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[RC] [RC] moving to CA from NY - Lucy Chaplin Trumbull

Hey Jeanette (Jay?)

Well, I moved here from England ten years ago and
you can't get much more of a culture shock, but I
adore it here.

> 
Any thoughts, advice etc on
anything about CA and what 
> it is like to live out there

hot  :)

> what the environment is like for kids.

You might try and contact Becky Hackworth who lives in
Coarsegold (which sounds like it might be close to where
you're going to end up). She has children (several) and
rides endurance.

> I understand I have to put up with rattlesnakes, 
> enteroliths, sand colics, hard to find grass hay
> and of course the usual CA issues of earthquakes, 
> floods, and fires.

Poison oak - you forgot to mention the poison oak.

And Bay Watch girls in bikinis littering up the place.
You can hardly walk for tripping over them. 

Plus crazy people. We're supposed to have a lot of 
them here, too.

Seriously, of the above:

* rattlesnakes: the worst luck is to have your horse 
bitten by one. I've only heard first hand of this 
happening to one person, and she's in TX. 

When I've met them on the trail, the horse is 
disinterested... as is the snake quite often.

* enteroliths: don't feed straight alfalfa. 
But being an endurance rider, you knew that.

* sand colics: no, that's Florida/Nevada. We have 
clay in CA, not sand. Unless of course you're planning
on moving to the Bay Watch set.

* hard to find grass hay: I've never had a problem
finding it. Paying for it, yes - it can get pricey
(~$10-13 a 110 lb bale) - but not hard to find.

* earthquakes: I lived in the Bay Area for six months
and never felt an earthquake. In ten years, I've felt
two. They were interesting and made the table lamp 
rattle. Hardly a reason for avoiding moving to the
state.

West coast CA suffers much more than the east side
of the state.

* Flood: never build anything in or near "Dry Creek"
or "Rio Seco" and you should be fine. Don't live 
at the bottom of a steep hillside.

* Fires: Ah, now, this is the only thing you do seriously
need to think about. Keep your property clear of brush,
and make sure you have defensible space around it, plus
an escape plan, and you should be fine. But it is the
price we pay for all that sunshine and empty space.

> ...It all seems worth it to me...But maybe I am missing something?
nope. Unless you count the poison oak...there have
been times with that when I wonder....

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Lucy Chaplin Trumbull
elsietee AT foothill DOT net
Repotted english person in the Sierra foothills, California
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