Perfect weather??? (ice, temp, nights, place)

[nancy thereader]

I am also prone to SAD

So am I, wisteria. I always wondered why I began to get so depressed in the late fall & now they have a name for it.
Las Cruces does sound like a neat place & how great that you already know people there. If only I could magic myself to different locations so that I could try them all out and drive around , just to get the feel of each spot.
I had been so sure of the Northwest and Portland that I sent for relocation packages, but I see how depressed I am after just two weeks of steady rain here so I know that weather affects me more than it does others, I guess.

[Summering]

I love that saying.......In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer........Albert Camus
The PNW is too damp and cold.......I lived there for 6 months and it was not good weather.
Now....I know that a southern temp in the best. The days are longer........the sun is stronger, brighter........wonderful.
Even when it is "too hot" one can shop in the cooler evenings, and at least it is still bright out.
I use to call my daughter down by Boynton Beach, Fl and she would be outside with the kids having fun. I'd look out my Pocono windows and see pitch black!
Our family loves the longer days......more sunshine......less damp and rain too.
I think we are just a small group of many.......
I don't know much about Las Cruces, but that sounds great too!

[Botev1912]

People exaggerate a lot when talk about the weather in PNW. It doesn't rain all the time in Seattle. Even in the depth of winter there are many days that don't receive any precipitation. It was 75 degrees and blue skies today. April is usually the beginning of nice and warm days. What Wisteria wrote about September is absolutely wrong. September is one of the best months in Seattle along with August and July. June and May are iffy but still have a lot of nice days.

[Summering]

But...........I kept putting my swim suit on and heading for the water. Only to find out that it was just too chilly, cold and not swimming weather at all.......and it was July and August! ( Washington)
So........Lo' and Behold' I head to Oregon with my parents, put the suit on........go to the beach.
And........I had my first blonde moment. It was like having a suit on in the month of November. The laugh is on me!

[Wisteria]

Botev1912 :
People exaggerate a lot when talk about the weather in PNW. It doesn't rain all the time in Seattle. Even in the depth of winter there are many days that don't receive any precipitation. It was 75 degrees and blue skies today. April is usually the beginning of nice and warm days. What Wisteria wrote about September is absolutely wrong. September is one of the best months in Seattle along with August and July. June and May are iffy but still have a lot of nice days.

I'm not sure how long you have lived there, and I am not prone to exaggeration. In fact, I loved the city....but I hated the rain/mist/cold/chilly many, many days. I remember when I first went to visit Seattle, and I was staying with friends from Buffalo. It was April! It was a weekend, and there were puffy clouds and some blue skies, for a couple of days. My friends there said, "Wow, we can't believe that the weekend you come, it's sunny!" And then it proceeded to rain a couple of days later -- heavy rain. Then they said, "This is what it's been like the past six months."

Hey, I moved there because I did not believe it could be so wet, and I figured rain would be better than snow -- I did not know the reality. Sure, there are a few clear days (or partly cloudy) sprinkled in there (no pun intended), but overall, it IS gloomy. Septemember -- the first week in September may be nice, but I am positive it rained in September, too. September is like October back east -- it's iffy -- could be nice (at least the first two weeks) and it could be rainy and cold.

It's useless to even talk about it because what I discovered was that people had their own ideas about it. I moved there in spite of what people said. I thought it WAS exaggerated. I was very surprised. The only people I knew who didn't mind it so much were the natives -- probably sort of like me who was raised in Buffalo, New York, I didn't "mind" the weather because it was all I knew.

My suggestion is that if you move to Seattle/Portland, that one rents -- do not buy because with the changing economy, you may lose. The first year I was there, I was okay. The second year got worse, by the fifth year, I realized that is just how it was.

Like I said, I know people who ADORE eastcoast Spring with the rain and moisture. I hated it. I also don't like super chilly weather, and that rain/mist made it really cold.

If nothing else, living in Seattle gave me an entirely new perspective on weather. I honestly, truly thought I would love it! I really did. I was so shocked that I became depressed, that it rained so often, that it was so damp, and summer was so short. Of course I remember some clearer days interspersed with the rainy days. It's like Buffalo -- snow doesn't just fall from the sky in one big huge massive chunk of ten feet of snow -- it falls regularly, but you have days where it doesn't snow.

I'm sorry I said anything about Seattle again, because there are threads about it. What's kind of amusing to me is that people who are really into Seattle (or new to it), post photos of the few days of sun, and then exclaim that it represents the true weather there -- it doesn't. Yes, it is mild weather (like San Francisco), but it is also wet weather. Compared to other places in the U.S., the Northwest is very damp and chilly. And I'm not talking about cumulative averages of precipitation, because that is very misleading. To me, Seattle always reminded me of walking next to the Horseshoe Falls at Niagara Falls, Canada, where one is constantly under that misty fog.

And, if someone is totally intent on moving there, then they SHOULD do it. Who knows, it may be just the place for them. I am merely pointing out that (especially those in the northeast who are familiar with constantly changing weather patterns), that it is like constant eastcoast spring rains -- only it extends throughout most of the year. And for me, I also like temperatures above 70 degrees, and it was very cold there for me.

I always felt bad that Seattle is such a lovely city and was positioned in that weird place on the PNW coast where it just seemed to have clouds hovering over it most of the time.

Spend five years in a place and then you'll have a better idea of what it is like. And for me, it was not the place for me because I am not a rainy/wet/misty/chilly cold/cloudy kind of person. It was educational, I enjoyed the city, it is well-built, but if one is affected by SAD or dampness (say arthritis or something), then I would definitely only rent there and see how you feel first.

So, I'm not going to get into a bantering about Seattle. I merely gave my opinion, and I am probably minimizing some of it, but if you go, you will see how it suits you. Good luck!

[tijlover]

I've done a lot of research on weatherundergound.com looking for that perfect climate to live in. Perfect: No need EVER for an air-conditioner or heater in your house.

I know, from experience, it can get pretty nippy in Southern California in winter and there can be occasional hot and humid days in summer. So scratch that!

My research took me south to Central America to the higher altitude areas, but not too high! I was in Guatemala City last November, at 5000 feet, and I now I know why you see so many people wearing thick leather jackets there at night. Windchill factor!
One morning it was downright c-h-i-l-l-y! So scratch that!

So one needs to go down a little more in altitude, which would take me to Tegucigalpa, Honduras at 3300 feet. Now we're talking! That would be more like it! The key: no air-conditioner or heater in the house.

I was in northern Baja one winter, in Rosarito, in January, and it was so cold one night, I had to put my clothes on just to use the bathroom! So scratch that! Not perfect enough!

If you really are looking for perfection in climate, you may want to consider retiring outside the country.

And be careful with Mexico. My research showed temp's falling as low as 35 degrees at night in January in Mazatlan and Lake Chapala, outside Guadalajara. And Cabo San Lucas is no paradise either. Let's not forget the windchill factor! At 45 at night in Cabo with a breeze off the ocean, yikes!
Ever wonder why you see so many people wearing a light coat, walking around Waikiki in Hawaii, in January?

Check out Weatherunderground.com, Trip Planner, and happy researching!

[Botev1912]

Originally Posted by Wisteria

it proceeded to rain a couple of days later -- heavy rain. Then they said, "This is what it's been like the past six months."

heavy rain doesn't happen often in Seattle.

[tijlover]

When I lived in Minnesota, it would rain, and more often than not, it would then move on to the next state, and it would clear up.

What irritated me about my visit to Seattle years ago, was, it would rain a little, clear up, rain a little, clear up, rain some more, clear up a little, all in one day. I kept thinking: if it's going to rain, then rain hard and get it over with so I can enjoy my day! It's so hard to plan, say, a picnic, with that knd of weather.

I know many people who actually thrive in rainy areas and I wish I were one of them. Maybe some day the clock will turn and I'll get tired of these 300 days of sunshine where you can plan an outdoor picnic well in advance without worries.

[Jammie]

TIJ, that's interesting. So you're thinking that Honduras has the most perfect climate? And you're right~windchill has a LOT to do with the comfort of weather. Our winter nights often are zero or above, BUT you factor in that windchill and it's 20 to 30 degrees colder then the actual temp.

The rain you got in Mn. came from over here.

[§AB]

I'm pretty sure i got sad because cold overcast depression just makes me wanna do nothing except get drunk.