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Man... if all the people that moved here had done some research...
Let's point this out: Austin is in TEXAS. Texas, while being vehemently proud of itself and rightfully so, is also hot as ****. East, west, north, south, and central. It's not a secret folks. So for all of you who moved here and thought, "Austin seems like a cool place to live" should have considered the fact that Austin is actually a hot place to live! I mean come on, really!?
And I will say to my compatriots that would rather the "northern weather" or the climates of the pacific northwest, nobody's stopping you. I've lived in both. That's what lead me here. And thank God!
For those of you who complain about the heat, maybe you should'a thought about that before reserving the U-Haul. For those of you that still complain about it, maybe try to explore what makes Austin so freaking awesome in the summer. Lake Travis, Barton Springs, Red Bud, the Greenbelt, and on and on and on. As per the OP's suggestion, I totally agree! I love the summer nights here. Just smoked a rack of ribs for 3.5 hours in the sun-setting 100 degree weather and with that gentle breeze and a nice cool Austin Beerworks Fire Eagle IPA in my glass, the world was good to me. Rather that than a raincoat and a Rainier up there in Seattle.
There will always be folks that move here and complain about the heat. To the others that moved here and embrace I say, Cheers. Welcome to Texas. Enjoy this unbelievably beautiful state for awhile. You'll understand soon why so many Texans love Texas. Hopefully you'll come along for the ride.
As long as Houston exists, this is not possible. "Houston's summers" is listed as a synonym for "miserable" in the thesaurus. The OP is right, the main difference is the nighttime-- while still too hot, there's a dry, breezy quality to Austin's nights that help make up somewhat for the extreme heat of the day. Here in Houston, the nights are often 90+% humidity with ZERO breeze. They just add insult to injury and can, in some ways, be worse than the freaking daytime (nothing like going out at midnight to a bar and still be sweating balls because it feels like you're in a gd sauna).
I know the numbers may back you up somewhat, but I've been to Austin twice this summer for several days per trip, and all I know is that it was at least 25% less miserable (that may or may not be an arbitrary, made-up number). Hot as hell, yes, but nowhere near as brutal as Houston. Plus, I know it's not much, but at least you guys have ways to cool off over there (Barton Springs is wonderfully freezing). The water in Galveston is bath-water-esque after mid-June.
When I lived in Houston I owned a house in the Clear Lake area which is in the southeast quadrant of the metro area and we were only a few miles from Galveston Bay which opens right into the Gulf of Mexico. Anyway we had a sea breeze that helped us out. Was the breeze balmy, humid, muggy ? Yes, but the air movement helps out, and I'm not sure where the breeze comes from in Austin ? Last time I checked it's definitely land-locked ?
If you know how warm the water is in Galveston from personal experience you've already used some dubious judgement: that stuff is nasty, I wouldn't even stick my big toe in it.
Re the weather stats - I'm only reporting the "www.weather.com" info re temps, dew-points, heat-index. If you felt less miserable in Austin than Houston, then I'm sure that's also worth something ?
I guess it's not too different from people who are snowbound for months at a time or does that happen anymore? You just have to realize that your outdoor activities will be limited for about four months a year.
When I lived in Houston I owned a house in the Clear Lake area which is in the southeast quadrant of the metro area and we were only a few miles from Galveston Bay which opens right into the Gulf of Mexico. Anyway we had a sea breeze that helped us out. Was the breeze balmy, humid, muggy ? Yes, but the air movement helps out, and I'm not sure where the breeze comes from in Austin ? Last time I checked it's definitely land-locked ?
If you know how warm the water is in Galveston from personal experience you've already used some dubious judgement: that stuff is nasty, I wouldn't even stick my big toe in it.
Re the weather stats - I'm only reporting the "www.weather.com" info re temps, dew-points, heat-index. If you felt less miserable in Austin than Houston, then I'm sure that's also worth something ?
It's funny, like a day before you posted I randomly looked up the weather stats for both cities and was shocked to find what you found-- that statistics-wise (especially dew-points and overall humidity), on paper Austin doesn't look that much better than Houston. The dew-points were similar and I want to say Austin's average humidity was only 5-10% less. I just don't understand how that's possible. I swear I feel like I'm in a jungle here, and while Austin doesn't feel like an arid desert or anything, it does feel considerably drier (way more than 5%, which you wouldn't think would be enough difference to even notice). Who knows what's going on!
And I totally agree, I love that sea breeze. My grandma had a house on Tiki Island and sitting on her screen porch in the morning was one of my favorite things to do. Really pleasant feeling. Unfortunately, it's rare to get that here west of downtown
I guess it's not too different from people who are snowbound for months at a time or does that happen anymore? You just have to realize that your outdoor activities will be limited for about four months a year.
You are exactly right. There's very big similarities between a really cold winter up north and a really hot summer in Texas or orhter places in the South. There's the confinement because weather conditions are just too unpleasant, sometimes too unsafe to be out there. Of course when it comes to safety, no issues with
slipping/sliding around in the heat like a messy winter. Then there's the monotony - little variation in the weather week in and week out.
Man... if all the people that moved here had done some research...
Let's point this out: Austin is in TEXAS. Texas, while being vehemently proud of itself and rightfully so, is also hot as ****. East, west, north, south, and central. It's not a secret folks. So for all of you who moved here and thought, "Austin seems like a cool place to live" should have considered the fact that Austin is actually a hot place to live! I mean come on, really!?
And I will say to my compatriots that would rather the "northern weather" or the climates of the pacific northwest, nobody's stopping you. I've lived in both. That's what lead me here. And thank God!
For those of you who complain about the heat, maybe you should'a thought about that before reserving the U-Haul. For those of you that still complain about it, maybe try to explore what makes Austin so freaking awesome in the summer. Lake Travis, Barton Springs, Red Bud, the Greenbelt, and on and on and on. As per the OP's suggestion, I totally agree! I love the summer nights here. Just smoked a rack of ribs for 3.5 hours in the sun-setting 100 degree weather and with that gentle breeze and a nice cool Austin Beerworks Fire Eagle IPA in my glass, the world was good to me. Rather that than a raincoat and a Rainier up there in Seattle.
There will always be folks that move here and complain about the heat. To the others that moved here and embrace I say, Cheers. Welcome to Texas. Enjoy this unbelievably beautiful state for awhile. You'll understand soon why so many Texans love Texas. Hopefully you'll come along for the ride.
Some of us were unfortunately born here and are stuck here. Not everyone can just pack up and move. It's not always just that easy. Believe me, if I could I would move in a heartbeat to somewhere up North where it's not hot as hell.
A friend of mine in Hyde Park is STILL not running her A/C. Um...really? I don't get frugality to where it reaches a danger zone. I stepped into her house for one minute and walked back out. She also has animals inside the house that were panting.
It is just not an option here!
Some of us were unfortunately born here and are stuck here. Not everyone can just pack up and move. It's not always just that easy. Believe me, if I could I would move in a heartbeat to somewhere up North where it's not hot as hell.
Oh goodie. Another perpetual victim. I am certain you can do whatever you choose with good planning, resources and some drive. I moved back here with less than 50.00 and no job. And I figured it out.
No one is making you stay or chaining you to the bed.
Except after you go thru one of those stretches that might last for several weeks with barely a ray of sunshine, you might go absolutely nuts.
Yes! Eighteen years in Seattle and I'll take the 100+ temps any day. Maybe it was the house I lived in up there but I could never get warm, the damp weather seemed to make my bones ache. It may be hot as hell here four months of the year here, but there you get a good nine month of wet chill. I am very happy our decision to come to Austin. I find that as long as it's 95 or under I can go out and be active in the heat.
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