Best US Climate NOT on the west coast? (snowy, records, temperatures)

[Trimac20]

Some of the choices seem a bit extreme. I'd go for the Outer Banks of North Carolina.

[burloak]

I like some southwest high elevation climates alot,

Bisbee,AZ over 5000 ft ASL avg high Jan upper 50's F
avg July high upper 80's F (low humidity making it very pleasant)

Sierra Vista,AZ is abit lower and warmer than Bisbee but also very good

Silver City is located in SW New Mexico has a fantastic gentle
four season climate at elevation 5900 ft
nearby Fort Bayard has an even better climate, very mild.

In the western United States, elevation is the key to finding the best climate.
There are lots of micro climates and humidity is usually not a factor
like it can be in eastern US.

[MrMarbles]

You basically have to look for microclimates either in the Mountain West or the Appalachians in the East. You will not find large metro areas in such places, though.

Coastal Mid-Atlantic from Long Island to Virginia Beach is the best you can hope for if you want to stay to populated areas. It isn't that bad if you don't mind the humidity.

[Mike from back east]

Ronnie, IMO the SOCAL climate is among the best, moderate temps year round, etc. But there are drawbacks, like the fires, Santa Ana winds, earthquakes, etc.

We chose the Front Range of Colorado, aka I-25 corridor, just EAST of the mountains, between Fort Collins, CO and COLO SPGS, CO.

The FRONT RANGE area of COLO is characterized by DRY air, few bugs, lots of sun ALL year long, summer temps that rarely exceed 90, surprisingly mild winter temps (lots of people ride bikes / run / walk year round while wearing shorts or very light clothing. We do NOT have the blistering heat of AZ, NV, etc. During a cold snap we often get down to zero and below, even lower if up in the mountains.

The bulk of COLO snowfall is up in the HIGH COUNTRY, the ski areas you see on TV, but that is not where the bulk of our population lives. We live along the Front Range which is actually the far western edge of the great plains, not at all in the mountains. Denver actually sits in a bowl, on the edge of the prairie, with the mountains beginning about 20 miles west of the city; pay no attention to those lovely mountain views you see on Denver Bronco football games, those mountains are a solid 30+ minute drive to the west.

Most snowfall along the Front Range melts out in a day or so, though once in a while we get a real dumper of snow, like DEC 2006 when we had back to back blizzards that shut Denver airport for 3 days at Xmas-time.

In the case of COLO SPGS, the mountains begin only a few miles west of us and the views are wonderful; I can see Pikes Peak out my window, so can most of us here.

It isn't cheap here compared to some other places, a lot of people like to move here and prices reflect that.

FWIW, only 2-3 people have been killed by tornados in this state in the past 50+ years, since most tornados occur out on our eastern plains, 10-125+ miles to the east of the Front Range, near the KS border. We are not known for mud slides or earthquakes, but there are "snow slides" (avalanches) up in the high country that claim a few unlucky skiers annually. We don't have hurricanes either, or tsunamis, or volcanic activity. We do have forest fires, but they are mostly up in the mountains, not many trees to burn on our expanse of shortgrass prairie.

All these things taken together are why we left the DC area upon retiring. Our other reasons are at post #1 of this thread.

[Lamplight]

For me it would have to be a place where summer highs don't top 80, and ideally they wouldn't top 75. And while I like cold weather, I'm not sure I'd want to live somewhere that gets a LOT of snow all winter long. That's why I live where I live now, but I don't know what other places outside the West Coast might be like that.

[55degrees]

Originally Posted by Flight Simmer

Phoenix, Dallas, Houston etc

yes, you'll sweat the moment you walk out the door at 7am, but that's what makes it a good climate.

Is this a joke? how does sweat make a good climate? And Houston is extremely humid.

[Patricius Maximus]

Originally Posted by 55degrees

Is this a joke? how does sweat make a good climate? And Houston is extremely humid.

Well, just as some people like to have their face stung by snow blowing off a roof (myself included), whereas others don't, I imagine some people like to sweat. I'm sure it's a tiny minority, though (certainly much less than blizzard-lovers), since everyone I have ever encountered or heard of with just a few exceptions dislikes sweat. Also sweating is often an indicator of the person being too hot, and nobody likes weather that is too hot or too cold for them, whatever those thresholds may be. It is conceivable, however odd. Also it may be a joke, since Flight Simmer is a heat-lover, and thus likely won't sweat at temperatures heat-haters find unpleasant.

I agree with you that Houston and all of the other places he mentioned have horrible climates as far as I'm concerned.

Mike from back east's description of the Front Range climate is quite accurate, with the exception in my case and many others of it being "the best climate". I myself don't care for the Front Range climate, but tastes will vary.

Also, I'd like to know who this "we" is that Mike speaks of.

[dunno what to put here]

I don't know anyone who likes to sweat or who likes their faces being stung by a blizzard.. that's just pretty weird to me.

[deneb78]

I enjoy sweating because it's a great way for the body to cleanse itself and get rid of toxins. I enjoy practicing hot yoga here to accomplish this as my climate cannot.

[dunno what to put here]

That's fair enough.. I must admit even as a 'cold lover', I'd rather sweat then have the stinging sensation of a blizzard on my face. I actually recall walking home in a proper, full on blizzard as a child and cried all the way there because it hurt so much. Didn't put me off snow though!