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I get used to the heat. I find that Summer is the one season I can count on. I know it's going to be hot and humid — shorts, t-shirts, flip flops. The rest of the year you never know what the weather will be like. Fall is terrible for that. On Halloween it might be 75 or 45. Who knows? Winter is even worse. We can see 70s in January or 17, easily either way.
One of the other unpredictable components of the winters in NC, in addition to the ice/snow or lack thereof, is the sunniness or cloud cover. While there are climates cloudier than anywhere in North Carolina, it's not uncommon for the weather systems to bring a cold air damming wedge that hovers over the state and bring us weather that's not bitterly cold, but a chilly rain that makes it dreary for days (sometimes well over a week) before slowly moving off. That fluctuates quite a bit though, and can seem constant during some winters, but only happen occasionally during others.
At least from the Raleigh area headed east, there are more pine trees, which make the winters visually seem a little less dreary (especially with the rainy wedge weather), but in the parts of the state with more hardwood trees, it can look pretty dreadful when that's going on for days on end (the tradeoff is of course the beautiful fall that hardwoods bring).
Funny one of my favorite things about winter here is not just the warmer temps, but the fact that it is usually sunny even if it's not bitterly cold. Up north if it's warm it's cloudy, if the sky is blue and cloudless that usually means it's too cold to go outside.
Luckily I'd spent a decent amount of time in Atlanta and Miami and knew a little what to expect.
I grew up in Atlanta, my wife in Miami. Atlanta is very close in weather to the Triangle, while Miami is a lot hotter and more humid. I'm not sure why someone used to those to places would find the heat and humidity in the Triangle difficult.
Welcome to NC ippi! I too am from the Bay Area (many of my years in Cupertino).
I have to say this was one of the WORST summers here! I rarely ventured out of the house this summer and I love being outdoors. In fact we have a 2nd property out in the country here and I just couldn't even stand the thought of being out there in this heat so we didn't even go up there once! I also thought it was one of the more milder winters.
So with that said....I cannot offer any advice on things to do in this brutal heat. I wouldn't trust the lakes/ponds to cool off and so many of the community pools have bacteria issues :-( I'm seriously thinking of having my own inground pool now so I can at least be outside and cool off :-) And I'm praying that this was a one off year and that next year, while still more hot and humid than the Bay Area, I can go back to being outdoors doing the things I love.
Yes, most people underestimate the heat and cold in NC. We may not get a lot of snow, but it does get extremely cold. NC is truly a four seasons state. With that being said, I am surprised the weather is the thing you're worried about. I would think adjusting here is the main concern, since San Francisco is one of the most vibrant and desired states to live in, and now you're in NC which is nice but very slow based and less interesting in comparison.
I lived in California the majority of my life with most of my adult life in the San Francisco Bay Area. While it is a nice place to visit, living there isn't what a lot of people think it would be like. So for many of us, moving is quite refreshing. While I do miss the weather (and lack of bugs there) I don't miss much else. The OP may feel differently than I, but I can honestly say that moving was one of the best decisions we have ever made.
Yeah, maybe hit Linville Gorge / Boone and check out the mountains for a cooler spell. Or take a trip away from NC altogether during the hottest months. It is pretty miserable here in the summer. This past weekend was a nice glimpse in to what is my favorite time of year here and it's so close now...
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