And it reminds me of why I didn't want to move to Florida. High in the low seventies, lows in the low sixties, low humidity, gorgeous views of the Santa Monica mountains wrapping around the bay to the north. Unlike the unremitting flatness of the Sunshine State, there's actual relief here, with houses nestled on hillsides, and snow still on the highest peaks of the San Gabriels and San Bernardinos.

Too bad the government sux so much.

As an Orlando native now studying in Southern California, I have to say that I completely agree. I didn't like it quite so much here at first, but it's starting to grow on me (especially since it started becoming moderately moist).

There's other reasons to leave SoCal:
http://archive.gamespy.com/comics/nodwick/ffn/ffn.htm

I'm real happy in Texas.

After living my whole life in Texas, I am now real happy in Colorado. I sure won't miss the endless weeks of 90 and 100 degree days of summer.

As for your house in Florida, Rand, I hope you never get a tropical storm or hurricane that hits you too badly. I went through a bad one in Houston. Never again.

Confucius said, "Young men, take note of this: a harsh and oppressive government is more ferocious and fearsome than even a tiger." I guess it is also more fearsome than humidity, bug, or tropical storms; especially so when coupled with earthquakes.

My brother lives in Titusville.

I tell him he is living on a temporarily exposed coral reef.

The whole state is pretty much a giant coral reef that will be back in business when the Greenland and Antartic ice caps melt as they have done in the past.

I raised my sons here in Orlando, but the oldest is now in Silicon Valley. On our last visit he took me for a walk in the Mission Hills just east of Fremont, where he waved an arm at the view of the Bay to the west and the Tri-Valley area to the east and said, "This is why I probably won't move back to Florida."

I couldn't argue.

The only populated area I've ever seen that competes with the Bay area for sheer beauty is the Cape of Good Hope. (Well, the Cape isn't populated, except by tourists and assertive baboons, but there are a lot of people just north of it.) The drive south from Cape Town is stunning.

Too bad, though, about those earthquakes and the housing market, though.

Earthquakes aren't so bad. You can't see them coming, but they're over pretty quick. I mean, really, there's hardly enough time to realize that one is going on and remember what to do (don't panic, stay in a doorway) before its all over. Then you can watch Kent Shocknik make a fool of himself. It's all good.

I went to Los Angeles for a few days a few years ago, in July. I was pleasantly surprised to find that I enjoyed Los Angeles (especially my trip to the La Brea tarpits!), but most of all I loved the weather. Any place where it can be in the 70s during the day, in the 50s during the night, and have low humidity, all in the middle of summer, gets my seal of approval.

Even the things I didn't like about LA -- traffic, smelly air, pretentious pretty people, the prices of everything -- just reminded me of Miami so they were at least familiar irritations.