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traveling on thanksgiving to get back home on time for BF


totallyBF

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Am I crazy or what?

 

I will be driving from Houston Texas to Tampa Florida I will leave around 3am and hopefully get back at 7pm Thursday

 

But my question is has any of you guys done this?

How's travel on the day of thanksgiving? Bad?

I've never traveled on the day of thanksgiving and the worst thing possible is that there is tons of traffic and I don't get back by 3am Friday I will stop where I am and go shopping in whatever town I am in.

 

I'm nervous but there will be three of us driving so we won't need to stop at all.

 

And the reason I need to purchase my big ticket items here (fl) because 7% tax and in Texas my family has told me 9% I am about saving as much money on BF.

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And the reason I need to purchase my big ticket items here (fl) because 7% tax and in Texas my family has told me 9% I am about saving as much money on BF.

You are talking about saving 20 dollars on 1,000 dollars of purchased goods. If there isn't another reason to go to Texas you will use that much up in fuel.

 

Good luck

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As for traffic, it is generally lighter on Thanksgiving because most truckers and other business traffic are off the roads. Road constrcution projects also stop for the holiday and generally leave as many lanes open as possible.

 

As someone pointed out, the difference between 7% and 9% tax isn't enough to worry about--and I am sure that most parts of Texas (where I grew up and family still lives) are lower than 9%. If you must be on the way, consider doing shopping in Florida panhandle or somewhere else along the way, then finish the drive friday afternoon.

 

Better yet, just enjoy whatever you are going to Texas for on Thanksgiving, do your BF shopping near Houston, and head out friday afternoon.

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If you are trying to save 2% then forget it. If you have to be home in FL for another reason then ok. Had you said you were trying to beat the Sunday traffic and the 2% savings was a bonus, then that's another story (though you could still shop on BF and make it home before Monday). :confused:
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I'm nervous but there will be three of us driving so we won't need to stop at all.

 

Firstly, you WILL be stopping. I don't care how many people are driving or how long you can hold it, TX to FL is too long for anyone for hold it in. You can take snacks on the way to avoid stopping for food but I also don't see the advantage of saving 2% and being totally sleep deprived.

 

I don't think the roads would be too busy other than nearby exits for major cities where people may be traveling to and from relatives homes. I would be careful for drink drivers though, maybe it's just around here but ppl don't need much of an excuse to drink and drive.

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12 years ago on Thanksgiving,I traveled 300 miles to get home after my father's funeral the day before.

The one thing I noticed was that NO restaurants were open along the way,but I mostly went thru small towns. We had to wait 2 1/2 hours to eat in a larger city.

Very few gas stations were open either.

Things have probably changed since then though.

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1) I agree, to save 2% in taxes by driving through the night really isn't worth it. Better to get in line in Texas and get the better deals that spend all that time driving home.

2) Traffic is usually very light on Thanksgiving.

3) Most gas stations should be open, at least here many are able to accept credit cards at the pump. Some states like NJ where the law requires the attendant to pump the gas would probably be more difficult to find open.

 

Final opinion... It would probably be much smarter to do your shopping in Tx, get on lines earlier to get the better deals and not have to race and be concerned about not making it. To save $20 but lose all the sleep and risk everything, it would be better to stay where you are and get to the stores earlier. Also, there is an increasing pattern of stores being open Thanksgiving Day as well as opening earlier for BF some as early as 10pm Thursday or midnight.

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Sales tax in Texas is 8.25% maximum and Florida is 7% max so you really are only saving 1.25%. On $1,000 of purchases you are only saving $12.50. That said, you will need to watch your gasoline as some stations will still be closed. Traffic should be pretty open
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I am planning on spending around 3k and one of the items include apple laptop and also if I stay in Texas I cant buy all the items I want because they won't fit in the car to come back home. (Toddler kitchen set) big box, well apprently I'm getting different percents from Texas I thought it was all the same!

 

I will get some sleep when Im tired too drive, I don't think ill be that sleepy when I get back. I can drive about 6 hours straight and sleep the rest of the time we each plan on driving 5 hours each. So yeah that should give me plenty of time to sleep and be ready to shop.

 

My family isnt big no party nothing on thanksgiving so yeah.

 

I think it would be really cool to buy a newspaper on thanksgiving from every state I pass lol....

Texas louisana mississppi alabama and of course florida.

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