[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by JayCT

You keep accusing me of being irrational. What is irrational about what I have said? Is any of it untrue? No it is not. California has one of the most active and dangerous fault lines in the continental US period. Is that irrational? No it is a fact. And that fault line stretches almost the entire state and through or near its major cities.

I do not know why you keep bringing up earthquakes. Similar to a terrorist attack, you have a better chance of getting struck by lightening than being badly injured in an earthquake. Additionally, the Northeastern USA gets earthquakes as well, and I was reading the other day that if we get a 5.0, the damage here would be equivalent to an 8.0 in California. We feel them more apparently.

My point is that claiming a place is not a good area to live based on a natural disaster that MIGHT happen once every 20 years is very silly IMO.

Originally Posted by JayCT

As for traffic you are right that the highways to New York are not great but there is excellent train service too. And not everyone in Connecticut wants to or has to go into New York. Furthermore while traffic in the major California cities can come from multiple directions there are chokepoints that can't be avoided. If it were as easy as you say there would not be the miles of backups on their highways. California traffic prolems are LEGENDARY. When ConnDOT brought traffic engineers from California here several years ago to review traffic in and around Hartford they literally laughed when they saw how short our rush hours are. In CA they can go on for several hours without letting up. Here after a couple of hours they are gone.

No, not everybody goes to New York. In fact, most of the people who sit in 95 traffic everyday commute to Stamford and Norwalk. Sure the train is a great option for those going to Grand Central, but it's really not convenient for people who work at major office parks in Norwalk and Stamford, unless you're working right IN downtown Stamford. It's more of a hassle, actually.

Keep thinking that 95 is not even close to California traffic from your home an hour northeast of Fairfield County where you don't experience it. I've commuted from Northwest LA and I've commuted 95; DW commutes on 95. Both are bad, but to diminish the severity of FFC traffic by claiming LA's is worse is really laughable. Connecticut must be cheap because Manhattan is more expensive then, right?

Again, LA traffic lasts about 5 miles over 5 lanes. Not fun by any means, but the choke points you speak of can EASILY be avoided. That's my point. You know it's bad in CT when HR departments in Stamford-area companies recommend to stagger the release of employees. It is a severe quality of life issue, and I find it a little disturbing that someone in your profession is making excuses for it. Now I understand why we have such problems.

Originally Posted by JayCT

As for the snow, you can argue that everytime it rains anywhere people die in weather related car accidents too. So should we only live in dessert climates where the chances of rain are slim??? I don't think so.

Do they close schools when it rains? Do buildings around the state collapse if we get too much rain? Does rain put a strain on town budgets? Does rain eat the paint on my vehicle the way salt does? Here's a fun-fact - police calls for motor vehicle accidents go up 10 fold when it snows, and on average, departments have two extra guys on, so that's additional money that the town has to fork up.

Should I even mention the severe thunderstorms and multiple tornadoes we've had last summer, and will probably get this summer?

A "good luck with your possible move west" would have been nice, instead of your spouting off how much you hate it there.

[Golden1]

Hartford traffic around rush hour is annoying - it's true but not on the level of these major top 10 size metro areas in the U.S. BUT... Man, is traffic horrible between the NY border and roughly Bridgeport during rush hour especially the few exits before and after Stamford. You have to live in that area of Fairfield to understand that. It is a by far greater issue than the issues Hartford has, by far. The worst is dealing with phantom traffic where suddenly everyone slows or crawls for about a mile because somebody braked up ahead due to seeing a cop or whatever reason and then everyone for miles back suddenly slows for no apparent reason and then POOF after a few minutes or so you're back up to the speed limit. I find this phantom traffic jam problem to be largely a I-95 issue.

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by Golden1

The worst is dealing with phantom traffic where suddenly everyone slows or crawls for about a mile because somebody braked up ahead due to seeing a cop or whatever reason and then everyone for miles back suddenly slows for no apparent reason and then POOF after a few minutes or so you're back up to the speed limit. I find this phantom traffic jam problem to be largely a I-95 issue.

YES! That is so frustrating. The problem I think is that 95 has too many on-ramps and when cars merge in, it causes all sorts of issues. And I agree about the traffic right around Stamford - it sometimes takes DW one hour to get from exit 6 to the Post Rd exit in Darien, then another hour just to get to Bridgeport. This is no exaggeration, either.

I don't get aggravated when I see cars slow for police because by law, you have to reduce your speed and if possible, move over.

[gardenpearl]

I-95 is bad all the way up from Greenwich to where I live in Branford year round, and even farther north of that in summer. In nice weather it becomes a parking lot around here due to people heading out towards the shorelines in CT, Rhode Island, etc. and then back home on Sundays.

[bobtn]

JayCt, Reliable Sources on CNN brought up the same points I did. Earthquakes are ratings boosters, good pictures, breaking news, etc, while blizzards are not due to their slow and steady path towards a death toll.

[Tetto]

Originally Posted by kidyankee764

it sometimes takes DW one hour to get from exit 6 to the Post Rd exit in Darien, then another hour just to get to Bridgeport.This is no exaggeration, either.

No wonder Nor Cal looks so good, I'd snap if I had to deal with that kind of s*** every day! Your wife must have the patience to deal with it.

[DawnMTL]

One man's trash is another man's treasure.

There's no ONE place that will suit EVERYbody.

My father-in-law lives in South Florida. He won't come visit between October and May -- it's too cold for him. We don't like going there in the summer -- it's too humid.

Kidyankee: I hope that your wife gets the job and that you follow your dream. I'll be 100% envious that you'll be living in CA while I'm in MA, but I'll also be 1000000% happy for your family.

[minibrings]

In conn i loved living in cos cob. Small village feel with town of Greenwich amenities. Easy access to NY.

Outside conn:
Adelaide, South Austraalia. Clean. Well a planned. Beautiful architecture. Friendly locals. Nice beaches. Warmish winters. Surrounded by wine regions. Foodie capital of Australia (new York times article)

[Angelic_Avalon]

Oh you thought Connecticut the worse how about tornado, snow, and flash flooding, and wind gusts over 60 mph, and mud-slide in California. This is recently and now. That must be worse than a typical Connecticut blizzard

California Craziness: Big Snow, Heavy Rain, High Winds - weather.com

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by kidyankee764

I do not know why you keep bringing up earthquakes. Similar to a terrorist attack, you have a better chance of getting struck by lightening than being badly injured in an earthquake. Additionally, the Northeastern USA gets earthquakes as well, and I was reading the other day that if we get a 5.0, the damage here would be equivalent to an 8.0 in California. We feel them more apparently.

My point is that claiming a place is not a good area to live based on a natural disaster that MIGHT happen once every 20 years is very silly IMO.

No, not everybody goes to New York. In fact, most of the people who sit in 95 traffic everyday commute to Stamford and Norwalk. Sure the train is a great option for those going to Grand Central, but it's really not convenient for people who work at major office parks in Norwalk and Stamford, unless you're working right IN downtown Stamford. It's more of a hassle, actually.

Keep thinking that 95 is not even close to California traffic from your home an hour northeast of Fairfield County where you don't experience it. I've commuted from Northwest LA and I've commuted 95; DW commutes on 95. Both are bad, but to diminish the severity of FFC traffic by claiming LA's is worse is really laughable. Connecticut must be cheap because Manhattan is more expensive then, right?

Again, LA traffic lasts about 5 miles over 5 lanes. Not fun by any means, but the choke points you speak of can EASILY be avoided. That's my point. You know it's bad in CT when HR departments in Stamford-area companies recommend to stagger the release of employees. It is a severe quality of life issue, and I find it a little disturbing that someone in your profession is making excuses for it. Now I understand why we have such problems.

Do they close schools when it rains? Do buildings around the state collapse if we get too much rain? Does rain put a strain on town budgets? Does rain eat the paint on my vehicle the way salt does? Here's a fun-fact - police calls for motor vehicle accidents go up 10 fold when it snows, and on average, departments have two extra guys on, so that's additional money that the town has to fork up.

Should I even mention the severe thunderstorms and multiple tornadoes we've had last summer, and will probably get this summer?

A "good luck with your possible move west" would have been nice, instead of your spouting off how much you hate it there.

You know Kidyankee, I have not attacked you here but you keep attacking me and questioning me and my motives for my opinion. I think you need to calm down a bit.

I mention earthquakes because they are a very real part of life in California. There have been several in the last 20 to 30 years and experts expect more in the future. 20 years is not a long time when you plan to live out your life somewhere so this is not a chance I would take.

As for major employers offering staggered hours, this is offered in most major cities, even those in California and probably even more so there!!! And most of the office parks in Stamford do have shuttles from the train station. Just walk outside the station and you will see a sea of them waiting to bring people to their offices. As for my defending Stamford, I am not. You are right, traffic is horrible and even though I am an hour or more away from it, I do know the problems faced there very well as well as the problems faced in LA, San Francisco and other major CA cities (and you know why I do). Also blaming me for the problems is just rude.

And yes rain in California does close schools at times and it does cause damages. Right now there is a neighborhood in LA that is in danger of sliding down the hillside because of the terrible rain they are having right now.

So to end our little debate now I am going to wish you well if you do move to California. I do hope it works out for you and actually I am sure it will. Jay