But... But... The WEATHER!

When my wife and I decided to leave LA because of the high cost of living and really crappy Jewish day schools (with all the money floating around there, with all the choices of schools, it was a question not of which school is the best fit for my children; it was, rather, a question of which school SUCKED the LEAST), people started saying how awful it was that we were leaving LA. "Where are you going?" they'd ask. "The Midwest," we'd answer. "The MIDWEST?!?! But it's so COLD there!" would invariably be the incredulous response.

Many people who live in LA or want to move there are there because the weather is just so fantastic. Except it's not. They get (even closer to the ocean, and certainly in the valleys) unbelievable heat waves that make the summer humidity in the Midwest look like a cakewalk. And they have NO seasons. Especially, no Autumn. And the cost of living there is just INSANE.

So, my wife sent me this email. It's about one other problem with living in LA:

"Earlier this year, scientists calculated that
California faces a 99.7 percent chance of a
magnitude-6.7 quake or larger in the next 30 years."

But...the weather!

GO WIFE!! :)

For anyone who doesn't know, earthquakes are relatively common in LA, and most of them usually measure under 5.0 on the Richter Scale. But every so often, they get a big one. San Francisco had one DURING the World Series in 1989. LA had a huge one with the Northridge earthquake in 1994. That one was BAD. People died. Homes collapsed. And it measured 6.7 on the Richter Scale.

But... THE WEATHER!!! Bah on the weather. At least one can prepare for bad weather, be it a blizzard or a hurricane. You just CAN'T prepare for an earthquake. I know. I've lived through them. By the time you get under a desk or doorpost, it's usually over. Certainly, if it's in the middle of the night an it jolts you awake.

I'll take bad weather over earthquake country any time, any day, any way. Hands down, no contest.

And for that people pay up to (sometimes OVER) $1,000,000 (yes, that's ONE MILLION DOLLARS) for a lousy little three bedroom house?! For a bit of sunshine?