<p>Agreed. We have had three nice days in November. They hardly make up for the cold days we had in October. Bah. LOL. </p>
<p>I don't mind the cold. It just comes so early and stays so long compared to DC.</p>
<p>BARRONS - sending animals 2 x 2 your way...........ROFL :D</p>
<p>Actually many hobby farms in my area were flooded and they took their animals up to the state fairgrounds holding pens for safety. Many critters including miniature zebras, ostrich, peacocks, llamas, etc etc. They looked very unhappy.</p>
<p>I grew up in So Cal and went to UCSB for undergrad. When I moved to Seattle for grad school, I noticed a significant increase in allergies. Turns out my house on Lake Washington had a huge moisture problem. Everything, including my shoes grew mildew in the closet. Once I installed a de-humidifier (had to empty the water tray daily!), the problem was lessened. Still, I am glad to be back in coastal so cal with a balance of ocean air/breeze, drier conditions when the winds blow from the dessert, and 78 degree temp in Novemeber :) (Sorry to those of you expecting snow)</p>
<p>Snow is fun. Skiing, snowball fights, blanket of white. First real snow of the year is very exciting. Sorry to those with boring weather.</p>
<p>When S went off to college in So Cal, we were thinking: great weather. (I've never been there--unless you count LAX--but I recall Jay Leno once making a joke about a "weather emergency" in So Cal consisting of people not remembering how to turn on their windshield wipers. . .then it rains, and they freak out and start hitting every button/lever around the dashboard. . .) Anyway, we didn't think about wildfires. S's school (in Ventura County) was evacuated for a couple days in Sept., and they had several weeks of smoke and ash from the "Day Fire."</p>
<p>I love the climate where I live (Ozarks). We have fall color, we have a little snow. But all during the winter we get little "spring breaks" --a few days in the 60s and 70s. Last couple of days it was 80ish and lovely. Nothing like a warm sunny day to improve the mood. . .I wouldn't want to go back to the long gray winters up north where I grew up.</p>
<p>I refused to consider any colleges south of Pennsylvania. I immigrated from Stockholm to DC, and the combination of 90-degree heat and ~90% humidity gives me headaches, nausea, and trouble breathing... I wish I were exaggerating. It's only now, in November, that it's getting barely tolerable (but still too humid). I miss the cold... :(</p>
<p>DD did NOT want to go to college in "hurricane alley" as she called it (FL, NOLA, etc). BUT she had no trouble enrolling at a school where earthquakes are a reality. I honestly don't think she thought of earthquakes when she decided to enroll there. We did bring it up (to discuss what to do if one happened and the school was closed) and she was mighty surprised!!</p>
<p>
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I noticed that the campus is heavily planted in olive trees -- just about my worst allergy. I would DIE if I were there during pollen season. (Or at least feel like dying.)
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I got married under those olive trees. I have to say that Caltech has a gorgeous campus but it's full of a variety of greenery and flowers.</p>
<p>Earthquakes are a non-issue. I have lived in so cal all my life (gasp! 50 + years.......) and of all the quakes we have had, I can only think of 3 times that college campuses were closed. The Northridge quake closed Cal State Northridge for a few days to be checked for safety and the few bldgs that needed significant repair. I believe the dorms were fine. UCLA may have closed classes for the day, but no damage done as I recall. The Whittier quake in 1987 closed Cal State LA briefly. College campuses out here are fairly new and therefore built to code. If they are old, they have been retrofitted. It would take a really big one (the Northridge quake was pretty massive and very close to the campus) to have an impact. I don't know the details of the schools in and around San Francisco, but there may have been minor closures and inconvenience with the quakes that hit San Francisco during the world series years back and the one around Santa Cruz. There was no major damage done from any quake to any campus and no students have been injured/killed as a result. Of course, that doesn't speak to the apartments in and around campuses. They don't have to meet the rigid quake standards that public buildings have to meet. Quakes of any significance are rare and nothing compared to annual hurricane threats. For the most part, unless you are right in the middle of the epicenter area, once a quake is over, life returns to normal.</p>
<p>I think weather can be extremely important and in fact, the weather on the day of a students visit to a campus can make a difference. My son saw Allegheny College (Northwestern PA, near Lake Erie) on a very cold April weekend when the temps probably didn't go above 40 degrees. The next weekend we visited Roanoke (southwestern VA) where the temps were in the 70's. I think he got a pretty accurate picture though, it's probably colder and cold for longer at Allegheny and generally milder and warm longer at Roanoke. I like my town and I like Pennsylvania, I just wish the temperatures were a little more temperate.</p>
<p>I also think it's completely subjective. Earthquakes would bother me as would fires, mudslides, and tornadoes. I'm used to the snow and just avoid ice-outings. I guess that makes them non-issues for me?</p>
<p>After attending college in the Midwest for 3 years my daughter tends to think tornadoes when the weather looks a certain way and has had to take shelter more then a few times.</p>
<p>Weather was not a factor for my daughter. Even though she hates cold weather, she decided she would choose her college based on other criteria and deal with whatever weather it had.</p>
<p>My son, on the other hand, will only look at cold weather colleges. After baking in the heat during marching band practice, freezing temperatures look very appealing.</p>
<p>Usually it's boring here, however, it's Nov 9th, and 9" of rain already, more tomorrow. A hefty percentage of our 36" average annual rainfall. barrons: Hope you're not in the flood plain. Our CA parents call after the evening news and wonder if we're on the Ark yet. Again I remind them that we're at 900' and have as many hills as SF. tsdad: Son is very happy about the snow forecast for his visit to Madison this weekend. Guess he won't be taking his golf clubs.</p>
<p>Having grown up in Hawaii, my D insisted she wanted to go to college where she would be "snowed on." (Literally, not figuratively!) So she ended up in Wisconsin. The first time it snowed (a few weeks ago), she called us at 2:45 a.m. very excited, telling us how "glorious" the snow was. (I have saved the message, so that I can set the alarm for 2:45 a.m. when she is home for the holidays, and play the message back to her.) She is really enjoying the change of seasons, and doesn't mind the cold. I ordered her a winter coat, boots, and a muffler from Lands' End, and since it's in Wisconsin, everything arrived in only one day.</p>
<p>I do think weather is a factor to consider when choosing a college. It is going to matter more to some than others. I myself do not do well with high humidity, and I did not enjoy the summers I lived in Philadelphia. But I did love the falls and springs. Going to school on the East Coast would have been okay for me, since the school year would have avoided most of the humid weather. As it happens, I stayed in the Pacific Northwest for college and law school. </p>
<p>And BTW, I was in Seattle two weeks ago, just before the deluge, and the weather was gorgeous, with sunshine, blue skies, crisp air and a wonderful view of Mt. Rainier.</p>
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<blockquote> <p>Snow is fun.<<</p> </blockquote>
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<p>Sure, as long as you don't have to shovel it or drive in it.</p>
<p>Here in SoCal you sometimes hear some immigrant from another part of the country say they really "miss having four seasons." Not me. As I recall, four seasons was a concept that usually wound up involving jumper cables.</p>
<p>KATHIEP funny you should mention the weather when one visits a school - LOL - we visited what ended up the first choice in the middle of a hurricane LOL - they were so awesome to us while we were there - and it rose from no real consideration to #1 because of that visit.</p>
<p>COUREUR - uuummm immigrants?? uuummmmm ok will send you dead jumper cables - they are occassionally used in those warm/hot months as well. Bonus - if ya live in snow country - get a snow blower - they really are fun to run LOL</p>
<p>You mean people still shovel/blow their own driveways?</p>
<p>JeepMom - When I lived in snow country my removal tool was shovel - I remember it all too well and that was many years ago. A snow blower would have been luxury. I also remember slip-sliding away on the roads. It was fun when I did it on purpose, not so fun when I did it accidentally.</p>
<p>In Seattle- it is pretty tricky to clear snow- because it is so wet it is very heavy
Where we stay in the mountains the snow is much drier but still heavy- the owner of the lodge has to get on the roof of the shed with the snow blower so it doesn't collapse.
Not that we get snow on this side of the mts that much- it is mostly black ice- not so much fun</p>
<p>My daughter from So. CA is only applying to schools on the east coast, some as far north as upper state NY and Maine. I know that she is unprepared to drive in the type of weather she will confront, yes she will be cold but will she be able to turn out of a skid on ice? Even though she will not have a car her Freshman year other people will. Do they know how to drive in this type of weather? It seems reasonable to think about figuring out how to help her learn to drive in these conditions. Any suggestions?
Thanks, JB</p>