Let's Start with the Weather.

No subject was a better ice breaker (pardon the pun) when I lived in the UK then the weather.

And that is where I will begin.

For my entire life, I have lived in places where it snowed. Some of these were expected (Zurich, South Lake Tahoe) and some surprising (Tucson, and Falmouth).  So when it came time to relocate, I had a seriously important decision to make, I needed to move where this wouldn't happen.

Falmouth, where it "never" snows.

The Alps, where, yes, it's supposed to snow. (Photo credit E Owen-Jones)

No more shoveling. No more scraping ice off of a windshield. No more freezing. I needed to be warm. Where to go.....

There were lots of reasons I chose Sacramento. Weather was one. 

Ah, winter in Sacramento

While my friends and family suffer freezing temperatures, snow drifts, avalanches (or at least the threat of them), I am here, walking my dog in the sun in temperatures of 70f/21c. 

And that is one fabulous reason to move somewhere.