Over the weekend my husband and I saw a spot for Katie Couric’s upcoming appearance here in San Diego. She is, essentially, touring the country before she starts her gig on CBS Evening News. It’s supposed to help build an audience.

Me, I think it’s cheesy and sad. I expressed my frustration by saying how far the mighty had fallen. Couric has already talked about making network news more “accessible” to the American public, which just scares the hell out of me since it’s already beyond dumbed-down in most cases. And I lamented about CBS as it had, after all been the network of Edward R. Murrow…

…and Christopher chimed in:
Now the network of Alfred E. Newman.

As I’ve been closely following the real estate market(s) here in San Diego, the most common thing you hear from most folks, especially those in the real estate industry, is that everyone wants to live in San Diego. The main reason is, of course, the climate.

Thing is, that climate is changing. For example, over the weekend it was hot AND humid here. Moreover, there were thunderstorms in the north county.

There are never thunderstorms in the summer here. Thunderstorms happen in the winter, if at all, according to the long-time locals. I remember Christopher telling me that he remembered getting excited to see distant lightning, because that was about as close to a storm as he got as a kid.
Global warming is going to cause/is causing a shift in San Diego’s climate. Los Angeles too. The whole SoCal region is changing, and not for the better if you wanted to come here for the dry heat that never got too hot anyway.

So what does this mean for the old saw about everyone wanting to live here?

I do kvetch a lot about living here, and I doubt that’ll ever change (face it, I’m an Easterner or Midwesterner, depending on how you define those terms–basically, I prefer living east of the Mississippi), but as I have said and written before, there are good things about living here in SoCal.

One of them is very noticable right now–the Jacarandas are in bloom. These are gorgeous trees with fern-like leaves and fantastic cascades of bluish-violet flowers in the late spring. They’re absolutely stunning, even in years like this one when they are not their best (and they are blooming late this year to boot).

I first noticed these trees the first May I was out here, when we went to Brentwood (LA) for the wedding reception of a friend. The trees line the streets there. Then I started noticing them down here. Now you see them in many neighborhoods. One in the front yard in spring can make a POS ranch house look like it’s actually worth close to the $600K they’re asking for it.

Okay, maybe not, but it does help the neighborhood aesthetics.

There are some good things about living out here, like the cool biplanes that fly over our house fairly often (there was a whole slew of them, in formation, a couple of weeks ago–looked like scenes from the 1927 film Wings) and interesting plants (stuff you’ve only seen on Star Trek). Today, though, with the start of summer, it’s hard to remember much of that good stuff.

Let’s take a look at what’s up here in SoCal…

1. The southern San Andreas fault is overdue for a big movement. Joy. While San Diego is better off than LA with this (as the fault is much farther from SD than LA at any point), it would still be a hell of a jolt if/when it goes. We have insurance but I never seem to get around to stocking the extra water and supplies for emergencies. Maybe I should do that this weekend. At least I do know where the gas shut off is.

2. There’s a heat wave starting this weekend. In the valleys, they’re saying upper 90s to over 100, mountain foothills over 100, and 115 in the deserts (they said it would be 100 in the east bay of San Francisco, even). Here, at the coast, it should be in the 80s, so not as bad (and cool at night, not like back east). Thank heavens we have a pool and live fairly close to the coast.

The big news with that is that it’s not as dry of a heat as usual–not even close (like 50% humidity). That’s going to make for some miserable folk–they are just not used to the heat with humidity.

3. Even with the high humidity, there is a significant risk of fire. We haven’t gotten anywhere near enough rain  this year, so the brush is all dry and just waiting for a spark.

4. And with the heat comes increased demand for electricity and, yes, the potential for rolling blackouts. This is becoming so much a standard occurrence, apparently (though I haven’t been in one yet), that there is even a page with the info on the SDG&E website.

At least we’re way down on the list for potential blackouts (Clairemont Mesa) here. At least according to the list posted last night.

Every time I talk with clients in other parts of the country and they say “oh, you must feel so lucky to be living out there” I have to laugh. The answer is “no.” It’s not hell and it could definitely be worse, but it is not the greatest place to live, no matter what its reputation. Great place to visit, no question, but I have to say that pro-con list is no better than back in Ohio. Different, of course, but no better.