I have never lived on a coast, near the ocean.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

I have visited the ocean various times: east coast, west coast, gulf coast. And I absolutely see the attraction of living there. I have daydreamed of having a home on a beach, especially the times I'm staying on the beach.

So it must be heartbreaking to realize the place you love just isn't a safe place.

[dchill]

1. Surely they're used to it.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

2. One would think.

I keep on wondering what it will take to get people to move inland.

Things are not going to get better. Seal levels are rising. Global warming is real, meaning things like hurricanes will happen more often and be stronger.

It seems as if I've read that there's standing water in the streets of Miami about 100 days of the year, right now. And it's only going to get worse.

[dchill]

3. Yes, it's only going to get worse...

And probably sooner than we think.

[Mekonsrevenge]

7. It doesn't work that way

No one moves out of my area because of tornados. I moved to Chicago for rational reasons. It's a complex equation for everyone.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

18. I have lived in tornado alley.

And as terrible as tornadoes are, they don't engulf such huge swaths of territory as hurricanes do.

And in reality, I do understand that relocating is complex and difficult. But at what point, at what water level, will people finally figure out that's what they have to do? I expect far too many people will delay the move until they become climate refugees, and I'm not talking about third world populations, but lots of people in this country.

[Cirque du So-What]

19. I left the region where I was born because of tornadoes

It wasn’t *the* reason, but it was an important factor in my decision to live elsewhere. Having gotten very close to a couple of them, the statistics weren’t looking very good.

[marybourg]

10. No. I lived on the Atlantic Ocean in NYC for quite a few years.

It seemed very safe. It had flooded in 1960, during a hurricane whose name I no longer remember, before I lived there, then not again for 52 years, until Superstorm Sandy in 2012, long after I moved. I felt perfectly safe the whole time I lived there

[Ferrets are Cool]

25. I've lived here for 64 years

You NEVER get used to it. Every one of them has been terrifying.

[Goodheart]

44. It gets old, believe me.

[Goodheart]

45. It gets old, believe me.

[TxVietVet]

4. I grew up on the Texas Gulf coast.

You learn to expect really bad weather, heat, sand and mosquitoes. Loved the fishing. The oil refineries and chemical plants weren’t far away. A Gulf breeze would blow the smell away.

[demosincebirth]

5. I guess they must have to pay a whopping flood insurance bill every year.

[AkFemDem]

8. It depends a lot....

On your local flood levels. A few blocks can mean the difference from not being required to have flood insurance at all and paying out a fortune. Also, “the coast” is pretty broad, a lot of coastal areas around the country are not affected by tropical systems regularly or even ever.

[virgogal]

6. Personally living in an earthquake prone area would

frighten me more.At least we get some warning when a hurricane is approaching.

[AkFemDem]

9. Mmhm! Or wildfire areas... eek! Ny

[virgogal]

12. Yep,they are terrifying.

[Codeine]

17. We've learned to build pretty well here in Earthquakistan.

It’ll be a rough time until we get services reestablished, so we keep water and some emergency food in the garage, but other than that it’s just one of those things you have to accept is inevitable.

As much as a house in the hills or mountains appeals to me, wildfires are too much of a thing here to fuck with, so I’m staying in the city.

[virgogal]

23. Good luck to you.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

20. There is something to be said for that.

[cwydro]

11. I lived in the Keys for over 20 years.

It was worth it.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

21. One of my community college math teachers retired to the Keys about six or seven years ago.

I can't begin to understand exactly why he chose that location. I know he has evacuated at least once so far.

Oh, and he moved there from the Kansas City area.

[waddirum]

13. I knew a guy who retired to a beach house in Mississippi

He was originally from Chicago. Katrina destroyed his home and very large jazz record collection the first year of his retirement.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

48. The loss of the jazz record collection seems very sad.

[greenjar_01]

14. Oooof

[GulfCoast66]

15. Honestly, you get used to it. And I'm not talking about swanky beach homes.

But I’m from south Louisiana. Most of those families have been there for centuries. They live in pretty blue collar towns and hurricanes are something they have heard about and lived all their lives. And those marshes area low and flat.

I now live in Central Florida but 60 miles from the coast so no risk of surge. But in 04 we went 13 days with no power and lost my roof a few years ago in Irma.

I’m retiring to a coastal town in the eastern panhandle. But not on a low lying beach!

Our lot is near a 140 year old mansion that is now a state park. I has never come close to flooding. We will build a home designed to handle 150 mph winds.

The rewards are worth the risk.

But life is full of risks. You pick and choose.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

24. Because I have moved around any number of times in my life,

I simply don't understand or appreciate living in one place for any great length of time, let alone for generations. Which speaks to the limits of my understanding, rather than anything else.

Because of the many moves I've made, I've been known to look at flood maps when considering a house purchase. Apparently that's not very common.

[GulfCoast66]

27. Our lot, although close to the gulf, is not in a flood zone.

Like you, I checked!

[Clearly fogged in]

16. Is it odd that the oil rigs of the area are not mentioned?

Are plans in place in the event of an oil spill? With all the other failures of this administration, we must certainly be ill prepared.

[virgogal]

28. Oil rigs are the responsibility of the companies that own them.

[localroger]

29. The rigs are safed and evacuated when storms approach

There have been incidents but they are rare. Nobody makes money pumping oil into the Gulf so they really try not to do that.

[Clearly fogged in]

38. There was a time not long ago without second guessing

It stands to reason that companies in the black would take steps to preserve the asset. What of companies with declined production and/or profits? With all the favors, shady deals, and deregulation do we really have safeties in place?

[localroger]

41. For the most part we do, but there is a grey area

Fortunately the amount of investment needed to even enter offshore drilling makes it a bit more responsible than the wild-west scenario that existed at times for onland drilling. There is insurance, regulations that have to be satisfied before you can even set sail, and a level of investment that demands a bit of seriousness. That said the Macondo blowout happened largely because a big company had gotten cheap. So no, it's not certain. But there are powerful forces at work encouraging it to be done right.

[Clearly fogged in]

42. It was the Macondo that came to mind.

A wealth of information came out, not so much in the spill itself, but from logs, tests, reporting, construction, pipes, and the processes. We did a hands across the sand at lake eola in orlando for those who couldn't travel to the gulf.

[GulfCoast66]

30. Those rigs are designed for unbelievable weather.

I suppose it could happen. But I’ve never heard of a storm causing a spill.

Those rigs in the North Sea are battered by hurricane sized waves regularly. They manage. Most spills are caused by human error. Not design flaws.

But to your point. Nothing designed by humans will ever be impervious to nature.

[Clearly fogged in]

40. Thanks

Watching the circus doesn't instill confidence in anything

[Ferrets are Cool]

31. I don't know if it is still done, but in the 70s I worked on the rigs

When a hurricane was imminent, we took down the derrick. It was pretty scary up there with 60 mph winds whipping around ya while you are holding on with one hand and swinging a sledgehammer with the other.

[GulfCoast66]

35. I'm sure it is. But I bet you were not wearing a harness?

I’m sure they do now.

Early in my career I did some tree work and we would cut with a chain saw up in a tree not tied in. Now the are well secured.

Because, you know, socialism. Rules to make us safer.

[Ferrets are Cool]

37. LOL I don't think there was a safety harness on the rig at all.

We did some crazy stuff back then. I hope they do it more safely now.

[nolabear]

36. I think they still do, and try to barge off what they can.

But, you know...

[Phoenix61]

32. Not really. They had plenty of time to shut

everything down and evacuate all the workers.

[MFM008]

22. Were

Tucked in by the puget sound.
Im a 5 minute drive from the beach..not the open ocean
Keeps us pretty stable weatherwise.
Not many extremes.

[In It to Win It]

26. I've only ever lived on the coast

I live in South Florida.

What makes me feel unsafe is Ron DeSantis

[Phoenix61]

33. FTW!!! Ain't that the truth. nt

[nolabear]

34. I grew up on the Gulf Coast. It's just magical.

The mystery, the slow, funky heat, the need to take things easy, to enjoy life and have perspective, to know it’s strange and ephemeral. It’s got magic. It’s as unAmerican a part of America as you can imagine. It’s Caribbean, Mexican, French, Spanish, Acadian, Native American, African all mixed up in a gumbo.

It’s worth it, but it is, yes, very, very tenuous. It’s not for those who give up easy or don’t attach hard.

My people aren’t in this particular path but they’ve lost a lot before. I live in Seattle and love it, but I’m not of it, and I feel that every day.

[GulfCoast66]

39. We are a kindred spirit. As my name on DU implies.

Not on the gulf now. Central Florida although only an hour away. But will retire and die on the gulf coast. Not LA. But the vibe runs till you get to Clearwater. That feeling at 6:00pm in July after a thunderstorm. The smothering humidity but the cooling rain still in the air. I love it.

Throw in boiled shrimp and crabs and fried trout. Heaven to me.

[Upthevibe]

43. Well......I was born and raised in Corpus Christi, TX....

I've been in several hurricanes.

On August 3, 1970, the worst and scariest one I'd ever been in up until that time and since that time hit. It was Hurricane Celia. The main horror of this particular hurricane was the tornados. My sister and I saw a tornado literally pick up our across the street neighbors garage and completely turn it over on it's roof. We were without electricity for three weeks. I actually remember the aftermath fondly. We bonded with many of our neighbors like you wouldn't believe. It's an indescribable experience.

Having said all of this, I've been in Southern California since 1988. On January 17, 1994 at 4:31 a.m., the Northridge Earthquake happened. As it was occurring, I was sure I was going to die. My bedroom had hardwood floors and my bed was literally bouncing all over the room. The sliding closet doors were opening and everything in the closet (boxes on the upper shelves, shoes, etc.) were flying around the room. If it hadn't have happened to me, I don't think I would've believed it. I swear it was like a scene out of a movie. And the aftershocks - OMG! However, once again, the bonding with our neighbors (we were in a condo) was just unbelievable. I can't really express how we were totally there for each other. If one family's condo was red tagged (condemned- meaning they had to leave within 24 hours from when the inspectors had come) we all pitched in and helped. I remember there was a family on an upper floor and several of us were helping throw some of their things down to a padded truck - no time to use the stairs to move what they could take (obviously - a lot of couches stayed).

Given the choice of the two, I'd definitely pick being in a hurricane. You can have a plan in advance of what to do, where to go inland, etc., and get the Hell out. With an earthquake, all I can do is grab my packed earthquake bag that stays by my bed with essentials and get the Hell out....

[smirkymonkey]

47. Earthquakes terrify me more than anything!

They are so unpredictable and there is so little you can do to prepare. When I lived in San Francisco, there were a few minor earthquakes and they just terrified me. There was absolutely nothing you could do once they started and there was no warning. I was lucky that I was not involved in a major one.

[smirkymonkey]

46. In the northeast, they are so rare, it is worth it.

And when it happens, they are mostly survivable and we have plenty of warning. I have lived on the west coast with earthquakes and fires and I will take my chances with hurricanes over those disasters any day. I feel the same about tornados and harsh winters and droughts.

We definitely have some difficult weather here on the northeast coast, but I don't think it is nearly as bad as it is in other areas of the nation.

I probably would not buy coastal property since there is a good chance of it not surviving the next hurricane, but I feel pretty safe here in Boston, and I am very close to the Charles River. In fact, I am practically almost on the river. It never floods. The worst thing that happens is that we lose power and can't get around in a blizzard but that usually only lasts for a few days and then we are back up and running again.