When I left Boston, I had no desire to go to California, which I thought was too crowded and too expensive.

So I stopped in NM, the altitude here giving us 4 distinct seasons, snow that looks pretty on the mountains but is gone from pavement by noon at the latest, and abundant sunshine. It has been a decent fit.

I've had cousins who tried to leave California and most wen't back within five years, so I suppse there are ample compensations for the crowds and high cost of living. It just wasn't for me.

the climate crisis means that the already scarce water will become steadily more scarce. I am afraid the whole Southwest will become untenable in my lifetime.

and lawns disappeared practically overnight. Enlightened golf course owners put down fake turf on the fairways, live grass reserved for the greens. It was announced in the early 2000s that the aquifer was recovering.

I've gotten horror stories from cousins in California about conservation in dry years that makes the local water restrictions look like nothing. I think people in the southern part of the state have some pretty ferocious restrictions, especially the farmers. The Elephant Butte Reservoir no longer has sufficient water for NM or to send downstream to Texas. Still, at 27% of capacity, it's more than twice as full as it was last year.

Maybe our chile farmers will be able to supply Sriracha with enough red chile that they can make their original nectar once again.

i live at an altitude of 1800 feet msl. we have the seasons here too also. the leaves on the trees are something else . sometimes we get sno, sometimes we dont. one year we got 2 feet of sno accumulated at my location.we also get hot summers 100 degrees f sometimes , last summer was cool and wet . i wore heavy sweats last summer . we also had that storm hillary that came through (former hurricane ) wow . what a lightning storm .

Taxes, the conservative bugaboo, more or less even out no matter where you are.

I am glad that she talked about states like Texas that have no income tax, but you pay higher property tax. What people don’t understand that it’s a total rearranging the deck chairs when you’re avoiding taxes. A state cannot run without taxpayers so if you’re not paying sales tax you’re gonna pay other kinds of taxes to make up the difference. If you don’t pay income tax, you’re gonna usually pay higher property tax, and other taxes to make up the difference.

And the states that Dodge taxes usually use federal funds to make up their budget deficits. so when you are dodging taxes by moving, you’re either gonna pay it one way or other people in blue states are going to pay it for you.

the nightlife of world class cities.

There is something here for all ages and tastes.

Day hike to Heart Lake south of Mammoth Lakes, Aug 2023