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If you're within 20 miles of the ocean, or up above 5000ft (summer only), then it's nice. Otherwise, it's like Texas.
The idea that CA has perfect weather is because people like us (tourists) only to vacation spots near the coast with nice weather, like La Jolla, or Monterrey. The other 80% of the state is horrid. Wealthy people in CA who never stray far from the coast say the same thing about their state's weather. I only go to Portland, OR during the summer, but I can't say it has great weather because I've only (intentionally) experienced the best time of year. People visiting Austin for SXSW say the same thing to their friends up north.
You are sorely mistaken about California weather in the summer. No where in CA is the weather horribly humid HOT like texas weather in the summer. Only the SoCal low desert is hotter, but not humid HOT like texas. Only 1% of Californians live in the desert.
Besides the deserts, the most "maligned" area in California in the summer is the San Joaquin Valley - Fresno and Bakersfield, but the San Joaquin Valley is still not as humidly uncomfortably hot as much of texas.
Almost of all of NorCal is comfortable in the summer including Sacramento, the entire Central and NorCal Coasts, the Bay Area, the coastal mountains and valleys and all the foothill(1,000-3,000feet) and higher mountains (3,000-14,000feet) inland which include the Sierra, Klamath, and Cascades Mountains ranges and their foothills.
The weather in the mountainous areas of Southern Cal's inlands areas are comfortable above 2,000 feet in the summer.
Beaches- California beaches are very diverse, huge cliffs, secluded, coves, redwood forests, sand dunes, flat areas, mountains and hills pristine area like Point Lobos on the Central Coast to the warmer Southern Cal beaches.
Native Californians are not used lying around in bath water, we prefer being active like surfing and if it too cold a wetsuit is used which makes the water a enjoyable as any bathwater of the gulf.
California beaches for the most part have an extreme maritime climate which means they are cool and cloudy most of the year, (atleast most of the day), with temps well below the inland areas, sometimes a difference of 30+ degrees. This keeps the water cold most of the year, with the exception of unusual heat waves.
If you're a water baby like me, you would find California weather not suitable.
Our pool never warmed up, even in the dead of summer. You would have to always brace yourself until you got used to the water. That's irritating.
The ocean's too cold without a wet suit (and I can totally do cold).
I like Hawaii. Carib is REALLY warm...I'm ok with that, too.
If you're a water baby like me, you would find California weather not suitable.
Our pool never warmed up, even in the dead of summer. You would have to always brace yourself until you got used to the water. That's irritating.
The ocean's too cold without a wet suit (and I can totally do cold).
I like Hawaii. Carib is REALLY warm...I'm ok with that, too.
Ok, that's water temp. Why is the weather not suitable? How about the time you spend enveloped by air?
Ok, that's water temp. Why is the weather not suitable? How about the time you spend enveloped by air?
Bc if the water is super cold, at least warmer temps outside would be nice.
Even the rain is cold.
Also, it was really boring that the seasons didn't change that much.
I don't need super drastic change and tons of snow/ice is frankly quite annoying, but I like the changes. I like the heat of summer. The brisk of autumn. The cold of winter (with occasional white stuff). I do hate our springs here. Rainy, windy, and annoying.
I also missed honest to god thunderstorms. I grew up on Java. Moved to Cali. Rain is very different in Cali.
My preferred climate is one I have now or something more like Maui or Oahu. Kauai is too rainy and Kona side BI is too stark.
If you're within 20 miles of the ocean, or up above 5000ft (summer only), then it's nice. Otherwise, it's like Texas.
The idea that CA has perfect weather is because people like us (tourists) only to vacation spots near the coast with nice weather, like La Jolla, or Monterrey. The other 80% of the state is horrid. Wealthy people in CA who never stray far from the coast say the same thing about their state's weather. I only go to Portland, OR during the summer, but I can't say it has great weather because I've only (intentionally) experienced the best time of year. People visiting Austin for SXSW say the same thing to their friends up north.
Over 70% of Californians live in a county that touches the coast, and over 80% live within 30 miles of the ocean. Not all of them are "wealthy", and that's kind of the draw of California - perfect weather near the coast (the Mediterranean climate you are so familiar with is largely influenced by the cool ocean).
Texas has nothing remotely comparable - no place in America does (with the exception of Southern Florida's tropic moderation). We could post climate charts ad nasuem, but let's not - the bottom line is California has superior weather, and that is the prime reason it is America's most populated state.
Its not so much the sand and water as it is the general coastline topography of the California coast that garner it alot of attraction and popularity. Waters are blue on the California coast, but never that calming, tropical-style blue, and the sand is decent, but not on the level of the tropical beaches. Tropical beaches just have that excellent color contrast between the sand, water, and even vegetation that make them the best beaches on the planet, all resulting from the abiotic/biotic factors that exist chiefly at such latitudes. Just look at the beaches on Maldives, Seychelles, Fiji, Jamaica, etc.
The beaches (sand and water) of Texas actually come closer to approximating the tropical perfection when compared to California, especially on the southern coastline of the state. Areas of Texas from around Port Aransas southwards definitely have soft, comfortable, nearly-white sands, and turquoise colored waters. And the icing on the cake is that on South Padre, coconut palms can actually be cultivated; South Padre is one of very few areas in the contiguous US where tall, healthy coconut palms can be cultivated outdoors. The areas of decent, off-white sand actually can be found in southern Galveston Island. Southern Galveston Island also has turquoise water color, albeit with more murkiness than points southwards.
The lack of strong popularity of Texas beaches when compared to states like California and Florida results from the lack of money on the state coastline relative to the two other states; all of Texas's major cities, except for Houston, are inland, while much of the major cities in both California and Florida are on/near the coast. As a result, beaches in Florida and California are more likely to receive promotion than those in Texas.
The beaches (sand and water) of Texas actually come closer to approximating the tropical perfection when compared to California, especially on the southern coastline of the state. Areas of Texas from around Port Aransas southwards definitely have soft, comfortable, nearly-white sands, and turquoise colored waters. And the icing on the cake is that on South Padre, coconut palms can actually be cultivated; South Padre is one of very few areas in the contiguous US where tall, healthy coconut palms can be cultivated outdoors. The areas of decent, off-white sand actually can be found in southern Galveston Island. Southern Galveston Island also has turquoise water color, albeit with more murkiness than points southwards.
That is a huge stretch texas beaches are not nearly as nice as true Tropical or subtropical beaches, like Hawaii, Florida, the Caribbean or Mediterranean.
California does not have tropical beaches because its not in the tropics, rather our beaches are Mediterranean.
California has it's own beautiful topography, and because the water is not warm/hot, the sea life allows for a huge range in biodiversity, just because it's not colorful tropical fish doesn't mean the sea life isn't abundant. For example, the huge sea forest under the coast of California, Kelp Forests, support the huge range of biodiversity.
The strength in California beaches are its topography diversity and big waves and surf. Its cool/cold temperatures attract very active water enthusiasts, the kind they don't just sit or lay around in bathwater.
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