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I've never enjoyed the cold, and the older I get the lower my tolerance - so, when we retire it's SE Arizona for us. Upper 80's and lower 90's in the summer, lower 60's in the winter.
I also think the elderly lose some of that insulating body fat and they no longer feel "warm." My 81-year-old mother was one of those people who had to have the a/c on full-blast 24/7, but in the past year, she's now cold all the time, and, on any given day, she keeps her apt at about 80-85°F. I can barely stand to be in there most of the time, since I can't stand heat. (DH and I are retiring to upstate NY, and the welcome cold is one of the major reasons.)
I wonder if some of it could be depression? Studies have shown that people are more likely to be depressed during the winter. Maybe many elderly people don't want to see leafless trees and brown grass for half of the year.
Noticed for a long time that the obituaries section seems to expand in the winter months of December to March. A lot of 50+ people walk outside to maintain their health. It's hard to do in the winter due to (1) cold weather and the risk of cold/flu/pneumonia, (2) snow and ice on paths and sidewalks, and (3) overcrowding at gyms in coldest months.
Cold hurts more now than ever before. Damp cold hurts even more. Ice and snow require driving skills and, particularly, reactions that are no longer reliable. I will be more confortable and safer in the southwest than in New Hampshire in the winter.
Noticed for a long time that the obituaries section seems to expand in the winter months of December to March. A lot of 50+ people walk outside to maintain their health. It's hard to do in the winter due to (1) cold weather and the risk of cold/flu/pneumonia, (2) snow and ice on paths and sidewalks, and (3) overcrowding at gyms in coldest months.
In the natural world, winter is "the killing time" when the old and the sick are more likely to succume. Though OUR winters are obviously far easier than those of the animals in the wild, I suspect that winter is still "the killing time" even among humans.
I was born in Boston and spent the first 14 years of my life there, and as a kid, I loved the cold and the snow.
For the last 42 years, I've been in the Washington DC area (mostly in Virginia) and find with each year that I have more problems tolerating the heat and humidity. The rest of my family (two sisters and their families) are in MA and VT, and it's been my intention to move back to New England when I retired.
Well, my wife and I retired this spring, but the housing market here (Prince William County, VA) is so bad that we didn't even try to put the house up for sale. We're aiming for next spring.
I figure a snowblower, a back-up generator, and a pellet stove and we should be in pretty good shape for winter in central NE (western or central MA, southern NH or ME). Personally, I'd rather be cold than hot - you can always put more clothes on but there's a limit as to how much you can take off, at least in public!
I've seen old people bundled up in the summer and in sleeveless dresses in the winter. It seems the body just doesn't sense cold or hot correctly in some people.
I live in Colorado and slipping on ice or shoveling snow is a real concern for the elderly.
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