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I'm considering a move to Virginia, specifically the Chesapeake area. This is southeastern VA near Virginia Beach, Norfolk, and Newport News. If I could find a place I would prefer the Williamsburg area to the north.
I have experienced the winters there and it's fine--I don't mind occasional snow or temperatures in the 40s and 50s--and a few pleasant days in the 70s.
But what about the summers? There was only one time that I was there at the end of August and due to the blasting heat and humidity, I barely made it from the a/c house to the a/c car. It just about knocked me out.
I have been told that it's like having several New England months of July--ugh. So how do you cope? Stay inside in a/c all day long? Or go from a/c to a/c to a/c?
Also, I read that they spray constantly for mosquitoes. This worries me--I have a dog and I don't want him walking in pesticides, also any edible plants that I would grow. Anyone in the southeast, how are the summers? Do they limit your activities? Do you get used to it?
My sister lived in Smithfield in that VA area and hated the summers. She cannot stand heat and humidity and the humidity was worse than the heat to my observation. I think she used the AC a lot. And sipped cool drinks. My daughter always commented that the area smelled dank from the river and low ground.
I live in Orlando area at the moment and although it gets hot and humid in the summers, I don't have a problem with it. Just go outside and let the sea breeze puff over your body. You may feel the heat at first but soon the sea breeze becomes a natural air conditioner. Folks down here do outdoor stuff and water sports. That helps too.
I lived in Goldsboro NC, and the summers are actually quite tolerable, even for a northerner. Yes they were hot, and the humidity in the morning can be oppressive, but I've since found that getting through the summer requires a swimming pool. Jump in the pool several times a week for an hour or two, and it does an amazing job of cooling down the body. Used to be summer in Texas would make me tired every third day or so. Now, no problem. Some pool time perks me right up. So if you move south, make sure you have access to a pool.
But I will tell you, no matter how bad the summer is, once you have winter in the south, you will not want to go back. There's huge advantages to a hot summer vs. a cold winter. 1. Nothing freezes.
2 No snow to shovel, or ice to chop
3. You can get out any day. Even on a hot day, you can still get out for activities in the morning and evening without much discomfort.
4. Since the nights in the south are not as long as they are in the north in winter, you don't get that gloomy winter blues that is so common.
Those are good points. You can always get out, not be trapped for days or weeks at a time due to weather. When I was considering moving there is a Y down the street that has an indoor and outdoor pool so that would help as I do love the water.
That dank smell--YES. There is this place called Great Dismal Swamp. Great name, not. There was the most nasty odor hanging in the humid air. The swamp probably breeds a lot of mosquitoes too.
It doesn't sound ideal but my sister lives and works there so that, besides these waste-of-time winters would be my reason for moving.
Longer days in winter really help. It gets dark way too early here.
That dank, swampy smell concerns me. I wonder if it's the same way a little to the north around Williamsburg. I wonder if it's that way near the NC coast, not ON the coast, but I need to have some proximity to ocean.
When my mother was alive I used to visit her in Baton Rouge, Louisiana every other year for about two weeks. (I also had some cousins there, hence the longish two-week visitation). Because I was a high school teacher, summers were about the only time I had adequate time off, so I normally visited in July or August.
I'll tell you how most people "tolerate" the summers there; they are prisoners of the air conditioning. They go from air-conditioned homes/apartments to air-conditioned cars to air-conditioned offices/stores/restaurants. One year I tried getting up before the sun to go jogging every other day - in California it cools off during the night, but in the high humidity it doesn't! It was miserable to the max!
I would hate to live there; in fact, I would refuse to live there now, although I lived there for three years between the ages of 18 and 21. When one is young and dumb, anything is possible - even my car had no air-conditioning back then!
Not sure whether my experiences apply to the area of Virginia you are considering, but I shared them anyway for what they are worth.
It takes time to get acclimated to the weather. One visit in the summer is not the same as living there.
It took me a year or two to get used to Texas summers. And even then my habits in the summer are out in the early am and evening with afternoons indoors (home or somewhere else).
But I do prefer the dry heat of Texas to the humid heat of Florida.
I can go under shade and actually cool down. In Florida you cannot escape the humidity unless you go indoors.
IMHO high humidity is worse than high temps. The air is thick and the sweat rolls down your face just standing still.
I have always disliked Tennessee summers. July, August, September, and October which is possibly the worst since it's cool at night and in the morning, and fashion dictates that you wear fall clothing. Yes, for my generation, in my part of the south, fashion still dictates. No white after Labor Day.
I have to have ac, but ac with doors and windows open I close up the house, pull the drapes, and nap or read in the middle of the day. I don't swim so I don't need a pool, but I spend a lot of time cooling down under the garden hose.
Still, I could not tolerate northern winters. I like a change of seasons so so cal did not suit me. Better the devil I know
IMHO high humidity is worse than high temps. The air is thick and the sweat rolls down your face just standing still.
I totally agree! We lived in Virginia for many years and I never got used to the heat/humidity during the summers, nor the humidity during the winters.
In summers we'd go from one air-conditioned environment to another. If we had to go outside, and actually be outside, we'd go early in the morning or in the evening - morning was best.
In winters I was almost never warm. The humidity doesn't go away - or doesn't go away for long - in winter. Outside, the combination of low temps and humidity (and maybe throw some wind in there as well) made winters miserable. And inside, the heat pump would run constantly, trying its best to extract warm air molecules from outside. That didn't work very well.
We moved to Maine this fall. Despite having a throw-back winter this year, with low temps and LOTS of snow, I've felt warmer here. When I'm outside, I'm bundled up, and the cold is dry - no humidity. It makes a huge difference. And inside, we have a pellet stove that keeps our living space very comfortable - much warmer and more comfortable than our Virginia heat pump ever could!
I think it is just a matter of what you get used to. Years ago I lived in NY and then moved to CT. We had a second home in VT. I always hated the winters. I remember one particularly cold winter with a giant snow storm. I was having trouble walking through the snow and I fell. My clothing felt frozen to my body by the time I made it inside. That is what convinced us to move to FL.
Well, our friends still lived in CT so one spring we decided to go for a visit. We had been living in FL for 3 years. It was around 80 degrees during the day when we left Florida, and we were very comfortable. We arrived in CT 4 days later to what our friends were terming a "beautiful spring day". It was in the high 50's. They wanted to BBQ and eat outside. They were sitting around in short sleeves. I thought I would freeze to death as I sat there in my winter coat.
Orlando is a tourist town and it is not unusual for the "Northerners" to arrive in the winter wearing shorts and short sleeves. We would watch them swim in the pool. We would be wearing winter coats. My young child asked me: "don't they know it is too cold to swim?"
You get used to the heat just as you get used to the cold. Some people will say your blood gets thin.
4. Since the nights in the south are not as long as they are in the north in winter, you don't get that gloomy winter blues that is so common.
Good point.
I was reading another post about day light saving time in FL. So I looked up the sun rise and sun set times throughout the year compared to up north. Some posted about the "earlier" sun set in the south during summer. But your point shows it is just more balanced throughout the year in the south compared to the wide swings in daylight up north.
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I close up the house, pull the drapes, and nap or read in the middle of the day. I don't swim so I don't need a pool, but I spend a lot of time cooling down under the garden hose.
