Sad to see isn't it. You are from LA like I once was. Living there you just don't see things corrode like they do in the wetter climes east of the Rocky Mountains. In LA old cars last forever and their bodies don't rust. Back east cars will sometimes rust all the way through body panels long before the mechanicals wear out. Keeping a home painted in that kind of humidity and summer thunderstorms is both expensive and labor intensive. Everything require more work and more upkeep due to the incessant moisture. In the winter storm windows go up, your hose is more or less sealed and the moisture in the air is compounded by moisture from your breath and steam heat. Windows are covered in beads of water, it runs down the ledge and drips on the floor. Even home appliances will rust in that kind of situation. Newer homes are much better but there is no shortage of old homes with lousy insulation, steam heat (oil fired boiler in the basement, so you have to get a heating oil delivery weekly and that is expensive). Out here in California, we have gas heating or a heat pump that dehumidifies the house and our climate is naturally arid. We don't know corrosion like the east coast does.
