I currently live in California, but it’s literally impossible to afford to buy a house.
Where are some good places to move to? I was thinking about Washington State, but I’m not sure I could handle the snow.
I currently live in California, but it’s literally impossible to afford to buy a house.
Where are some good places to move to? I was thinking about Washington State, but I’m not sure I could handle the snow.
I’ve never lived in it, so I wouldn’t want to be a menace on the icy roads
Can’t be any worse than most of the people who have lived in it their whole lives.
Seriously, I’d take someone new to driving in snowy/icy conditions over someone who has a bunch of misplaced confidence in their driving skills because they’ve “been driving in worse than this for decades!” in a heartbeat.
The newbie is much more likely to actually adapt to the conditions and drive more cautiously.
not an issue if you live in a city centre where you won’t need to drive, or on the outskirts of somewhere that has good public transit. hard to say what your requirements are though; if you’re planning to have to commute or otherwise.
I have lived in a snow area for decades after moving from California.
Nobody knows how to drive in the snow here. They forget every year, so you will fit right in. Get a car with AWD, leave room to stop, accelerate slowly, no throttle when sliding to regain traction(don’t put your foot to the floor), and keep your tires where others have driven. Snow tires are amazing, but not necessary and are a hassle. Keep a small snow shovel in the trunk and non-folding traction mats if you can. You should also keep a charged jumper pack in your car because the cold don’t give a shit about you needing to start your car.
Be prepared to pay 4x as much when you need a replacement tire (you have to replace all 4)
I’ve never heard of replacing 1 tire. it’s usually in pairs. never been told to replace all 4 with my awd either.
Guess Les Schwab ripped me off then
Depends on how much wear is on the existing set, 5/32nds difference is where you need to do all four to avoid damaging something.
Don’t worry, loads of people that live in a snowy climate also are a menace on the road.
You’ll get used to them. Just remember to check if your tire profile is deep enough (4 mm), and slow down before curves + start accelerating halfway through them. And obviously keep more distance than usual.
Oh and always carry chains. Putting them on the tires isn’t too hard, but try it once before (when your hands aren’t cold and you aren’t stressed). Most of the time you won’t need them but when you do need them you really do.
Icy roads are generally ok if you have a front or 4 wheel drive and you know they’re icy so are on high alert and ready to deal with other motorists doing reckless shit which is 99% of the issues you’ll face (like driving their rear wheel drive car round a corner up a hill, then spinning out as they accelerated too hard and ending up sliding back down the road towards you, which happened to me but as I was driving reasonably I just pulled over to the side)
What you’ve gotta watch out for is wet leaves though… Sounds innocent enough but in the wrong conditions they’re as slippy as if not more than ice and because usually they’re fine your brain just dismisses them until the day you slide/spin on them