Never Retire: The Fires In Los Angeles
I gave considerable thought to if I should take a break from posting in light of the situation in Southern California. I decided to take just a day off of my intended schedule, given that most of you are likely not impacted. And, if you are, it’s unlikely that you’re paying attention to this space anyway.
That said, I still want to respect the situation the best I can and provide some context for those of you unfamiliar with the Los Angeles area.
This is likely one of the challenges of living abroad. Watching things happen where you lived for a long time and feeling a mix of relief that you’re not there amid concern for those who are. Thankfully, the people close to Melisse and I are situated in a way that they are unlikely to be directly impacted by anything other than poor air quality, the anxiety over what’s happening and interrupted work schedules.
Of course, had we moved to Valencia in October, ahead of the floods that ravaged areas south of the city, the tables would be turned.
I spent several years living in Santa Monica. My daughter’s old elementary school is in a mandatory evacuation zone. Our old apartment is a half block away in an evacuation warning zone. I know many folks in both areas. My daughter has childhood friends there. So we’re all definitely sad and concerned. Thankfully, my daughter and her mother both live in San Francisco.
Anyhow, that’s that on that. There’s not much more for me to add other than expect a continuation of the updates from Spain tomorrow morning!
This fire business upset me so much that I've had to disconnect from ever moving to Cali and making my US dream come true. I dealt with a lot of fire while living in Reno, the smoke, roads shutting down, and so forth. Moving forward I'm cataloging what I can and can't handle in this climate changing world. For instance, I can (not saying I like it) live through hurricanes and earthquakes but tornadoes and fires are dealbreakers. I have a lot of extended family in that area, not good.
If your move wasn't meant to be.. That timing couldn't have been better.
I moved from Northern Placer County, California a couple years ago due to the fires. I was in a rental on 5 beautiful acres, but the fire insurance alone was $9000 per year. Insurance companies started non-renewals and canceling their contracts. Eventually the owner couldn't get anyone to insure the property, so she decided to sell. A lot of people did. But banks don't like to loan in high fire risk areas, so the house has sat vacant, still for sale this whole time.