Why we don't mind the crazy ass real estate prices and earthquakes.

October 24, 2006 - 76 degrees
Originally uploaded by GraceD.

Welcome to our deck and the view beyond.  You will observe that it is a heartbreakingly beautiful day.

I was lying out on the lounge you see there.  In my shorts and a tank top.  Background music - The Beach Boys 'Pet Sounds' in its entirety. 

Before you start composing a hate email to me and my smug self, I would like to inform you that the average price of a no frills, two bedroom home is $575,000 in the funkiest neighborhood of Santa Cruz.  You know, the parts of town that the realtors say has "E-Z freeway access". 

Add another $50 to $100 grand to that price tag and you're looking at the price of a home on "the other side of the hill", over there in Silicon Valley.  Again with the "E-Z freeway access."

And, did I mention the earthquakes?  We're going to have one, it's on all of our schedules.  It promises to be bigger than the 1989 Loma Prieta Quake that scared the high holy crap out of this native Californian, a lifetime San Francisco Bay Area resident who grew up actually enjoying the occasional trembler.  ("Kewl! An earthquake!  Way!" we used to say to each other after a nice little 3.0 on the Richter Scale).  The 6.9 Loma Prieta cured me of that silliness, let me tell you. 

(Which prompts me to ask my Dear California Readers - are you earthquake-ready?  Got your water and food to last 3 days or more?  Does that stash include pet kibble?  Do you have those extra prescription meds?  Gold Kruegerrands because the ATMs won't be working and regular cash will be useless?  Am I scaring you? Especially the part about the Krugerrands? Good. Get that earthquake kit in order.  And, dont worry about the gold; a bunch of $20s and $10s in Dead American President currency will do fine.)

Now, back to the business at hand, lounging before I pick up the kid from school.  Shall we revup a Beach Boys classic appropos to this discussion?  Why, yes indeedy!  Let's hear 'Good Vibrations'...

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Because I care for you, mah dollins, here are some comprehensive links to all things earthquake preparedness:

Welcome to Earthquake Country

SFGate:  How to Make an Earthquake Kit

List of links from the US Geological Survey

Comments

[Stan]

And don't forget. If you want to get immediate notification of the earthquake when it happens, you can use My Pet Project (a.k.a. the Earthquake Notification System):

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/ens

This is good for Californians in that if you feel a shake, you can find out if it was near you or anyone you know. And it's also good for everyone else so they can read about what happens here and enjoy it vicariously. Or feel smug about avoiding it, as is your preference.

[Karen Rani]

Be safe, Grace. I'll be thinking of you tomorrow morning when I'm putting on my boots and touque to walk Thomas to pre-school. In the snow. Uphill. Both ways. ;)
Karen
xo

[Kris]

I love the email notice of the earthquakes! I get those often. There have been a couple of 4.+ shakers in the last week or so in the northern part of ca.

And yes, my "easy freeway access" 3bed /2.5 bath home on the peninsula is market valued at over $800k (**gasp**), and yes, it is in the 70's and sunny and effing gorgeous. We are still sleeping with the windows open. And it's Oct. 24!

We have a pretty good quake kit going, but it is never as robust as I would like it to be. Time to review the "game plan" with the kids again, too. Thanks for the reminder, Dear Grace.

[nakedjen]

It won't surprise you, at all, to know that I have enough dog food to last the dogs for an entire month. Water, too. As for me and Dave? We'll, perhaps Buddha and Stella will share their stash with us. Because we'd be SOL otherwise.

We need to figure out how we're going to survive. But the dogs. They're covered. Because they're always my first priority.

[margalit]

THe thing is, everyone needs an earthquake kit of some sort, even if you don't live in earthquake country (heck, there was a 3+ in MAINE last week). If you have tornados, blizzards or hurricaines, or whatever, you need to have a kit of some sort. Hurricaines kill way more people than do earthquakes. Look at Katrina and Rita... and then think how much better things might have been if the people had put by some water and a rubber blow-up boat.

I'm a native Californian that doesn't live there anymore, but I've still trained myself to keep gallons of water in the basement, canned foods, a propane stove with propane canisters, extra blankets for heatless blizzard winters, and the finest set of flashlights east of Bakersfield. Plus candles. Lots and lots of candles. We recently lost power overnight in a storm and discovered that 12 candles per room provided enough light to read and play cards by.

[wordgirl]

Gah! Glad I don't live in California!

[Bob Morris]

We live in L.A. and plan to escape to New England soon. 17 mile commutes here now take 60-90 minutes each way and it gets worse every month.

On the Westside of LA you might be able to get a 1300 sq ft fixer on 1/8 acre next to a freeway in a slightly dicey area for mere $750,000.

It's all quite insane.

[Margaret]

76 to 82 degrees is MY utter zone of comfort. But as a teacher, I could never afford those housing prices. Damn.

[Debra Roby]

I have everything on the basic "disaster" list except the extra cash. But I need to rotate the stock. (you should only store food/water for a year. After that, use it and replace. Unless it's freeze-dried camping stuff).

Heck, back in Ohio, I used it atleast once a year! As margelit said: disasters happen everywhere!! And you cannot imagine the joy of no power (so water and no septic) at 20 degrees with 5 feet of snow on the ground!

Here, my 5 bedroom, 3 bath "easy freeway access" (but don't try to use it in the morning) house in the East bay is down to probably $850,000. But that means it's still worth significantly more than I paid for it.

[samirah]

i hate you. i hate you and your earth quakes and stupid real estate prices and decks with views.

2 weeks ago i was attacked with 39 inches of snow. today it was 34 degrees.

p.s. i don't really hate you.

[pam]

My dear, you are right. Here in Sacto, we remember H. Katrina and realize how decrepit our own levees are. We all need to make 3-day survival backpacks in case of the big flood.

[Kimberly]

Oh, yes, that beautiful deck. Were it not for those real estate prices, I might still be living in the Bay Area, rather than in Seattle.

My sweet husband, who rode out Loma Prieta in Sausalito, put together an earthquake kit for us... um... about three years ago. Perhaps I should check on everything in it, ya think? Thanks for the reminder, dear Grace.

[birchsprite]

Nope no earthquakes for me over here in Blighty....just endless soggy rain....and grey skies....and rain..... yup I think I'd love to be sitting on your deck right now

[Laurie]

I have the insane housing prices and not quite the view...so a bit jealous over here! :)

Awesome post to get people thinking ahead.

[schmutzie]

Yikes. That sort of thing makes me glad to be in super steady Saskatchewan. Stay well, all of you.

[Izzy]

Everytime I mention my desire to move west my husband starts prattling on about the Ring of Fire etc. So I guess he's not shittin' me then?

[Brad]

You forgot to mention *exactly* why it's worth living there - because the bay area is like a paradise.
I can't afford it and people there are intolerant of my politics, so I don't live there.
But alas, this life is not all there is...

[Lin]

I've got the water, a couple of cans of tuna and $20. I've got a way to go, I guess. On a lighter note, it was 85 and brilliant sunshine today and I went swimming and people are quite tolerant of my politics!

[Neil]

Thanks for the earthquake reminder. With rumblings up North and in Hawaii, I wouldn't be surprised if Los Angeles is next.

[fizzle]

Welcome to sunny So. Cal., where you buy a home in a "transitional" neighborhood (read: walls get tagged, property stolen, but there's hipsters and screenwriters walking their $2k dogs) with under 1200 sf for close to $800k. You really just hope and pray that it's not over a faultline.

But ..... Beach? 10 minutes away. Mountain hikes? Every winter. Shopping? Orgastically prevalent. Triathlon training? Year round. Art, culture, diversity, music, food, festivals, concerts? Always.

Just have to be prepared with my earthquake kit and stop eating the energy bars out of it...

[Jenn]

I need to come back to Santa Cruz. That looks like a little slice of heaven right now.