Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s just not worth it. Covid isn’t bad enough for this.

I disagree. I am doing everything I can (within reason) to avoid contracting it/spreading it. Watching the President gasping for air after receiving the best care possible lets me know covid is not nothing.

Uh, where did you see that? He's 75, obese, and out of the hospital in 3 days (and working while there, so not exactly incapacitated).

Anonymous wrote:It’s just not worth it. Covid isn’t bad enough for this.

X 1000000

We aren’t in DC.

We are back to normal, as much as is allowed. The risk is so small, and even if you get it it’s really NDB.

We have a 2yo and I'm due in Feb with #2. I WFH permanently and DH has the green light to WFH indefinitely. We share a cabin with my in laws so we will definitely be springing for high speed wifi there so we can go for weeks at a time and still work. Change of scenery will be refreshing every so often. In general we are outdoorsy people and plan to continue so in the winter- building snowmen, sledding, blankets and hot cocoa for walks in the wagon. Still plan on continuing social distance outdoor visits with family throughout the winter. We are very active in the home exchange community so once we get into the swing of things with baby, we may seek out a long term (1-3 month) home exchange and live in a different state/country for a while for free.

I’m more cautious that “just mask up and live with it.” My grandparents survived the nazis for four years and lost their teen years completly hiding and starving in the hills, but then spent 60 years married and built a fortune we are still enjoying. From them I learned it’s important to hide until the coast is clear even if it takes years. They both lost many friends to bombs or executions btw.

Our life is already pretty normal, kids go to sports practices and hybrid school (private), just normal with a mask. For what it’s worth, we will probably have a reliable, cheap test before a widespread vaccination program.

Anonymous wrote:It’s just not worth it. Covid isn’t bad enough for this.

I disagree. I am doing everything I can (within reason) to avoid contracting it/spreading it. Watching the President gasping for air after receiving the best care possible lets me know covid is not nothing.

Anonymous wrote:It’s just not worth it. Covid isn’t bad enough for this.

Best wishes for an extended recovery, Mr. President.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We moved before COVID happened, so it had nothing to do with that, but now we have a bigger house, more space, and a private school that is nationally respected but doesn't cost DC private prices (we had our kids in one before we moved) and now they're back in school in person and we're enjoying the myriad outdoor activities our new location has to offer. I can't speak highly enough about the decision to move. We were done with DC (the high cost of living, the traffic, the amount of people, etc.) before COVID but this has got to be the final nail in the coffin for so many people, as stated above by multiple PPs.

Where did you move and what jobs did you have.

Yeah most stay in dc b/c of jobs.

Anonymous wrote:You adapt and find ways to enjoy your life, while understanding there is a chance of infection and doing what you can to mitigate the risk of spread.

For us, kids are back in school and team sports. We don't visit other's homes, and probably won't for the foreseeable future, but the weather isn't bad enough here that I foresee that being a huge issue. We'll continue to meet up with friends and family at outdoor venues. We bought a fire pit and some comfy patio furniture. Also bought a lot of new legos, puzzles, games, and kept my disney+ subscription.

If we want to travel to see elderly family, we plan it out waaayy in advance, and isolate at home and/or get tested before visiting. That is my biggest concern, how to keep relationships with my parents active, because while I'm personally comfortable with our level of risk for us, I'm not comfortable with it for my parents, and so we've made the sacrifice not to visit them, which sucks and is not sustainable long term.

Considering investing in a river or beach house since we probably won't take vacations that involve air or hotels for the next couple of years. Making sure we have masks that are comfortable. Taking pleasure in small things.

These are some of my plans.

So weird. A hotel is likely FAR less risky than school or sports!

It’s just not worth it. Covid isn’t bad enough for this.

Keep on doing what we are doing. We switched to private and will stay through the 21-22 year. We are stretched financially but can’t afford to have one of us quit our jobs.

I heard from a contact at NIH this is the new normal until the end of next summer at a minimum..

Anonymous wrote:We moved before COVID happened, so it had nothing to do with that, but now we have a bigger house, more space, and a private school that is nationally respected but doesn't cost DC private prices (we had our kids in one before we moved) and now they're back in school in person and we're enjoying the myriad outdoor activities our new location has to offer. I can't speak highly enough about the decision to move. We were done with DC (the high cost of living, the traffic, the amount of people, etc.) before COVID but this has got to be the final nail in the coffin for so many people, as stated above by multiple PPs.

Where did you move and what jobs did you have.

Just gonna keep being a decent person. Wear a mask, don't get together inside and just patiently wait for this to be over. That's all really to be done. I would like to look back on this and know that we did everything we reasonably could to not make this worse.

They had a headstart with the vaccine in the early 2000s when SARS hit. So they aren't starting from scratch. I think we'll get a safe and mildy effective vaccine by spring 2021 that will roll out slowly and some people will take. By spring 2022 I think more people will have gotten the vaccine and I think we'll have some immunity in the population from natural infection as well, and we'll be at least seeing significant slow down (full herd immunity to come by 2023 I'd think, with more and better vaccines). Probably a few more years with regular mask wearing. There will be other innovations like more high tech ventilation and rapid testing that will make it easier to do some things indoors.

In the meantime, we are working from home. Our kids' modified sports have returned so that has been nice (socially distance rules and masks etc.,), and are enjoying seeing neighbors and friends in small gatherings in backyards, SD. A few of us have gotten heaters and firepits to be able to continue late into the fall.

I don't miss work conferences, planes, the metro, or the office. I do miss safe in person school, going on an errand without a mask, and being able to stay with grandparents. I'm hoping we can stay safe...otherwise we'll get through it and try to count our blessings.

We moved before COVID happened, so it had nothing to do with that, but now we have a bigger house, more space, and a private school that is nationally respected but doesn't cost DC private prices (we had our kids in one before we moved) and now they're back in school in person and we're enjoying the myriad outdoor activities our new location has to offer. I can't speak highly enough about the decision to move. We were done with DC (the high cost of living, the traffic, the amount of people, etc.) before COVID but this has got to be the final nail in the coffin for so many people, as stated above by multiple PPs.