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My boyfriend and I would both have better career opportunities in other places and life would be easier (and cheaper) in a lot of ways, and there are things I like to do like rock climbing and mountain biking that you can't do much of here. But we both love the climate here. We'd be miserable in a warm climate, and we both love the massive snow and long winters, and the moderated maritime influence. It's a very unique climate, and I do think that's a big part of what's keeping us here, along with the landscape and population size.
We moved from Sydney to Brisbane for a variety of reasons with a better climate being one of them (the very mild winters a major drawcard).
Climate wasn't the only reason, it was also due to lifestyle (Sydney is too busy for us both), more affordable housing and easier access to the Sunshine Coast and QLD in general.
It did come at a cost though - I've had to take a 15% or so salary cut although this should be offset to some degree by a cheaper property with more to offer. Plus the quality of life here, which I've noticed so far, is significantly better. That I cannot quantify either!
Title says it all - how far would you be ready to go in terms of sacrificed opportunities and/or conditions in some areas of your life, so as to enjoy better weather?
Have you done it already?
That's probably what I am about to do for the upcoming two years, i.e. stay in Nice and get a less adequate/interesting job, providing less opportunities. In my field I would have to go to Paris or London to get the best career options. But either way I don't feel able to handle those climates for now...especially that my missus and I won't be able to live together for a moment - so if I have to be alone, I'd rather not be alone in the clouds, darkness and gloom of northern Europe (Just seeing that Paris northwards failed to reach 150 hours of sun this June has finished to convince me that this part of the world is not really suitable for me - the current July forecast is quite creepy as well...)
(Working outside the European Union is not really an option for me at the moment - say 2/3 years, so no Singapore, etc.)
Climate being one of the most essential components of quality of life for me, so it's weighing heavily on my life choices.
(Very fortunately, my missus is a heat/sun lover, so that's a good thing for our long term future - I'm not sure I could envision a relationship with a female Patricius Maximus - with all due respect - who would suffer from 20°C+ weather, when I start to barely enjoy it )
What about you?
Being able to handle living in (or moving to) a less than desirable climate (whatever your preferences) often depends on how much of what you dislike you can handle… how long it lasts….and how often you can escape it.
Since you listed sun even before warmth (something I would certainly do as well), I would think that your threshold for low sunshine hrs is much lower than those for warm temps (perhaps you don’t even realize this). You might be able to handle several months of cooler weather in winter in London or Paris compared to Nice (and May though Oct is fairly warm/mild in London)…but would two weeks of sunless skies (not at all uncommon in London or Paris in winter/spring/fall) push you over the edge? Warm weather fans are nearly always closet sun worshipers I’ve found.
The issue of ease and ability of escaping the undesirable portion of the year is also very important, and should be central to your considering moving: If you’ll have better career choices (and perhaps more income) in London or Paris, this might allow for more trips to recharge. London is located so that there multiple choices just a few hrs by air for a winter holiday (the Caribbean, Florida, southern Italy, Greece, etc). On the other hand, one doesn’t really need to flee Nice in the cold season with such vigor (or spend money to do so), as the winter climate is much more agreeable (based on your preferences). Often as many people get older and have more resources, it can be easier to get winter reprieve (travel or holiday), than to move from family and uproot your life. However, this seems to only work (most often) when more than half the year offers you what you desire weather wise. Someone who despise the weather 8 of 12 months where they live, will likely have a tough go of it no matter how much they travel (unless they are very rich –lol).
Someone who despise the weather 8 of 12 months where they live, will likely have a tough go of it no matter how much they travel (unless they are very rich –lol).
Well, if you're very rich and travel to that good spot constantly, for me that begs the question of why they just don't stay there.
To the shock of some people, I moved 140 mis. north when I retired, not to what some would consider a better climate!
Working for one company 33 yrs. if it came down to protecting my pension, I would have moved regardless of climate. Fortunately for me, I didn't have to and IF that move had been very far out of the midwest upon retiring, I would move right back. I never wanted to live without true 4 seasons!
Last edited by susancruzs; 07-08-2012 at 08:57 AM..
Finances and suitable employment prospects are more important to me than climate, but of course climate is very important too. I'd have to think long and hard if I was offered a good paying job in the arctic
As much as I'd love to live in the tropics, a stable job is the most important thing to me. One of the main reasons I'm staying in Vancouver is that I have a relatively stable job with a good pension and benefits
I'd give up my national identity if I had to,
but fortunately Canada doesn't care if I become a dual citizen.
In some ways, just living in a foreign country is a bit like losing one's identity though.
Every climate in Canada is a bad climate for me.
I suppose I wouldn't mind living in Canada if the year started in May and ended in September...
but I've carefully looked over the stats for all of Canada's mildest spots
and I still hate "normal temperatures" for 7+ months a year in every part of Canada.
I honestly have much better pay and opportunities in Canada in Toronto, or especially, in Edmonton or Calgary. When I had to come back here I chose Vancouver as the best, in terms of major cities, of a bad lot.
That being said, climate isn't the most important thing in life. I came back to Canada to help my Egyptian fiance immigrate here, and don't mind giving up Cairo's great climate to do that. It's well worth it to me.
As an aside, there are plenty of idyllic climates in places I never want to live. Much of eastern and southern Africa is climatically fantastic, but I'm not knocking anyone's door down to go live in Angola.
Issues such as family/friends, job opportunities, costs and living conditions would motivate me as much if not more than the climate in choosing where to live. I think I'd be open to happily living in a range of different climate types which don't meet my own ideal.
I'd probably think twice about living in a very dry, hot or frigid climate but I wouldn't rule a place out purely on climate.
well, i moved to a city in where im miserable and wanna die 4 months of the year due to the hellish unberable hot summers, and i did it voluntarily, and moved from a place that was more suitable to my weather preferences (oceanic, much cooler). So i guess climate wasnt number 1 priority for me, cause i still wouldnt move out from here even when the only thought of summer makes me wanna go kill myself.
On the other hand, if all year was like summer here (like a hot tropical climate), then i would move out, despite how much i love the city. Theres no way i would enjoy a sunny 22/32c ALL MONTHS OF THE YEAR temp, even if i had my dream job or whatever. So, at one point, climate is important, cause, despite hating those 4/5 months, i still love the other 7 months, and most of the time, i find climate here to be comfortable, i adore the sunshine hours and autumn/winter and most of the spring. Summer is the only problem, so i guess i can beare it (barely) cause the rest of the year is nice.
But if i had to live in a place with the climate of la mecca or places like that, i couldnt do it.
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