Same temperature feels vastly different

[Raysuxx]

I have a friend from Moscow who said that putting out the rubbish at -10 there felt the same as putting the rubbish out at 5 degrees here in Auckland. I found it similar when I moved from Hamilton NZ to Ottawa. -3 in Hamilton is completely freezing but -3 in Ottawa didn't feel nearly as bad.
I wonder if its a combination of higher humidity here, the fact that you quickly adjust to temperatures and that homes in NZ aren't insulated so it's much harder to escape the cold... It probably is, but the difference in feel temperature still feels oddly high depending on location.

[Joe90]

Originally Posted by Raysuxx

I have a friend from Moscow who said that putting out the rubbish at -10 there felt the same as putting the rubbish out at 5 degrees here in Auckland. I found it similar when I moved from Hamilton NZ to Ottawa. -3 in Hamilton is completely freezing but -3 in Ottawa didn't feel nearly as bad.
I wonder if its a combination of higher humidity here, the fact that you quickly adjust to temperatures and that homes in NZ aren't insulated so it's much harder to escape the cold... It probably is, but the difference in feel temperature still feels oddly high depending on location.

I've heard the same from a Russian, and a Canadian. It's all in the head though -in order to feel colder, your body actually has to be losing heat at a faster rate.

If your Russian friend had the choice of spending the night in their undies in -10C Moscow, or 5C Auckland, I'm sure that they would quickly realise which one felt colder.

[Ethereal]

Maybe in Toronto, unlike in Shanghai, you've experienced -20C temps, so therefore 2C would feel fairly warm. Whereas in Shanghai, such temps are rarely experienced and you'd be more used to and accustomed to 5C-14C temperatures.