I was one of those kids who always did better at her homework with the TV on in the background. It's like that at work. If I can glance here off and on during the work day, I feel less drained, and more focused. It's difficult to explain.
I've also made a lot of good friends here. Both in person, and strong friendships via a Gmail group we chat in. I love the sense of community.
at first I went to the nest solely for the drama (I would lurk on TIP and SO) when I was bored.
after I found MM, I really liked the group of intelligent, successful women on the board (miso, volenti, v, sarajoy and more). there were a lot of women I wanted to be like in some way, and they were all a little older and had been through the game before. I figured there were a few things I could learn.
sarajoy is the reason we're actually investing our money right now. I've learned a lot about retirement and budgeting - I had no idea what debt snowballing was before or how people can go about tackling MM issues in different ways. non-MM related, I think my eyes have been opened to a lot of the realities of IF, parenting, and relationships (with in-laws, family members, and significant others). I like hearing about where people live and travel - I like reading about their apartments and homes. It's kind of like reality tv but it talks back to you sometimes.
I first came to MM because of boredom. I've been around for 5.5 years, still visit because of boredom, but I also kind of feel like I know some of the people and I truly do enjoy hearing their thoughts and how they are doing. We had some pretty rough financial times when I first started posting, which is why I think I chose MM over the other boards. There was a lot of great financial advice and people who helped me realize that we CAN reach financial goals.
Found the Knot after reading an MSN article a while back about weddings. Stayed on the message boards for entertainment and because I made some friends on a national board. Local board was useful once we started planning our wedding.
Moved to the Nest after I got married. Enjoyed the occasional drama but sometimes it was just too much, especially when it crossed over to real-life sometimes. Local board was useful when we moved to a different town and needed recommendations for stuff.
Followed the migration to this site. Useful advice, funny moments, helps pass the work day.
-boredom/free time at work -to learn from people with a huge range of backgrounds, experiences, lifestyles, etc -specifically to MM, I have learned so much from those "ahead" of me and I like to help and offer opinions where I can! It makes me really happy to hear Tacom say that I have helped her. It annoys me when people say this is "just a message board" - it sounds cheesy but for me this community has transcended to my IRL in many ways -cultivate friendships both on and of the board
Post by kittycatlove on Oct 12, 2012 11:19:55 GMT -5
I followed everyone over with the migration even though i was mostly a lurker on TN. I'm trying to participate more as I really like the closeness of everyone here and have learned a ton from everyone in such a wide-range of topics.
I started lurking The Knot boards when my bff in college was getting married. After the (p&)E transition everything got lame so I looked at other boards to lurk. The Bump was fun for the craziness and generally low IQs of everyone involved. I found MM and saw that most of the posters actually had good advice and informed opinions. In all my years lurking on message boards this was a first! In the spring of this year the timing of the GBCN move coincided with me having more free time, so it was the perfect time to stop lurking and start posting.
I've learned SOOOO much from you guys and I think that's what keeps me coming back. Sometimes I'll start talking about something I wouldn't otherwise have knowledge of and SO will say something like "you learned that from your internet friends, right?" And 90% of the time, he's right.
Post by childofhiphop on Oct 12, 2012 11:52:06 GMT -5
I first came to MM when we were in a bad position financially. I was actually scouring every personal finance blog/message board at that time. It seemed like it was more money-centric than baby, drama and OOT posts.
I got pointed in the direction of great deals, more ideas on where to chop the budget, how to coupon, debt snowballing, excellent personal finance book recommendations, then savings/investing advice as we made progress.
I wish it were still like that though I understand the natural progression as the regulars seemed to have answered all of the money questions already and needed other things to talk about.
I first came to MM when we were in a bad position financially. I was actually scouring every personal finance blog/message board at that time. It seemed like it was more money-centric than baby, drama and OOT posts.
I got pointed in the direction of great deals, more ideas on where to chop the budget, how to coupon, debt snowballing, excellent personal finance book recommendations, then savings/investing advice as we made progress.
I wish it were still like that though I understand the natural progression as the regulars seemed to have answered all of the money questions already and needed other things to talk about.
I started coming to the nest when I was newly married at 22 and I'm now 30. I feel like I have learned more about finances from here than I could have anywhere else and I do sometimes feel like this is no longer the case for new folks.
I moved here a few months before we got married (so, over 5 years ago now) because the girls on my knot month board were really bitchy. I enjoyed the conversations and learning from the elders. It really helped us get our MM-shit together. I've stayed because I've made friends here and still enjoy the conversation. I am still learning for you ladies.
- I love the sense of community developped here and how this isn't only an entertainment but a safe place where great support can be get.
- It makes me feel less lonely.
- I love the smart, educated insight that the majority of the posters provide.
I started lurking on The knot almost 3 years ago when I got married but I only had the courage to post once all moved to GBCN. I'm shy and I don't post much but I'd like have the confidence to participate more and eventually develop the kind of friendships that I see around here.
Post by gibbinator on Oct 12, 2012 14:24:48 GMT -5
Originally, I came to mm because I needed budget help. Then I stuck around through 3 boring work years. I came over with the nest defection because I was bored on mat leave. Now I stay because I really love MMM
I couldn't work for 2 years so mm was my company* durning those long boring days. I love being able to call up friends and have a conversation with 100 people from the comfort of my couch. It's the introverts way to socialize :-)
Autocorrect tried to change "company" to "loco panty"... lol.
I was on the NNJ Knot board because that's where I got married and the NY board was pretty slow.
The NY Nest board was completely dead, and the NNJ board just wasn't for me (too much baby/house/can anyone recommend a contractor in Maplewood stuff that wasn't at all relevant to me).
I found out that Little Spitfire and cilantro, who are two of my buddies from the NNJ Nest, had migrated here, so I figured I'd give it a try. And I found the people here to be pretty intelligent, witty, and interesting. So here I am!
I learn a lot, love the regional differences and I'm addicted.
I haven't made a lot of friends, which is sad, but the interwebs don't forget. I have however, gotten support when I least expected it and it needed it the most. So that does keep me coming back.
I also really like the vibe of the board. Like a PP the "over-achievers" are my people. I know that I'm not always well received, but I just can't leave. I feel like I have "friends" here even if no one else feels the same way.
I somehow stumbled upon the forums on TN years ago. I thought it was great to be able to discuss common interests with other people. I also loved that I could ask a question and almost always get great and quick responses.
Having the company of the girls on there really helped me get through the two years that H was going to school FT and working FT - especially since none of my friends were local.
It didn't take long for me to be hooked. I felt like I had "friends" that I could talk to regularly.
However, I found myself checking the site too much, to the point where I told myself I need to cut back. So when people made the jump to GBCN I took that as a sign that I should stop.
But I missed you all. I lurked on here every now and then and finally decided it was dumb to read the posts without creating a account, so I finally caved. I find myself getting addicted though. I need to limit my time. Some days I'm so unproductive because I keep checking this site.