Info on American States?

[Benben]

A while back when I was job hunting seriously, I'd occasionally get job offers for places out of the blue - like Pierre, South Dakota, or Boise Idaho. I mean, talk about some cities totally not on my radar scope.

While I'm sure those are fine cities (aside from being too blasted cold in the winter time), I had no desire to work in either one.

I'll respect your decision to ignore Boise job offers because we've had more than enough growth in the past 15 years than we can handle. Although it's always good to have more gamers.

I will correct you in thinking that Boise has cold winters. Even in deepest, darkest winter the temperature rarely drops below 25 degrees, mostly though it's in the mid 30s for most of the winter. You also won't see more than a lick of snow, and that won't even last more than a day. Honestly, the summers are much worse than the winters.

 

[Desdichado]

I will correct you in thinking that Boise has cold winters. Even in deepest, darkest winter the temperature rarely drops below 25 degrees, mostly though it's in the mid 30s for most of the winter. You also won't see more than a lick of snow, and that won't even last more than a day. Honestly, the summers are much worse than the winters.

My experience from living in Detroit for five years now is that it isn't how cold the winters are so much as it is how long they last.

 

[Benben]

My experience from living in Detroit for five years now is that it isn't how cold the winters are so much as it is how long they last.

So what is Detroit like? The media doesn't paint a pretty picture of it. I imagine the city as Blade Runner industrial apocalypse with gray snow. What are the perks?

Boise winters last from December till Febuary.

 

[Desdichado]

So what is Detroit like? The media doesn't paint a pretty picture of it. I imagine the city as Blade Runner industrial apocalypse with gray snow. What are the perks?

The suburbs. Lots of nearby lakes. Spring and summer are really nice. Blade Runner is pretty accurate -- shortly after moving up here my folks came to visit; my dad's comment on downtown was that it looked like a leftover set from Mad Max.

Winter lasts from late November until mid-April. That's not a perk.

 

[Simplicity]

Man, California is taking a lot of flak in this thread, so I guess I'd better
stand up and give the other side of the story...

1) One poster mentioned that people in California don't know zip codes, and
think 15 minutes is too long to drive anywhere. The poster CLEARLY hasn't
lived in California... First, we've got the same USPS you've got. Zip codes
are how mail works here too... Second, the entire state is based around the
automobile. Literally. Drive-thrus started here. You've gotta drive to get
virtually anywhere, because everything is so sprawling and spread out.

2) Regarding earthquakes. People who don't live in California are terrified of
the idea of the whole earth moving and killing everyone and flattening the whole city.
Californians, on the other hand, just try to decide whether this earthquake is worth
getting up for or not. Most earthquakes are easily slept through. There are RARE
cases of large earthquakes causing massive damage, but the number of people who
actually die is pretty low (We actually BUILD for earthquakes now. Go figure.)

3) Some people think Californians are crazy. I don't think crazy is necessarily the right word. California (even Hollywood) is not like what you see on TV. Some people see Venice Beach (where you can find 31 flavors of loons) and think the entire state is that way. It's not. Some of California is very liberal (and people call that "crazy"), but I think that's simply because everyone who lives in California is pretty much either a transplant from another state or their family came from another state. We have to be open-minded, as we are the melting pot state of the melting pot country. Some of California is very conservative. San Diego has a large number of military families. Orange County is very religious, and very Republican.

4) Arnold. Yeah, okay you got us there. At least we didn't elect Gary Coleman.

Good things about California:
1) Geek central due to the computer boom and a general love of movies/TV. That's gotta count for something on a D&D board...
2) Nice weather. Not seasons, mind you, but great weather.
3) Lots of ocean, mountains, forest, desert... It's a huge state.
4) Very diverse. Dense city in L.A. turns into sticksville in central California which turns into more wooded sticksville as you head north, and then back to urban.
5) Food. The food is very good. Mexican food, thai food, japanese food, chinese food, italian food, steaks (okay, not as good as midwest steaks, but they're okay) and on and on.

 

[Arbiter of Wyrms]

Anyone got any highlights for Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio or Vermont?

If you're from there, or have kin there, you can sometimes get away with pronouncing it "miZERra," though I make a point of pronouncing it "misery."

I live in California, and have most of my life.

I used to be annoyed by Texans who would go on and on about how great Texas is, but now I've realized I do the same thing with California, but then, with California, it's deserved.

It could be argued that San Francisco and Los Angeles are right up there with New York, Chicago, London, & Paris for western cultural significance. This is land siezed wrongfully from Mexico by a president afraid to challenge Britain for what is now British Columbia. It's said that folks came for the gold, and stayed for the agriculture. The only crops not grown in California are tropical ones like banana, coconut, and mango. Our fair state includes just about every kind of climate, and I believe we have the highest and lowest elevations in conus. Ours is the third largest economy in the world. Hollywood and agriculture are not our only industries, by any means. We are the U.S.'s most populous state, one of the most ethnically and linguistically diverse states, and yes. . . while I can't really go into it here, we can be kind of wacky politically.

 

[Desdichado]

I used to be annoyed by Texans who would go on and on about how great Texas is, but now I've realized I do the same thing with California, but then, with California, it's deserved.

Everyone from Texas does that. In California, no more people do that than anywhere else.

Something to think about.

 

[Quasqueton]

People who don't live in California are terrified of the idea of the whole earth moving and killing everyone and flattening the whole city.

The west coast has to suffer through earthquakes, and has gotten used to it.

The great plains has to suffer through tornadoes, and has gotten used to it.

The southeast coast has to suffer through hurricanes, and has gotten used to it.

The northeast coast has to suffer through being the northeast coast, and has gotten used to it.

Alaska has to suffer through ice and snow and 6 month nights, and has gotten used to it.

Texas has to suffer through being only one of 50 states, and hasn't gotten used to it.

Hawaii has to suffer through. . . OK, so it doesn't suffer from anything.

Quasqueton

 

[Simplicity]

Hawaii has to suffer through. . . OK, so it doesn't suffer from anything.

Well, other than the fact that whole ISLANDs could blow up at any minute, yeah, not so much to worry about.

Living in Hawaii is like starting your campaign in Cauldron from Dungeon's Adventure Path. The DM knows it's going to blow. The players know it's going to blow. Until it does, everyone just goes out, kills cellar rats, and keeps an eye out for falling ash.

 

[Darth K'Trava]

1) One poster mentioned that people in California don't know zip codes, and
think 15 minutes is too long to drive anywhere. The poster CLEARLY hasn't
lived in California... First, we've got the same USPS you've got. Zip codes
are how mail works here too... Second, the entire state is based around the
automobile. Literally. Drive-thrus started here. You've gotta drive to get
virtually anywhere, because everything is so sprawling and spread out.

I guess they think all zip codes in California should be 90210.

They've never been in ANY rush hour traffic, nevermind the LA Freeway... (I've not been there either but I've been in Atlanta traffic....)