Boston Summers: tell me about the humidity (Cambridge, Washington: how much, living in)

[DoctorWatson]

I am originally from the mid-Atlantic region of the USA, and I spent the last 4 years in Tokyo. I am moving back to the USA and decided to start with a clean slate and try to live somewhere new. I haven't picked a city yet but I have a few that have caught my interest.

The mid-Atlantic is terribly muggy and wretched in the summer months and I really don't want to live in a humid place any more. Tokyo is 10 times as bad in the summer with humidity! So I looked on city-data and saw that Boston gets up into the high 80s but rarely peaks 100 like mid-Atlantic summers in August. That was looking really good to me, but I keep reading on this forum people's complaints about the Boston humidity.

I was considering the west coast but I'm an east coast guy at heart and I don't want to give up on it just yet. So...how humid are Boston summers? The same as Washington DC? Please tell me it isn't worse!

[MagicTouch]

Personally I don't think it's that bad, I just moved to MA a month ago from CA. During the summer in CA it got to 115 with humidity of 80%. When I spent last summer here I didn't notice the humidity. A lot of people who live here say that it's bad, but not in my opinion. I think everyone has their own tolerance, oh and I don't think it get like DC, uggghhh... spent a few weeks in DC last summer as well and my gosh couldn't move.... yuck.

[mhz123]

Originally Posted by MagicTouch

Personally I don't think it's that bad, I just moved to MA a month ago from CA. During the summer in CA it got to 115 with humidity of 80%. When I spent last summer here I didn't notice the humidity. A lot of people who live here say that it's bad, but not in my opinion. I think everyone has their own tolerance, oh and I don't think it get like DC, uggghhh... spent a few weeks in DC last summer as well and my gosh couldn't move.... yuck.

Are you from LA? San Diego doesn't have humidity, nor does San Fran.

Anyway, how bad humidity really is subjective. I hate humid and hot weather, the more of either, the worse. The combination of humid and hot, humid and cold is just bad. That said, I tolerated this summer, barely. But working in the city and having to dress for the office really was a huge pain. Sweat drenched dress shirts, and long pants don't make for fun summers.

[MagicTouch]

Originally Posted by mhz123

Are you from LA? San Diego doesn't have humidity, nor does San Fran.

Anyway, how bad humidity really is subjective. I hate humid and hot weather, the more of either, the worse. The combination of humid and hot, humid and cold is just bad. That said, I tolerated this summer, barely. But working in the city and having to dress for the office really was a huge pain. Sweat drenched dress shirts, and long pants don't make for fun summers.

Born and raised in LA (40+ years)... they do have humidity in SoCal.

[K-Luv]

Originally Posted by MagicTouch

Born and raised in LA (40+ years)... they do have humidity in SoCal.

You will find humidity every-where. How high the level of humidity does not really reflect how much you feel it. The factor to how bad humid weather can be is determined by the dew point, which tends to be very low in SoCal.

[findingmesomeday]

I doubt anywhere in SoCal has ever had a dewpoint even climb out of the 40's much less the 50's (still pretty comfortable), 60's (getting sticky) and 70's (oppressive).

[LeavingMA]

This summer in my opinion was one of the cooler summers we have had. There really wasn't that many days in the 90's.

[brightdoglover]

I'm from south Jersey/Philly, been around Boston since 1974. I find the humidity oppressive and increasing every summer. It's not necessarily hot, like 90s+, but it seems each summer is greyer and hazier and stickier. I hate summer here, but that's just me. It is certainly as humid as mid-Atlantic areas like Philly and NYC, although not as bad as DC.
Just my humble opinion, with my genetics that were born for the Russian steppes.

[charolastra00]

I grew up in Georgia so Boston summers are absolutely nothing. There were times growing up in GA where just going outside, my skin would be covered in condensation and it'd be hard to breathe. I managed to spend this past summer living in Cambridge without air conditioning which I wouldn't suggest if you can at ALL help it, but it's not that bad comparatively.

[ME Hokie 07]

If you're from Atlanta, the summers in Boston will be heaven on earth IMO. I moved up here at the beginning of this summer and people from here would complain about the heat/humidity but it felt like nothing to me (I'm from VA). Now I might complain about the cold come January or February but you'll never hear me knock the heat up here. If that's your biggest worry about Boston, you've got nothing to fear.