SO what about the damn Tornados? Having second thoughts....

Never really think about it.  Seems that no matter where you live, you have some kind of threat.  Living in the south we don't worry about dying in snowstorms or unsafe rusting cars like you North-East guys do.. 

Don't have to think about major hurricanes or wildfire season or earthquakes or any number of things either..  

Tornados are hyped quite a lot by media that's always using them to make a buck off of people's suffering.  The likelihood of getting hit is pretty low.  You're more likely to get flooded than anything else. I'm not aware of "tornado insurance" but I guess folks just add extra insurance for their housing if they have a lot of gear to replace.

Tough call. The climate around the world is changing and changing faster that even the most dire predictions said they would. The extra heat energy moves through the atmosphere and oceans in all sorts of surprising ways. I lived in the Northeast for a long time, and other than the occasional sub-zero cold snap or ice storm it was a tolerable and predictable climate. From what I'm hearing from friends and relatives, it's usually drier and warmer now.  Out here in Utah, we're in the middle of the deepest drought in a thousand years. But at the moment, we're in the zillionth large snowstorm of the season.  Top of the canyons near my home are already at record snowfall--headed toward 900 inches for the year. When that melts we'll probably have the worst floods in 40 years.  Then we'll be right back in the middle of the drought with record temperatures.

Who knows what will happen in the South?  The tornados get all the press and they're monstrous (I've been in a little one and didn't like it a bit), but the rain and floods are the more widespread issues. So at the least, be sure you have flood insurance (it's not part of a regular homeowner policy) and a good hidey-hole just in case. It's a lot different than it used to be.  I grew up in N.C. and the weather there is unrecognizable compared to the 50's and 60's.

I don't think there's anywhere in the world where you'd have a guaranteed escape from climate change. Best you can do (besides not making it worse) is to think ahead and prepare the best way you can.

Thanks for the replies, and I totally agree with the notion that nowhere is safe anymore!

For me, it's a very big move from upstate NY, to TN., as well as a lot of $ to purchase the new property.

And all I've been seeing on the news these last few days is the devastation this last round of Tornados brought to Alabama, Arkansas, and Tennessee.
Got me wondering if this is the correct thing to do?

Maybe consider purchasing a property with a basement? My best friend died in a tornado when I was a kid so I take it way more seriously than most, but still, it's one of those things you can only do so much about. Life is wild.

For personal safety there are tornado rooms you can purchase for around 5-6k that would withstand pretty much anything.  A friend of mine that lives in Oklahoma turned me on to those.  For insurance, that's a good question that I hope someone has the answer to.  

I dunno. I’m in Toronto and while tornadoes are rare up here, they are not unheard of. I’m guessing the US NE is similar?

Don’t know about the insurance angle. Just hope you find your space, wherever it may be. And that if I m ever in the neighborhood I can swing by for a nice Belgian style ale.

Best of luck,

Geoff

The problem with tornadoes in my opinion isn’t that they are more prevalent. It’s people who are more prevalent and they keep getting in the way of the tornadoes.

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Yeah, earthquakes suck. Lived thru many of them. I relocated to a place that has

1% chance of tornados
2% chance of flooding
0% chance (historically) of earthquakes
0% chance of hurricanes
4% chance of direct nuclear hit or fallout
50% chance of wildfires (at least in the "area")
50% chance of wind damage
35% chance of water shortage

Aaaannnndddddd....

Evidently a pretty dam good chance of getting hit by lightning. In my case - 100%.

Always something.... Good luck Paul.

Sounds like someone should record an album and call it “Damn the Tornadoes”

“Damn the Tornadoes”

Good one Matt!