[NowOrNever!]

Hi Stacy--one of my sisters still works for the CSU (she's in Turlock--at Stanislaus (or more commonly known there as "Turkey Tech") and yeah, it seems like it's one threat after another the last couple years directed at higher ed (I mean, we don't actually need an EDUCATED population, do we?!). The day that PERS goes will be when it's no longer worth it (just my opinion). As a kid we lived in Clovis (in the country, outside Fresno) and I remember small, but definitely noticeable quakes that could actually be heard as they traveled THROUGH the house--we'd hear the windows start rattling at the back and then move toward us in the living room! Very weird. (our neighbor saw the ripple move up the road--like...Tremors critters)

I moved to TN for my doctorate and you'd think those kinda folks would know better but....(laughing) my advisor got all panicky one day because there had been a, like, 1.2 quake in the middle of the night and he was wondering (based on my quake experience as a Californian) if I thought the state was going to crumble or something! I had a good laugh and then told him that a 1 point ANYthing didn't really even count as a quake! Remember the movie Independence Day? There's a scene in there where Will Smith is in the bathroom and sees all the neighbors outside and then makes some crack about it probably being an earthquake and only a 4 pointer or something. Anyway, I was the ONLY one in the theater (again, in TN) to get the joke and laugh. Very weird.

Carlsbad--you're way down there! The farthest south in CA I've lived was Fontana/Riverside--a year while in junior high best forgotten

[GreatBigMonsterMomma]

Well, I've lived in West Virginia, Connecticut, Virginia, and now Hawaii in addition to my home State and true love--Texas. We'll probably be heading to AZ from here, but we know in advance it's only for five years to get some civilian work experience for DH and save up some money and then we'll move back to San Antonio. There is no place else I want to live. But I'm not sure I can honestly recommend it to you on the basis of the weather.

I love it because of the food, and how much there is to do there, and the culture, and the people. Texans are congenitally polite, we're like Canadians in that regard. (Seriously, watch COPS some time when they're in Texas. Even when the dudes are struggling with police, they still say "Sir"!) I kept thinking I was romanticizing it after I moved away, but every time I go home for a visit I realize I'm not. People still, by and large, yield at the yield signs, let you into their lane, that sort of thing. I still remember my trip home in '02, my mother and I were on the freeway in downtown during rush hour and I was flipping out on her (thankfully, I wasn't driving) just yelling "Look! He's not tailgating! Neither is he! None of these people are tailgating!"

FWIW, my mother has a severe case of RA and usually has no trouble on account of the weather. There are also several very good hospitals there.

[lucky_me]

I am from Idaho- I have lived here my whole life so it is kind of hard to compare but it is techinically a desert. I live in south central Idaho, we get very little snow every year (possibly 6 inches throughout the season) and hardly any rain. The summers are not too bad, a little less mild than the 110 degrees+ in the south and it's a very dry heat as well. No flooding, no hurricanes, possibly forrest fires but I have never seen one.

I can guarantee the price of living is much lower here. It's a big thing for people from California to save up some money and move up here and buy a 5 bed 3 bath ranch house for the same price they could rent a studio apartment there. Plus, plenty of rural areas to build on for cheap.

It is a very conservative area. A bit much republican for my taste, honestly, but a good place to raise a family.

Oh, here is a link if that helps at all. Let us know what you decide!!

http://www.visitidaho.org/index.aspx

[EZMONEY]

TRUCE? NowORNever?

I never thought once that your WERE NOT from California as you said. I was just trying to point out that I was born and raised here. I have lived my entire life in southern Ca., Oceanside (next to Stacy's city) since '66. I do remember all the fires, earthquakes, flooding...it is all around and near us...just not ON us here in our area....so far...

We have felt earthquakes, makes us a little nervous too, just in our area there has never yet (knocking on wood here!) been major damage.

I think you have weather disasters in all states from time to time.

I have spent time visiting, building and looking for second homes in other states too. It seems to me that every state has the same "budget" problems. I think sometimes you could do the same newscast for the entire nation and just "add" the names of your governor, senators, etc.

Yes taxes are sky high here, and fees....it STNKS! That is why we have looked around....but keep coming back too (although we never left either).

Thanks for sticking up for me Stacy

[shaley]

california sounds beautiful, i've never been there, so i might have to add it to my list of visits, even if its just for a fun vacation.

hmmmm. idaho does sound nice. really, you make it sound so lovely. i'll have to definitely check out the links.

texas would be ideal, too, as i am still tossing around the idea of applying to med school at the tender age of oh... i'd probably be around 35 by then. and texas has LOTS of med schools, some of which are known to be "geriatric student" friendly. LOL and monstermomma... thanks. my mom has pretty severe ra, and my parents will probably follow us wherever we go(they'll be retired by then, and are ready for something new, too). so i worry about the weather and its effect on her, ya know?

well, i definitely got a lot of neat information from you guys. i copied down all the links in case they get removed, so i have new stuff to work from!

thanks to everyone! and, if you still want to respond, i'm still listening!

kindly,
susan

[StraitLover]

If you want low humidity, NC or SC is NOT where you want to be. It's not quite as bad as FL, but July and Aug humidity levels are killer!

[PsycoPhat]

I live in the same area as lucky_me (hey there! ) and I would have suggested Idaho too, but my mom has also Rheumatoid arthritis and she came up here for a week for Christmas and the cold weather really made her hurt - bad. She's still feeling some pain from the trip. Idaho is great, but I don't know how your mom would handle it. Good luck on finding a great place to live though!

[shaley]

oooh, yeah. the cold would be bad, too.

hmmm. maybe i need to just go find another planet! maybe a little closer to the sun. LOL!

that RA stuff is awful. i have bad joints myself. however, my condition is genetic and its quite the opposite of RA... my joints sort of just dislocate at their own will. so, i understand how difficult it is to have painful joints during extreme weather.

well, i guess texas, arizona, nevada and new mexico are still on for a visit!

[LilMsCntBeWrng]

I agree with Kate Santa Fe,New Mexico All the way, my boyfriend has a house there, it's great... I live in Oklahoma though, I love it here too...

[1dayatatime]

Pretty much anywhere in the South/Southeast you are going to encounter outrageous humidity levels in July and August -. I'm in Tennessee. Born and raised here and I've spent time in every one (there are 8) of the beautiful states that border our great state at various times of the year and some that border those states. We're all pretty much the same...some a little hotter in summer...some a little cooler in winter...some more mountainous than others...some, like mine, can give you the grandeur of the Smokey Mountains in the east of the state to the more flatlands in the west along the Mississippi River.

Geez, sounds like a sales pitch.

DH is from Oregon. Central Oregon is snow covered from November through March and warm and dry in the summer. Western Oregon is mild, not humid, but yes very wet. Eastern Oregon is a desert.

Besides the cost of living, ever consider Hawaii?

[shaley]

HA! have i ever considered hawaii, you ask? only every other day! LOL!

i read somewhere that you can buy a fixer upper house for 100K there...

but add on another million and a half or so if you want that house on land!



LOL!

[destiny's mom]

Move to North Carolina. I am from the Raleigh area and am desperately trying to get back by this summer. I currently live in Jackson, Mississippi. Don't waste your time researching Jackson, it ain't worth it. North Carolina fits the bill for what you are looking for.

[1dayatatime]

Just a mere million to have a house on some land, huh? Yeah, my brother was stationed at Pearl Harbor for 3 1/2 years. He spent about one of it on land and the other 2 1/2 submerged somewhere in the ocean BUT he loved everything about it except how far from home it is.

Oh well, we can dream!

[DeafinlySmart]

Personally (assuming you don't need jobs), I would consider cost of living, taxes, real estate prices, weather, culture, local or closeby attractions (other places to visit), architechture (sp?) (because if you want a big open land, moving up north east may land you a condo or townhouse instead), how close are you to your family (do you want to be?), and gas prices. Those are just some of the questions you should ask yourself.

[damejane]

yeah right Orlando is Horrible Humid in the summer.......I hate it ...the traffic here stinks to...but i love the nice spring , winter and fall...LOl