D&D and the rising pandemic

[Umbran]

Sure, summers are hot and we get droughts & tornadoes...

... and when it is too hot or too cold, don't expect to have things other people take for granted, like electricity...

Admittedly, I haven't lived through it all, but... if my local government cannot provide basic infrastructure or public health... that seems like a sign to get the heck out of Dodge.

 

[Ryujin]

Well, I have to say that in many (non-pandemicy) ways, life here is pretty good. In the cities at least. We have really good and growing ethnic p/cultural/cuisine diversity. Access to a broad variety of arts & sports at all levels- unless you’re talking something ultra-niche, if it’s available anywhere in the USA, we have it here. Sure, summers are hot and we get droughts & tornadoes, but we don’t have to shovel snow.

And additionally for folks like me and my Dad…we’re also licensed in Texas, and don’t want to have to jump through our professions’ respective hoops to be licensed elsewhere. In fact, he gave up his license for Louisiana (our home state) a while back.

Are there things I miss from other regions of the country? Most definitely. Before I became so deeply rooted here, I looked into returning to the Sea-Tac area, moving to San Francisco or Chicago, or trying out someplace new like Miami, NYC Boston, etc. But for a variety of reasons, I never made a move like that.

I've become quite fond of the SeaTac area, over the last few years. Mountains within an hour's drive away. Oceanfront out the door. At this point I think that I might also have more friends there, than I do in the Toronto area. If I was to move somewhere, that would likely be where I'd go.

 

[Zardnaar]

I know people, smart people, good people, not anti-vaxx types, who live in Florida and Texas.

What I cannot for the life of me understand is why they stay there.

Never under estimate the appeal of warm weather.

 

[Umbran]

Never under estimate the appeal of good weather.

Good weather? Given that it was the weather that took down the power grid, both in summer and winter, leaving folks without cooling or heating, I'm not sure that description is appropriate at this point.

 

[Eltab]

I know people, smart people, good people, not anti-vaxx types, who live in Florida and Texas.

What I cannot for the life of me understand is why they stay there.

When you asked them, what did they say?

 

[Zardnaar]

Good weather? Given that it was the weather that took down the power grid, both in summer and winter, leaving folks without cooling or heating, I'm not sure that description is appropriate at this point.

My sister tried to talk my brother into visiting with his kids. Sibling reunion take the kids up the Waitaki Valley and into the Alps. In winter.

He declined "it's to cold". Gotten soft in his old age turned into a jafa (just another bleep Aucklander".

Mild winter this year it's hardly even freezing.

 

[Cadence]

I know people, smart people, good people, not anti-vaxx types, who live in Florida and Texas.

What I cannot for the life of me understand is why they stay there.

When I moved to South Carolina 20+ years ago it was the butt of a lot of jokes, in a lot of bad news, and at the very bottom of a bunch of lists. I'm amazed at how many states worked really hard over the next two decades to make us look better... even though we haven't particularly changed.

[And we're still under 2 hours to the coast, under 2 hours to the mountains, the flowers start blooming in February, and folks from Florida laugh when you say you think it's hot here.]

 

[Umbran]

When you asked them, what did they say?

I don't talk with them frequently enough for this to be a topic of conversation. When you only speak to friends once in a very long while, you prioritize what you discuss.

 

[Zardnaar]

When I moved to South Carolina 20+ years ago it was the butt of a lot of jokes, in a lot of bad news, and at the very bottom of a bunch of lists. I'm amazed at how many states worked really hard over the next two decades to make us look better... even though we haven't particularly changed.

[And we're still under 2 hours to the coast, under 2 hours to the mountains, the flowers start blooming in February, and folks from Florida laugh when you say you think it's hot here.]

Is there a big difference between north and south Carolina?

Watch a YouTube video on a city in North Carolina and it reminded me of NZ a little and housing is a lot cheaper. Looked mild but not to hot. It was up near the mountains around 100k population.

 

[Zardnaar]

Rural mass vaccination around 33 people every 10 minutes.

Taranaki residents relieved, pleased to be vaccinated against Covid-19

Hundreds line up for the country's first rural mass Covid-19 vaccination event in Stratford today.

www.rnz.co.nz

Farms, farms more farms and still more farms if one is bored. Article has a nice boring photo of a waiting area.