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To me, probably one of the most challenging issues on any relocation is the oddball weather patterns that are occurring at this time. I never thought of Virginia in a weather basis/four seasons very nice with some really cold and really hot and humid thrown in . But they don't last and the good/tolerable weather is so delightful. About the time you have had just about your limit on any weather extreme, there is a shift and you quickly forget your labor pains.
Yet over the past several years, extreme cold and snow have been far too frequent and summers have been intolerable - humidity and temps to absolutely kill you. It's not just a comfort issue which is important but a cost issue as well. Utility bills reach amounts that are eye poppers and so whether one owns or rents, it becomes a necessity to find out what the previous 12 month utility bills ran before considering any property.
A similar impact is insurance rates. If more and more states enter these pools where major weather issues are demanding payouts by insurance companies, more states could follow the path that Florida has embarked on, raising homeowner and renter's insurance to amounts that cause havoc with a budget as well.
It's not just a comfort issue which is important but a cost issue as well. Utility bills reach amounts that are eye poppers and so whether one owns or rents, it becomes a necessity to find out what the previous 12 month utility bills ran before considering any property.
In 1975 while moving to Virginia to begin an assignment at the Pentagon we drove across the border with West Virginia and a car pulled onto the freeway just ahead of us. It sported a bumper sticker that said, Welcome to Virgina, owned and operated by VEPCO. I found that amusing until about a month later when I received our first electric bill!
Don't get the reference. Don't live there and not planning on retiring there.
But, as an aside, the woman who introduced Mrs. Tek and I lives in the Dallas Ft Worth area. We asked her once how she handled the weather in the summer. Her response was that she learned to flip her seasons. Up here we go out in summer and stay in in winter. Down there she goes out in winter and stays in in summer.
Edit: This year we stayed in during summer. It was brutal this year. After it rained non-stop for a couple of months we had 100+ heat index for over a month. It finally turned nice in time for the state fair, which is usually the worst weather of the year. Just plain freaky weather all summer.
You are too much fun Mr. Rational.. more than any one person should be allowed to have.. I get such a kick out of your humor.. I hunt down your replies.. they always have something in them that is so dimensional.
You are too much fun Mr. Rational.. more than any one person should be allowed to have.. I get such a kick out of your humor.. I hunt down your replies.. they always have something in them that is so dimensional.
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