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Question: Should i be scared to move to california?

(Posted by: ula on 2010-03-11 13:40:46)

Because of the earthquakes if 7.9 earthquake what if i was laying on a beach or in the water or walking or siting or shopping

Posted by: Flower on 2010-03-11, 19:38:16

So what? You cant go through life b eing afraid of such things. There would be no tsunami if we had an earthquake. If you are walking, or shopping you just move away from wherever things are falling. Earthquakes happen in the same spot about every 20 years.

Posted by: Robert W on 2010-03-11, 13:51:12

Try living near Mt. saint helens a volcano in washington state? the truth anything bad can happen anywhere on earth no matter where you are at any time!! so don't worry they have been waiting for the BIG ONE every since the 70's i know of 40 years of worrying for nothing??

Posted by: Maureen on 2010-03-11, 14:00:10

No!!!! Where are you from? Unfortunately a lot of people have this fear probably because all the disaster movies love employing special effects to show the Golden Gate Bridge buckling and S.F. or L.A. being hit by huge earthquakes and tidal waves but the truth is we enjoy great mild weather in CA and there are just a few mild shakes from time to time. I'd much rather live here than have to worry about East Coast hurricanes and snow storms or mid-west tornados or freezing temperatures or floods in other parts of the U.S. I was here for the 1989/ 1990 world series quake...remember that one? I forget what it measured but it did cause some significant damage to the Bay Bridge and certain parts of the city but even then there were many parts of the city that were unaffected. I lived in the Sunset district and i remember feeling a little rolling and a couple of dishes broke in the kitchen but that was it.

Posted by: DON T on 2010-03-11, 14:06:52

I take an earthquake ever 10 or 15 years to a tornado every year in the mid west or a blizzard every year in the north east or a hurricane every year in the south east.

Posted by: Maxx Hoopla on 2010-03-11, 16:26:07

Don't worry about earthquakes. You will starve first because you won't be able to find a job.

Posted by: Lisa H on 2010-03-11, 19:56:01

I have lived in calfornia since 1980 and have experienced many an earthquake, including the 1989 loma prieta earth quake in san francisco. i would take an earthquake any day of the week over a hurricane or a tornado. big ones like that are not that common. california averages 100 recordable earthquakes PER DAY statewide. the only problem is that you hear about the big ones like the ones in haiti and chile because of the devastation. things to keep in mind, california has been very in tune with earthquake building standards for going on 30 years. our state and buildings are relatively new compared to say haiti or turkey. the next big one that will cause major damage will happen in missouri or new york city. both areas that have tons of unreinforced buildings. the two massive earthquakes in chile, a country that has experienced multiple 8.0 + earthquakes in the last 40 years, barely hurt the country. they are so well prepared for it. but haiti for example just keeps rebuilding with the same bad engineering causing devastation and death. you should worry about earthquakes in california. none of us locals pay much attention to them. watch the movie LA story when the group is out in LA having lunch....that's how I feel.

Posted by: Da Texan on 2010-03-11, 23:23:28

Oh don't be a fucking wuss and do it. I'm moving to Santa Monica from Texas very soon. California is beautiful. Do it.

Posted by: Steve D on 2010-03-12, 02:33:09

Unless you have a job waiting for you here, now is not a good time to move to California. The state is totally broke - so bad they are delaying giving people our tax refunds back. Services have been cut everywhere and we have higher unemployment than the national average. As far as the earthquakes are concerned, yeah it's a possibility here. I was here for the 1989 earthquake (I was at Candlestick Park for the World Series game) and even though there was widespread damage and loss of life, we recovered from it and improved our infrastructure. The threat of an earthquake is something we llive with here every day but it doesn't affect our daily lives. It's like people who live in the midwest with tornadoes and in the southeast with hurricanes. On the positive side, we have a beautiful state with more things to do than almost anywhere else in the country. I live in the bay area and we have everything, plus San Francisco is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. If you can afford it, there is a lot of culture, nightlife and great food! If you're not necessarily a city person, our suburbs have everything to offer and you're close to the city if you want to go there.

Posted by: Belina on 2010-03-12, 10:41:07

I moved out here 15 years ago and I'm still alive :) You'll usually get a minor earthquake (depending on where you live) about once a year. Honestly, you stop noticing after a while. Everyone likes to talk about "the big one " coming soon, but no one really worries about it. In all the places your likely to have earthquakes, California is probably the safest, since people and governments here have the money to retrofit buildings. Also, in California you don't have to worry about the other natural disasters that the rest of the world has to deal with (ie tornados, hurricanes, blizzards, etc).