West Coast Earthquake Sister wants to move

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oilboy123

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I am trying to talk to my sister who literally wants to move to Florida after this latest news. I told my mom they have been talking about this one for years. I told them both no matter where you live in the US, or anywhere else for that matter, you will have to deal with something.

Looking for opinions from those living in other states. Around here it's earthquakes, floods, and rain.
 
Florida has hurricanes, I will take earthquakes any day. I would consider moving to North Carolina only if I got a job with a Cup team.
 
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Surround her up in bubble wrap, make her live in a tent, and hire people with soothing voices to hold her hand and repeat slowly how everything is going to be just fine.

Juuussst Fiiiiiinnnneee Sweetie.
 
I prefer earthquakes as well. I was just joking about bubble wrapping customers before they step into the shops at work to see there boats being repaired. Had a lecture from the boss about people saying they won't sue you when wanting to wander through the shops. Like my boss says they might not want to sue you, but there lawyers will want to. That's their job.
Originally Posted By: wrcsixeight
Surround her up in bubble wrap, make her live in a tent, and hire people with soothing voices to hold her hand and repeat slowly how everything is going to be just fine.

Juuussst Fiiiiiinnnneee Sweetie.
 
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Florida has hurricanes and many sink holes....
North Carolina? Well a move from California will be culture shock. In some parts it would be lack-of-culture shock. I think there might be some place better for her.
 
I lived in Southern California all my life until three years ago. That would be 50 plus years. I was there for ALL THE MAJOR QUAKES. While a few people did get killed (very few). I don't know anybody who got harmed, or any friends who got harmed, or any friends of friends.

Whether or not it's gallows humor or not- the vast majority of Californians just shrug them off. I had an earthquake where the epicenter was just 5 miles away from my ex-residence in Chino Hills, CA. The houses all being built in the last twenty years, all did what the engineers designed them to do-that was sway with the ground with out any major structural issues.

So yes, there are risks-and THE BIG ONE WILL COME ONE DAY. But I never lost any sleep over it. Moving to Utah was strictly a financial decision and to get away from 38.8 million people who now call California home!
 
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I live on Vancouver Island, the last 'Big One' was in about 1700
since that time the world has seen many major wars, come close to all out nuclear war, several pandemics, drought, famine, hurricanes, floods, financial depression.
We have invented the car (which is arguably a dangerous place to spend your time) We have gained the habit of stuffing our bodies with foods of a type and quantity that kills a large % of us.
In short, we have found many ways in which people can suffer and die.
Your sister fears being in the wrong place, at the wrong time for what amounts to...possibly, a one in 500 year event AND being one of the minority that doesn't survive it??

Tell her to stick a pin in a map of the world,see whatother places she might fear!
 
I've lived in many places, including both Florida and California.

In Florida hurricanes happen every fall. Every one. Some years were worse than others. It was completely expected that, if one hit us directly, that there would be substantial damage. I was a single guy thus always put on hurricane duty. That meant being on site to put plastic sheeting over the equipment when the roof blew off. And it was described as "when" not "if". People with family were expected to stay home, with cars gassed and packed, ready to drive inland if needed.

In Annapolis we had hurricane Isabel, where the streets were flooded and people lost power for over a week.

In D.C., there was the year with three impossible snowstorms. They were mostly fun, except for having to fly to Arizona for Christmas because the airports were closed.

In California, there once was an earthquake that woke me up. In case you are concerned.. I fell back asleep a few minutes later.
 
Stay away from NC. We have west coasters and easterners move in and take over the political system. Drove up the cost of living. Increased taxes, Corrupted everything. I'm looking to move to another state before long.....
 
There is something to fear weather or geology-wise everywhere. If it's a major earthquake on the western coastal North America, first of all, there is a lot of real estate at risk ... Mexico to Russia, basically ... and your sister can only be in one place at a time.

So chances are the quake won't be where she is.

But, I know how people vastly under-estimate real risks and over-estimate remote risks. And I know how anxiety can cause people to self-limit perfectly safe activities to varying degrees right up to debilitation.

So, there may be nothing you or I can do to put your sister at ease. If that's the case, she may as well move because nothing short will restore a full quality of life.

There is a lot of California to consider as a new location; it's a big state and not everywhere is close to the fault line. But my guess is if moving is on the table, sensible locations might be off the table.

Here's the thing, though. No matter where she moves to, when whatever chunk of the 50 million who live in the danger zone is directly affected, the rest of North Amierica will pay a huge economic price (California is around 40% of the US GDP; were it to declare independence from the USA, it would be the world's 8th largest economy).

So "the big one" will get your sister one way or another. Plus the Hurricanes (or take your pick) as her reward for moving.
 
There are places that are less scary in terms of weather and geological risk... places like the middle-northern states like idaho etc.
 
Go to Wisconsin or Minnesota. Enjoy 110F heat indexes in the summer and -27F in the winter. Pretty wicked indoor flu and cold seasons, lymes disease, Mosquitos the size of quarters with West Nile virus and lacrosse encephalitis, potholes the size of a pot, tornados, hail. And plenty of new guests enjoying the hearty low income benefits.

But that is all negated by the delicious beer, cheese, sausage, hunting and bingo. Great heart care hospitals in bigger cities. They're used to the blocked arteries (see beer cheese sausage)
 
Come to Maine where restaurant owners scream at toddlers for misbehaving, a la Gordon Ramsey. Mosquitoes, mud, apartment building code violations, coffee brandy, clinical depression, fireworks, and water main breaks. And tourists, the kind too timid to fly, or to drive like they have a destination in mind.

Edit, sounds like Wisconsin, but with Massh***s.
laugh.gif
 
Originally Posted By: oilboy123
I am trying to talk to my sister who literally wants to move to Florida after this latest news.

Out of the frying pan and into the fire... FL gets hit by life threatening hurricanes a lot more frequently than West Coast gets hit by life threatening earthquakes.
 
Originally Posted By: Mr Nice
Dollar goes much farther in FL.

Hurricanes are not bad if you are prepared for them.

Compared to earthquakes, at least we get warnings about hurricanes, sometimes too much. (Whatever would TV news people do without HURRICANE WATCH or EYE ON THE TROPICS?)

On the other hand, moving to Florida from Washington State will entail a horrible shock as to climate.
 
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