Even if you find a place that's free of most foreseeable natural catastrophes (my own homeland, Uruguay, is such an example), you sometimes can't avoid politica

Even if you find a place that's free of most foreseeable natural catastrophes (my own homeland, Uruguay, is such an example), you sometimes can't avoid political or human-caused ones (wars, dictatorships, the taxman :P etc.) So the "be prepared" advice elsewhere in the thread sounds good. If I ever move to California I'll try to find an earthquake-safe place.