There is That Earthquake

I have a number of friends that have moved to British Columbia over the years, specifically to the lower mainland, Vancouver Island and in one case, Gabriola Island. In all cases, they seem to be happy and content with where they are living now. The weather is very mild by Canadian standards, there is a long growing season and consequently much local produce is available in the stores. Being on the coast, there is an abundance of seafood available. I am not overly fond of seafood, so that isn’t really what I would consider a selling point. There is the port of Vancouver, so of course there are foreign goods readily available in the stores.

The hippies of my era have located on Vancouver Island and are now driving BMW’s, running profitable businesses (some of the green) and talking of the old days. It is as close to paradise as it gets in Canada.

Yet, I have no desire to live there in spite of all the benefits BC offers. There are a few reasons which range from “flaky” to “that might make sense”. The first reason is that many years ago I had heard that it is possible that the entire west coast of North America might succumb to an earth quake and drop into the ocean. I have no desire to be there when it happens. That is the flaky one, as my daughter (who knows about this kind of thing) assures me that it just can’t happen. Still… The second reason is more personal, I have my life here in Alberta. I would miss my friends, my kids and grandkids and I am comfortable knowing where the things I need from a city are located. The third reason is light.

BC has something of a rainy season and it is cloudy and wet there for much of the winter. I don’t think I would be happy in a grey world. I might, but then again, I might not. I suppose that if I were forced to move I would make the best of it and it would be nice to spend time with my friends who have moved to the dark side. Poor, misguided fools that they are.

Even when it is -25°C in Calgary, if the sun is shining and the wind isn’t blowing, it makes you feel alive. That might just be because if you stop moving there is a better than even chance you will die from the cold. Up until a few years ago, I had resigned myself to living the remainder of my life in Alberta, after all, now that I am retired I don’t HAVE to go outside if I don’t choose to. That was before we had visited Hawaii.

I could easily live in Hawaii. Maybe not for the whole year, but for a goodly portion of it anyways. The sun is a constant companion and the temperature is very predictable. It must be boring to be a climatologist in Hawaii. There are down sides, the earthquake fear would be replaced by a Tsunami fear, I would miss my friends and my comfortable life in Alberta, but I suspect it would be easy to convince my friends and family to visit. People seem to be very friendly in Hawaii, so I think I could make some new friends. Oh yeah, it is light in Hawaii.

There are on average 271 days of sunshine in Honolulu. Calgary has 333 days of sunshine on average. So, there is more light than there is in Calgary, but a crappy day in Hawaii is at least as good as a good day in Calgary.

Where does BC fit in? I don’t know, I should visit my friends, but there is that earthquake to worry about.