sure you confirm the times and write down the appointments, tell them you are writing down the date and time and you expect them to be there or at least call if they can't.

I've acquired some reliable people over the 4 years I have been here and if you need some service work, just hollar at me and I might be able to give you a good contractor.

All in all, I love living here and I know you and your husband will enjoy being here on the lake also. It's a great place to live and once you get past the culture shock of dealing with "bubbas" you'll be glad you're here.

[OkieDon]

Stinkfinger said...

Only other complaint I have about living in this area is the culture shock you get when you move here. These people in this area have a whole different attitude about priorities. You'll find their word means nothing to them. If you have to deal with any "professional" contractor, plumbers, electricians, builders, etc......etc.... you'll find that when they tell you they will be there on a certain date and time, they usually don't show up. They don't even go to the trouble to call you and let you know. So you'll lose a day sitting around waiting on them and they're a no show. When you call them they always have some flimsy excuse and will tell set up a new date and time. Well, guess what, that appointment will most likely be like the first one. They just don't care and their word means nothing to them.

Where did you come from Stink? I only ask because I want to visit this land where Contractors keep their word and show up when they say they will. I know of no place like that on this Earth...

I've lived in the Henryetta area growing up, then around Ft. Smith/Sallisaw for a period of time, then mosied on down to Houston for about a decade before migrating up to the Tulsa area. In all those places, very few Contractors keep their word or appointments. I'm not sure why either. One of the easiest ways to build customer loyalty is to keep your word. Whenever I'd have contractors not show up or not call to say they were going to be late, I'd simply call them and tell them not to bother, I'll find someone else. Experience taught me it would save me money and head aches in the future by not dealing with such slackers.

I often tell my Wife I could make a mint starting a Handyman service and just showing up when I said I would and not overcharging for the work!

[Stinkfinger]

Don, its that way anywhere you go, but here.......... well, it's just a heckuva lot worse than any other place I've ever lived. Not too many areas of the country bat a .1000 in unreliability, cept these local bubbas..........hahahaha.Rofl

[peke]

Don, I can't wait to fish again! We've been spending a lot of time getting our house ready to sell and fixing up fences on the land, etc. During the school year, I do not have time to fish. Maybe next year, I will get to fish the crappie spawn! I've never done that.

Jim, I loved in Mississippi for 4 years and I know what you mean. No one there ever gets in a hurry for anything. Fast food is not fast. Service is so slow...even when people are scanning your groceries, they are so slow there. Drove me nuts! I think the lack of grocery stores and selection will bug me in Eufaula too. But we will be at the lake! We had to wait on one guy all last week. He only has 10 days to do his appraisal. We called him on the 7th day and he hadn't done it yet. Because I reminded him he only had 3 days left, he went out to the house. Now we are hoping to get his paperwork on Friday, his last day. I just don't get that....don't take a job on if you cannot do it in a timely manner. Sure hope the house appraises for what we are paying for it or we will not be buying it.

So basically I'm stuck with home phone and cable if I want high speed internet. Where I live now, I only have an AIR card. It is faster than dial-up, but all I have. We did have internet with our satellite TV for a few months.....until lightning hit our house....the internet attachment wasn't grounded, I guess. Lightning shot through our house, flashed inside, then blew out 3 places on our front porch. We were home at the time...it was just luck we weren't hit and that the attic didn't catch fire. Destroyed all electronic equipment because it was all tied together. Every TV, DVD, phone, computer we had hooked up to internet/satellite. Insurance paid around $5,000.00 to replace things and repair our house. Took them a year to pay for everything. At first they only wanted to pay $1500, but after fighting with them for a year, they paid. THEN they decided they didn't want to insure us....like we can control lightning...

Jim, U.S. Cellular has an air card too. Have you ever tried it? Like AT&T air card, it is $60.00 per month, but at least I won't have to pay $25.00 a month for a phone I won't use. Everything is long distance in Canadian, it seems.

So when you had satelitte there, did it go out every time it stormed? I don't want to get stuck with a contract if the digital is always out.

Next problem is to get a principal or teaching job locally. If I cannot find a local job, it sure would be a long day driving 2 hours one way to work every day! But again.....I will be at the lake! Thanks for your help.
Peke

[peke]

Regulatory permits....what a racket! The owners of the house just paid for 5 years of dock, mowing, and electrical permits. When we buy it we have to pay the $315.00 all over again. It does not transfer to us, and the previous owners do not get their money back! Water district wants $75.00 to transfer ownership. If the owner won't transfer, we have to pay $1000.00. No work is being done....water meter is there....nothing but paperwork. Thank goodness the owners are transferring the water meter to us. How in the world is the state of Oklahoma so poor with money making schemes like this? Why is there no money for education? Geez!

[Stinkfinger]

"So when you had satelitte there, did it go out every time it stormed?"

Patti, you will occasionally lose the signal during heavy rain, that's just part of the deal when you use 12Ghz satellite signals. The old dishes, the big ones used 4Ghz and were less likely to lose the signal during heavy rains.

It takes a while to work through all the things that need to be done, doesn't matter where you move, but you guys will do fine and after its all settled, you'll be glad you're here on the lake. It's a great life with many rewards and there are plenty of good people living really close.

Leland and sissy live fairly close and they're always a hoot to be around, so I look forward to having you guys down. If there is anything I can do to help, just let me know.Thumbs Up

[OkieDon]

Peke, the good news is that the Summer, Fall and Winter Crappie fishing can be better than the Spawn. The last two years, I've done better in Summer and early Fall than I have during the spawn. Hoping this year will be the same! If you want to learn how to catch 'em in the Summer, give EB a call. His website is LakeEufaulaCrappieFishingGuide.com. You'll be amazed at where you'll be fishing when it's 100 outside! Fish will be 3 to 5 ft.

[peke]

Jim, Thanks, we'll sure look you up when we get settled. Our appraisal is due today and we still have to get an inspection done, but that's all we are waiting for. I met Sissy last year, and she was very nice. I don't think I met Leland though.

Don, I can't wait to try fall fishing. We still have to sell our home in Claremore before we do any guide trips with Brian though.

Happy fishing!