Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I haven't spent my entire life living in New England, and I'm not basing my definitions just on New England. Thank you very much.
Your welcome. I never said you spent your entire life in New England. I simply stated that what your opinion of "four real seasons" isn't everyone else's opinion of the seasons.
If you are talking about weather, then yes it depends on the person. Although that is the case, I think on average most people would say warm weather is better than cold weather. gives Austin and most Texas towns an A for weather, while most towns in the Boston area are in the D+ range with Boston at a C which I think is indicative of this general preference. You hear of people moving to warm climate places all the time, its much more uncommon to hear someone moving to a cold climate area because they like cold weather. Usually if an area is too hot then the person moves to a more mild climate. An example is moving from south florida to north carolina which still has a warm climate its just not really hot/humid like south florida, they dont move to New England.
As far as seasons go, The Boston area usually has a 6-7 month winter, a summer that lasts around 3 months, and a fall that maybe lasts 2-3 months. There can be a spring but its uncommon. There are other places that have a much better defined 4 seasons than Boston does like Virgina or Maryland. The biggest factor to me is that with the Winters in Boston I spent 6 months out of every year in my house waiting for the warm months to come, which again would be fairly brief before winter came back. It was also dark by 4:30pm. With Austin it is warm year round, so you can be outside having fun all year long. In the Boston area it was somewhat depressing feeling like you were loosing half of your life waiting out the cold.
Last edited by CaseyB; 12-21-2015 at 02:51 PM..
Reason: Competitor site
If you are talking about weather, then yes it depends on the person. Although that is the case, I think on average most people would say warm weather is better than cold weather. gives Austin and most Texas towns an A for weather, while most towns in the Boston area are in the D+ range with Boston at a C which I think is indicative of this general preference. You hear of people moving to warm climate places all the time, its much more uncommon to hear someone moving to a cold climate area because they like cold weather. Usually if an area is too hot then the person moves to a more mild climate. An example is moving from south florida to north carolina which still has a warm climate its just not really hot/humid like south florida, they dont move to New England.
As far as seasons go, The Boston area usually has a 6-7 month winter, a summer that lasts around 3 months, and a fall that maybe lasts 2-3 months. There can be a spring but its uncommon. There are other places that have a much better defined 4 seasons than Boston does like Virgina or Maryland. The biggest factor to me is that with the Winters in Boston I spent 6 months out of every year in my house waiting for the warm months to come, which again would be fairly brief before winter came back. It was also dark by 4:30pm. With Austin it is warm year round, so you can be outside having fun all year long. In the Boston area it was somewhat depressing feeling like you were loosing half of your life waiting out the cold.
In what universe does Boston have 6-7 months of winter? It's closer to 4 months, end to end. An outlier snow storm in October does not equate to 7 months of winter. As someone who grew up in the 495 beltway, I can confidently say the worst of the winter weather lasts between late December and mid-March ... any snow before or after this window is both infrequent and quick to melt.
This chart shows the active snow season pretty clearly:
If your goal is to optimize on climate, then the "A" grades objectively go to places like Palo Alto or San Diego. If you want a real four seasons mix without the threat of getting buried in a bad winter, then there's a good argument for someplace like Ashville, NC, or elsewhere on the hilly side of the Piedmont.
I like Austin, and I prefer warmer weather, but let's be serious ... most outdoor activities are a non-starter in the summer months ... the reality is, you can't (generally) play tennis outside in Boston in Jan or Feb and you can't (generally) play tennis outside in Austin in July or Aug. (Yes, yes, there will be "exception" days ... but I'm not counting on it being 68 degrees on Christmas Eve every year in Boston or waiting for the fluke day in Austin in July).
Boston weather isn't great but it's far from the worst in the country. Being on the coast brings pluses and minuses ... being that close to water gives the potential for epic snows if the wind is blowing in the wrong direction, but it has some moderating effect. This often leads to late springs (which are annoying) but long and late falls (which are great) and means that absolute temperatures aren't quite as extreme as in the middle of the continent ... think Chicago or Minneapolis or St. Louis. It can rain on any day of the year in Boston (newcomers are often surprised at how much rain comes in January and February ... it's not all snow, and the rain is actually more annoying to most people!) but unlike Great Lakes cities, Boston also has a bunch of crystal clear days. I'd take Austin in a heartbeat over Boston in February, but anyone who has spent extensive time in Austin knows you spend much of the summer scurrying from air conditioned car to air conditioned building. That's no "A".
Likewise ... I am not sure I follow the supposed point about diversity. Certainly it's true that Austin has a much larger Mexican American population. Also much, much, much better Mexican food! But that's a ridiculously narrow definition of diversity ... Boston can't touch New York or Chicago or even parts of DC for diversity ... in those cities you can find groupings of just about every background, interest, and ethnicity on earth. But if the comparison is Austin ... please. Interesting factoid: the entire STATE of Massachusetts (from the Berkshires to Cape Ann to Cape Cod and everything in between) has the same percentage of African Americans as the CITY of Austin. Austin isn't particularly diverse, and it's certainly less diverse than Boston.
Also the point about the Boston metro being "one big suburb" is odd, because, having lived in both the north and the south, one huge advantage of the northeast is that towns and villages beyond the city limits have history and their own centers and their own identities. Historic buildings, village greens, commuter rail stations ... that's not exclusively a Boston thing, of course, NY or Philly offer similar. But while Austin has a very nice core and a few cute neighborhoods but the majority the urban area was built out in the last 30 years and pretty much defines sprawl. The acres of parking lots around numbing corporate campuses (Dell Headquarters in Round Rock are a great example) make the really suburban parts of Boston seem downright charming.
Austin is less expensive, has a much better music scene, is much nicer in the winter months, and (as noted above) the Mexican food rocks. I'd also agree that the people are (generally) friendlier and (generally, beyond the bounds of UT) less educated. It's a matter of preferences.
In what universe does Boston have 6-7 months of winter? It's closer to 4 months, end to end. An outlier snow storm in October does not equate to 7 months of winter. As someone who grew up in the 495 beltway, I can confidently say the worst of the winter weather lasts between late December and mid-March ... any snow before or after this window is both infrequent and quick to melt.
This chart shows the active snow season pretty clearly:
The chart actually proves my point. If its cold during a month and it consistently snows in that month, then its a winter month. Snow is not a characteristic of the Spring, nor are cold temperatures. In April or Nov the mean daily temperature is something like 44 degrees with a few inches of snow. Do you know what that is called in North Carolina, February.
With Spring generally it starts after the trees bloom and temperatures are at least in the mid to upper 50s, but that does not happen until May in Massachusetts. In April the trees still have no leaves on them, as in the winter time, because it is the winter time. In places with 4 seasons trees usually bloom in late March. From that chart I count 6 months with consistent snow fall and by looking up temperature data on Wikipedia you also see that these are cold months, so these are winter months.
Location: RI, MA, VT, WI, IL, CA, IN (that one sucked), KY
41,937 posts, read 36,940,305 times
Reputation: 40635
Quote:
Originally Posted by klungo
The chart actually proves my point. If its cold during a month and it consistently snows in that month, then its a winter month. Snow is not a characteristic of the Spring, nor are cold temperatures. In April or Nov the mean daily temperature is something like 44 degrees with a few inches of snow. Do you know what that is called in North Carolina, February.
With Spring generally it starts after the trees bloom and temperatures are at least in the mid to upper 50s, but that does not happen until May in Massachusetts. In April the trees still have no leaves on them, as in the winter time, because it is the winter time. In places with 4 seasons trees usually bloom in late March. From that chart I count 6 months with consistent snow fall and by looking up temperature data on Wikipedia you also see that these are cold months, so these are winter months.
True. And that is why people don't take people from NC seriously on this topic.
44 degrees is not cold. If you are wearing, at most a sweatshirt, it isn't cold.
One of my best friends moved to Asheville (now they live outside it) and they love it there, but one of her biggest issues is the lack of a winter. They come up for a couple of weeks each winter to ski and so her daughters can experience winter since they really don't have one.
True. And that is why people don't take people from NC seriously on this topic.
44 degrees is not cold. If you are wearing, at most a sweatshirt, it isn't cold.
One of my best friends moved to Asheville (now they live outside it) and they love it there, but one of her biggest issues is the lack of a winter. They come up for a couple of weeks each winter to ski and so her daughters can experience winter since they really don't have one.
Nope, but 42 degrees is cold...jk. It really depends, I was just back in Massachusetts and although the temperature was 49 in Boston, it was cold, windy, and rainy and felt like it was below 30. If your acclimated to a warmer climate (which I am), then anything under 50 starts feeling cold. Even 50's can start feeling cold when it is overcast or a cool breeze.
True. And that is why people don't take people from NC seriously on this topic.
44 degrees is not cold. If you are wearing, at most a sweatshirt, it isn't cold.
One of my best friends moved to Asheville (now they live outside it) and they love it there, but one of her biggest issues is the lack of a winter. They come up for a couple of weeks each winter to ski and so her daughters can experience winter since they really don't have one.
Seasons are not relative. As I stated spring is defined in part by a blooming of trees which does not happen until may in Mass therefore April is a winter month in Mass. If seasons were relative there would be 4 seasons almost everywhere. Also if it is not cold then why do you need to wear a sweatshirt? Thats another thing about mass, if you live there your going to be wearing at least a sweater and pants for 9 months out of the year. In austin texas its shorts and short sleeves year round. I mentioned NC as Mass and Austin are both places of extremes, Mass of extreme cold and Austin of extreme warmth, North Carolina is in the middle and more balanced. Winter is marked by the leaves falling off of the trees completly and that certainly does happen in NC so they do have winter there, 3 months of winter. Someone who comes from an extremely cold climate thinking they have an objective view of what cold is, is fairly absurd and vice versa.
Location: RI, MA, VT, WI, IL, CA, IN (that one sucked), KY
41,937 posts, read 36,940,305 times
Reputation: 40635
Quote:
Originally Posted by klungo
Seasons are not relative. As I stated spring is defined in part by a blooming of trees which does not happen until may in Mass therefore April is a winter month in Mass. If seasons were relative there would be 4 seasons almost everywhere. Also if it is not cold then why do you need to wear a sweatshirt? Thats another thing about mass, if you live there your going to be wearing at least a sweater and pants for 9 months out of the year. In austin texas its shorts and short sleeves year round.
Sweatshirts are for cool weather, not cold weather.
And that's another crappy thing about Texas. It's so hot people are wearing shorts and short sleeves and they can't dress proper. I won't ever wear shorts outside of exercise. Gross.
Sweatshirts are for cool weather, not cold weather.
And that's another crappy thing about Texas. It's so hot people are wearing shorts and short sleeves and they can't dress proper. I won't ever wear shorts outside of exercise. Gross.
wearing shorts is gross if it's on people with gross legs.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
