Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'll add that there are fault lines all over the area. The Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989 was a surprise - the faults that get the most attention are San Andreas and Hayward. You will experience earthquakes if you live there; you just hope they're smaller than 5.0.

OP, ask about earthquake insurance. I'm pretty sure you can't get it in the Bay Area, or it's prohibitively expensive.

Eh, take your gamble on which will hit first, another attack on DC or earthquake in Bay Area. Every place has its long tail risk.

This..exactly. I lived in CA for about 38 yrs and have only experienced 2 "big" earthquakes, but our house was ok. Most of the bldgs in CA are designed to withstand a largish earthquake. Can the "big one" hit in the near future? Sure...but as PP stated, most places have some form of natural disasters. CA doesn't get big earthquakes every year, unlike hurricanes in the East coast that happen every year, albeit may not directly be in path to DC.

Most people in CA do not have earthquake ins...too expensive.

When we decided to move to DC area I did worry about terrorist attacks to the area here. Can't stop living.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It makes you wonder why we we all live in places like DC and Silicon Valley. It does not have to be this expensive, this stressful, this competitive. What a dumb way to live a life when there are so many easier places to live!

I actually like it here in the DC area. Would be bored in other places. Silicon Valley is great obviously, but I wouldn't want to trade.

most people live here because they have to due to jobs. If we could move, I'd be gone tomorrow to either Colorado or Southern California.

Hah, we would like to move to Bay Area to near family, but our jobs would be lateral moves to Bay Area, and this our standard of living would probably go way down. Hard to know if having family nearby would be enough compensation.