Have you Northern retirees HAD IT with winters?? (activities, return, Tucson)

[poodlecamper]

Originally Posted by gomexico

I once lived in Tucson. It gets hot in Tucson during Summer months. Probably 100+ days with temps in excess of 100F. So, it's not uncommon for folks from Tucson, or Phoenix, to weekend in San Diego. A long weekend break from the heat of Arizona. After living in Tucson for a year and a half I made one of these trips. On a day when it was 105F in Tucson. When I got to San Diego, stepped off the airplane ... I thought I was going to freeze to death. It was about 70F outside that day. Maybe 75. 30 to 35 degrees colder than Tucson. I went to a big box store and bought a sweater and jacket, best I could find. And I turned-off the A/C in the hotel room and put an extra blanket on the bed. As I walked about San Diego with the jacket I drew stares. No wonder! On successive trips I arrived prepared. The reactions to the climate are relative to where we've come from.

So true.
We were in se North Carolina in Feb------peeked out the window in the morning and saw people in coats, hats, and mittens!!!!!!! It was in the 50's, so we went out with light jackets that we later removed ("too hot" after walking aroundLOL) Our new neighbors remarked--"You can tell you're from the North" We had on T-shirts, they were wearing jackets. We can tolerate the hot summers as a trade-off for the long springs and falls, and mild winters.

[Umbria]

Originally Posted by newenglandgirl

So why are you looking to leave MN? Climate has to figure in somehow.

1. Change - this is a big country. My perfect world would be to establish a base and then spend 2-3 months (or longer) renting in different parts of the country.

2. Winters are too long

3. I have to move anyway - this house/yard is just too much and I'm tired of it - I want a new place to live.

I've always said I need 4 seasons - love that first snow - love winter clothes - love to snuggle under lots of blankets - love fireplaces - love that fresh smell of a coming spring - love fall. (this is soundng like a profile for a dating site).

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by Curmudgeon

And your point? Here's a clue for you. We have all four seasons here. Some of us like it that way. Most of the seasons are quite "tame."

We have four well defined seasons here, but Summer isn't ridicuolously hot and humid nor is the sun angle too intense.

[StealthRabbit]

And then there is the "evidence" of a Northerner (or a PNW'r).

Those first few weeks wearing shorts and the BLINDING white legs!!! and arms. (followed by 'Cherry' Sunburns)

It is down-right SCARY to think that our WHOLE bodies are as stark WHITE as our 'underwear hineys' during summer tans.

[StealthRabbit]

Originally Posted by Umbria

1. Change - this is a big country. My perfect world would be to establish a base and then spend 2-3 months (or longer) renting in different parts of the country.

2. Winters are too long

3. I have to move anyway - this house/yard is just too much and I'm tired of it - I want a new place to live.

I've always said I need 4 seasons - love that first snow - love winter clothes - love to snuggle under lots of blankets - love fireplaces - love that fresh smell of a coming spring - love fall. (this is soundng like a profile for a dating site).

Agreed.... The fall crispness and smell & heat of the wood stove, cooking soups and cocoa... are very enticing and nice. BUT,,, probably more enjoyable for a few of the nicer weeks and holidays of winter. I too will be enjoying a more 'moderate' winter, and really enjoyed this winter in Asia, San Diego, and San Antonio. (And I only used a small portion of my wood pile in PNW So... as much as I enjoy cutting firewood (NOT)... I can 'relax' from that task this spring and enjoy the flowers some more !

There are MANY fun places with nice winter climates in USA (and abroad) to rent and explore. One of my kids enjoyed this winter in NZ... Other friends have done that, where they go to NZ and rent a camper van for a month or two and go 'count sheep'

[RiverBird]

Originally Posted by Umbria

1. Change - this is a big country. My perfect world would be to establish a base and then spend 2-3 months (or longer) renting in different parts of the country.

2. Winters are too long

3. I have to move anyway - this house/yard is just too much and I'm tired of it - I want a new place to live.

I've always said I need 4 seasons - love that first snow - love winter clothes - love to snuggle under lots of blankets - love fireplaces - love that fresh smell of a coming spring - love fall. (this is soundng like a profile for a dating site).

I've been thinking about the notion of change. Some people live their entire lives in one place and in retirement stay there, never imagining a move elsewhere. Perhaps they are so well connected through family, friends and clubs that they are just OK with whatever climate/weather comes with the territory. They solve any need for adventure through travel.

Others of us have a different kind of spirit and imagination. It's not that we necessarily think "the grass is greener" elsewhere, but that we have a curiosity for experiencing living in other places. And what better time to do this than in the later years, in retirement, if we're in good health.

I will be curious to see what areas you are exploring and what your findings are. You may wind up in a place that you least imagine. Life has a way of doing that, handing out surprises. I wish you well as you venture out into the wider world to seek that special place. Keep us posted ~

[mlb]

As I get older - the wimpier I get. I remember coming home in winter from a vacation - probably Hawaii - and entering our apartment in Northridge, CA - and the temp was about 50 degrees. I could not get warm. This after growing up in Wisconsin - and 50 degrees in the middle of winter would have brought out the shorts and flip-flops in Madison.

Even Northern California has very brisk winters. It's the lack of a true, colorful midwest fall they lack. But I do love the shock of cool that comes in November in NoCal. Colors there are much more muted. Then again summers are cool in the Bay. Never go anywhere without a sweatshirt or jacket.

Where we are now (northern Rockies) has very definite seasons - winters that are not as bad as the Midwest - you really don't need to hibernate for 6 months - altho I am wimping out after having to actually shovel at least 4 times this winter.... and they are dry as is the summer and actually all year 'round.

But we are seeking the mid-coast weather of California for retirement. We don't know how or where or when... but we are aiming to find it.

[Darth Vespa]

Mlb's comment about Madison struck a bell with me! We are now eight months into living in San Diego--this after 33 years living in Madison, WI. And San Diego is just as glorious as advertised. It's our retirement home, and the mild climate and sunny days are actually having a more positive effect on me than I had expected (ever the skeptic!).

However, there's a part of me that relates to Umbria's post, too. Now that we are actually retired, these other posts about the glories of Arizona, the PNW, the Ozarks, Florida's Gulf Coast, and other destinations are enticing too. Madison? A great place to visit . . . in the summer.

[Curmudgeon]

Originally Posted by GraniteStater

We have four well defined seasons here, but Summer isn't ridicuolously hot and humid nor is the sun angle too intense.

In the four summers we've been here only one had some really tough humidity. After Sacramento the heat has really been a minor thing and besides, we actually have air conditioning in these here Ozarks.

We don't mind some occasional, sort-lived discomfort during summer and winter. They're easy trade-offs for our gorgeos springs and falls.

But to each their own!

[mlb]

I go back to Madison in summer and practically have to take an oxygen tank to breathe with the high humidity. EARLY summer is better - late summer is really hard - 90's with 90% humidity? I would die.