This is meant as a simple, honest question. Nor snarky at all.
Is living where there is an annual threat of hurricanes worth the weather that's nice a few months out of the year? I have friends that moved to FL from MI. They go on and on about how Dec through March are beautiful, but admit that they stay indoors for June through September because it's just too hot and humid to enjoy life. So, what I wonder is this. Every year there is a real possibility that you will suffer considerable loss, even catastrophic loss due to the regular weather patterns. Is that really worth it?
I say this sitting in my living room here in Michigan. I've been in -38*F temps, but you just put on more clothes to be comfortable. I've lived through one small tornado in 45 years. This summer I turned the air on for about 3 weeks. I could never see the pay-off for living where every year there is a real threat of loss of life and everything you own.
This may not be the right time to pose this question since quite a few of the folks this is directed at have had to evacuate.....the state and there are millions without power and probably cell-phone service.
We're in South East Texas purely for economic reasons. Are those worth it vs. the economy in most of Michigan for the last couple decades? We think so. It's not so much trading weather, it's following the economy as it's shifted from the rust belt to the sun belt.
Florida native here...
Snowstorms scare me worse than Hurricanes. They can destroy infrastructure just as effectively, and once that infrastructure is destroyed you can't just put on cargo shorts and hang out until its fixed.
Earthquakes scare me more than snowstorms. At least with snow and hurricanes, you get some warning.
Wildfires scare me worse than Hurricanes, snowstorms and earthquakes. There's not much of a "glancing blow" with a wildfire, and things can get dynamic quickly.
Werewolf infestation scares me worse than hurricanes, snowstorms, earthquakes and fires. Once werewolves take over your sleepy little seaside town in Maine, and local longshoreman are getting their throats ripped out left and right, let's see what that does to everyone property values.
But if you look around the country at cool places to live, they all seem to offer at least one from that list. The rest of the places just seem to offer boredom. Boredom is scarier than that whole list combined.
Look, I'm not saying Florida is as cool as Vancouver, but it's fairly easy to get to cool places from, and we can wear the aforementioned cargo shorts 365. That's a plus for me, as is the cheap land, on which you can put fortified dwellings to withstand nature.
I live in the mid Atlantic and wear shorts 365. Women think I'm crazy but then they never sleep with me so I scoff at their bewilderment. Werewolves make that silver buyer look like a genius.
What kind of death and destruction are you used to? Hurricanes, earthquakes big poisonous snakes or bugs and 120 degrees all summer are horrible, because I am unfamiliar with them. 40 below and blizzards, piece of cake.
There are a lot of warm places that don't have hurricanes. I ended up in Austin because of economics as well. I got a great job moved up the ladder well over the years. Is it worth it? Well, summers are very hot so you have 3-4 months where outside time is limited.
There are a lot of 4 season places like the Carolinas and Tennessee. Even the front range of Colorado or southern Utah isn't really that bad.
For me...If it weren't for the economic goodness that I got since I was here, I would have moved out a long time ago.
If everyone liked the same thing, the entire population of the country would live in the same place. :) There are pluses and minuses to any location.
I wouldn't live anywhere else. I wear shorts at Christmas and I'm outside all summer. I spent a year in South Korea so berk the cold. Hurricanes are a PITA but really a lot is mitigating the risk. I live one block from the river but the bluff puts me 44 feet above sea level. My only worry is the trees around my house and I'm probably worse case tree wise. This is how the hurricane affected my life.
Early last week I started checking the track once a day. On Wednesday I got a text saying after school activities were cancelled for Thursday and no school after that. Called my boss and told him I needed a half day Thursday because of that. By now I'm checking the track several times a day. Friday morning decide we can stay and spend 30 minutes cleaning the yard of possible flying missiles. Saturday I want to do my normal vehicle project time but cancel because of rain. Sunday the winds are high enough I don't go outside because of falling limb risk. I'm bored at this point. Today I stay inside until winds go down. I don't have power but I have everything I need including a generator I don't feel like getting out. I spend 30 minutes cleaning up (have more for later but no rush) and talking to neighbors. Get word that we're back to work tomorrow. Power comes on 17 hours after it goes out. I end up getting paid two days to sit at home bored (added bonus is my post count goes up) and other than cleaning up the yard a little I'm done.
I'll trade that for freezing my shiny off anyday.
Roomies house on Kent Island lost power recently due to a tornado. Bought a generator, humped an a/c upstairs and as he plugs it in the power comes back on.
for all the issues with living in southern NJ (which is distinct from the rest of NJ) we, like Deleware and MD are in sort of a "garden spot" on the coast. We do not get the terrible winter weather that north of us gets, we do not get the super hot stuff below us gets, we rarely get tornados, and I think I have been through 5 or 6 hurricanes in my 46 years of life, of them only Sandy was truly notable.
So yes, there is a lot not to like about living in NJ. Cost of living is outrageous, we are a crowded state, taxes are high, and we get too many tourists, but our weather is generally quite nice
I live in earthquake country, not hurricane country, but if you look at the stats, a couple thousand people a year in the US die from weather-related causes. 2/3 of those are from cold exposure, most of the rest are heat exposure, and a few percent are from everything else put together (flooding, hurricanes, tornadoes, etc).
Cold is a killer.
Eastern Mass here, I had my first trip to Orlando this year and I'd move to Florida today if I could. My wife however, hell no.
I've had two sheds taken out by a tree in a blizzard, spent a couple grand to cut down the more dangerous looking ones.
There's always something looking to kill you. I'd rather be wearing shorts when my time comes!
I spent over 40 years in PA, the last 10 being fairly close to the Pocono Mountains. 3+ years in Atlanta now. Not quite hurricane country, but higher risk of tornado, and slight hurricane risk. There are so many things I miss about PA, but winter is not one of them. If I never see another snow flake and never stand in sub-zero temps again, I'll die a happy man.
No one lives in FL from May-Sept. They all come up to the NC/TN mountains. There are 6 full time residences on my street of 15 or so homes the rest are people that live in FL or they are seasonal rentals. I would guess over half of my community lives in FL from Oct-April and only come up here in May-Sept and maybe thanksgiving and christmas.
In reply to DrBoost :
While we've not yet experienced a hurricane, we moved down here two years ago knowing fully that it will happen, and when it does there's the potential to lose everything.
We're in Biloxi, so the weather here is a bit cooler than the FL peninsula. Through the summer our temps are normally similar, or even slightly cooler, than what it is back in IL. The humidity isn't actually higher either, though the radiant heat from the sun is definitely hotter.
In 2-years of living here I've already experienced more beautiful days than I did in 40+ years in IL, so yes, I'd say it's worth the risk. Besides, there is plenty of advance warning & documented evacuation routes for a hurricane vs. the uncertainty and always present danger of tornadoes in the Midwest. So it's really just trading one peril for another.
Lastly, we looked around before deciding to settle here. We knew we wanted someplace warmer - we were surprised to also find someplace this close to the water where the cost of living is actually lower than rural-IL.
That's pretty much what I thought, familiarity.
I don't get the fear of snow or cold. It snows, shovel it away or drive on it with good tires. For the cold, they make things called coats, and that part of your cars A/C dial that has the red line, that's heat. It makes things warm haha
But seriously, 2/3 of the state of FL is out of power and weeks before some get it back? 100,000 living in shelters? 10,000 people need to be evacuated now? Nope.
I used to want to leave MI, and I still might one day, but it's actually a good place to live. no earth quakes, no wild fires, no hurricanes, no mud slides, no 'gators looking to eat your kids, no scorpions in your shoes in the morning.
No state is perfect though, that's for sure
you guys and girls stay safe down there!
Pete: you just mentioned a HUGE issue I totally forgot about. Living in MS, or FL, or the like, you guys actually get to see the sun! That's the one, very large issue I have living in Michigan. Sunny days are rare here, and that sucks. It effects my wife bad enough that I've told her to say the word and we'll move. I've done the research, Michigan, and the areas surrounding the great lakes get sunny days only slightly more than the Pacific Northwest.
I grew up in hurricane country then lived in earthquake country.
I'll say earthquakes seem scary until you experience one, then its just pretty cool when you feel it. Cali weather is obviously worth the earthquake.
Hurricanes get hyped up by the media and sends people into a crazy spending and panic mode. Life is rarely threatened by them. Yes, they're string out in the ocean and always lose steam when they hit land. I lost my galant vr4 to a hurricane, and some gutters.
I've experienced extreme cold. berkeley that E36 M3. I'll take hurricanes and anything else before that. I'm literally a Bob Costas when I get in anything below 30 degrees.
Tornados scare me but they don't last long from what I hear.
I live just outside San Antonio now, idk what people are afraid of here.
One year, I was in biloxi Mississippi from August to December. I experienced a heatwave, tornado, hurricanes, and some really racist rednecks all in 4 months. No thanks Mississippi!
In reply to DrBoost :
I'm not afraid of the cold, I just can't tolerate it. I have plenty of coats and it doesn't even get "that cold" here in NC. I do not wish to live my life bundled up in coats. Here, when we get the occasional hurricane, we will have plenty of warning that it's a-coming in case we want to bug out, but if we stay once it's over the temperature is an incredibly tolerable 70-80 degrees out, not a life-threatening negative number. This makes losing power for a week more of an inconvenience and less of a crisis.
I am happy that there are plenty of people that enjoy and even prefer the cold, as it keeps the traffic issues to a minimum down here in the warm, sunny south. LOL
DrBoost said:
That's pretty much what I thought, familiarity.
I don't get the fear of snow or cold.
It's not fear, it's loathing. I'm not afraid of the cold, I've been through plenty of it. Been through dozens of blizzards. I simply didn't want to do it anymore, nor did my wife. Yes, cars have heaters. And sure, they make hats, gloves, jackets. But layering up to stand outside and still get my fingers and toes numb, snot running down my nose and freezing, and my face stinging is just not my idea of fun. Yeah, the summer heat/humidity in the south can be rough, but just personal preference...I'll take it over the frozen tundra each and every day of the week. Frankly, once we're done with "the ATL", I'd like to keep going further south or even west...retire in FL or AZ or something.
To be fair, I'll post here this winter, at the end of winter, when I'm TOTALLY done with the cold and hating it haha. When I was younger, the cold wasn't a big deal. I'll admit that as I creep toward the 1/2 century mark, it gets harder.
A few years ago we had a BRUTAL winter. It was 38 below. My diesel gelled on the way to work, left me stranded on the side of the road, in the cold, no heater since the engine wouldn't run. The tow truck dispatch said 2+ hours before it would be there. That was actually scary as I was NOT dressed for the weather. I was ready to leave MI at that point. IIRC, that winter we had almost a 30 day stretch where the temps never got above 0, or maybe it was 10.
DrBoost said:
That's pretty much what I thought, familiarity.
I don't get the fear of snow or cold. It snows, shovel it away or drive on it with good tires. For the cold, they make things called coats, and that part of your cars A/C dial that has the red line, that's heat. It makes things warm haha
In my part of the country though, Oklahoma that is, it kind of is a big deal. We only infrequently see serious winter weather. You might need snow tires once every 2-4 years...........Since graduating college my BRZ is the car I've owned the longest and I still haven't had it for 3 years.
I don't have mountains of serious winter clothes, etc.
Then again, most people are terrified of tornadoes (and rightly so), in this part of the country when we get a tornado warning we typically grab a beer and go in the front yard to see which direction it's coming from.
I'd love to move out of OK to somewhere that better aligns with my, and my girlfriends, personal politics, I just don't see it being able to happen for awhile. So in the meantime I'll take advantage of the super cheap cost of living and use it to travel to the places I enjoy more.
It seems like people like to either:
- brag about their own weather, thinking they will make other people jealous of how great they have it.
- complain about their own weather, thinking they will show other people how tough they are for putting up with it.
No matter where you live, the weather is what it is and you're going to either enjoy it, tolerate it or hate it. The important thing to remember is no one else cares. Trying to say that the weather in one part of the country is 'better' than in another is purely subjective. I happen to like cold weather and snow, but other people feel differently and that's just fine.
Stuart, has anyone here done that in this thread? Just not sure if that's a statement or an indictment
One place I'm drawn to, even though I've never been there, is Utah. Seems like a decent mix of weather, and the scenery is beautiful. I don't know about cost of living, but the Jeepin' and mountain biking is great!!
