What's the attraction to OTR in 2023?

He passed away. I think his wife has controlling interest in the company, but doesn't get involved in the business.
That guy Louie that ran the shop was a PITA.

 

There were lots of colorful characters working there as drivers. Bunch of ex-cons and just a wild bunch.
One driver from East Tennessee was hired right out of prison. A few months later he was arrested again for arson in his home town. Wayne Wise told him, 'Well, when you get out of prison, your job is still here."

 

Man what a stand up guy Mr. Wide was. I don't think there any owners that are that gracious anymore. Even now, Western still has colorful characters lol

 

If you go, look at Hainan Airlines.

 

No we didn't but it looks more like a summertime activity lol. I remember some crazy things we went and did in the freezing cold all bundled up. We were on some old bus going somewhere one day with no heater that broke down in the middle of nowhere. Driver kept cussing at it and cranking on it and somehow got it fired up again.

We were there for 21 days and never heard a word of proper English except for a few broken sentence practically the whole time until we went to Beijing. We ran across some older fellow from New Zealand who was married to a Chinese lady. He said he had been there for almost a month, his wife didn't speak very much English and none of her family did, and he was pleased to run across us. It's strange being somewhere you don't speak the language.

Funny you mention that. Not only did we swear we'd never go back in the winter but we wanted to go to Hainan Island when we went back again. I appreciate the tips on plane tickets. We hopped a United back in 2018 in Nashville-Seattle-Bejing-Shenyang. It was dirt cheap only about $800 for round trip tickets. Dunno if we'll ever see prices that good again. Airfare will be the big determining factor if we do go back tho.

 

Otr jobs generally pay more from my experience. I make more double, almost triple otr vs local.
With local jobs you will likely still work 12-14 hour days, plus your commute to work, often only leaving you time to sleep and eat while home, or risk being tired while driving the next day. Most also don't pay over time after 40 hours like regular jobs because it's not regulated for the industry. You might find some that do most I've seen offer ot pat after 50-60 hours though.
If you are single and childless, you can live on your truck, saving you on rent/mortgage, utilities, possibly car payment and insurance, etc, so even if you were making exactly the same local vs otr, you'd have more left over being otr.
Otr you can take your home time pretty much anywhere, so if you want a week off in Vegas, you're basically not only saving a plane ticket, but also being paid to get there

 

Air fare is way up now due to fuel costs.
Wife said Air China is cheapest right now, but it's still $2 or $3 thousand per person.
Here's Air China photo:

 

The photo of Universal is close to my condo in Beijing.
I could throw a rock and land it there, it's so close. There's a 4 lane city street with a center turn lane between us and Universal.
Can't hear any noise either due to living in a gated community.

 

Hainan Island is the China version of Hawaii.
Macau is the China version of Las Vegas, except it's much larger and crime free.

 

The Yellow Mountains, also called Huangshan (the Scenic Area, not the city or prefecture) is one of the most famous and beautiful mountainous areas in China. It was listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1990. Its spectacular natural scenery includes oddly-shaped pines and rocks and mystical seas of cloud.
The Yellow Mountains: A Full Guide Is Here!

www.chinahighlights.com/huangshan/yellow-mountain/