Which climate would be harder for a coastal Southern Californian to adjust to? Seattle or Miami? (San Diego: living in, moving to)

[Gentoo]

Originally Posted by ABrandNewWorld

Monsoons are actually kind of fun for me. I love those hot beach days, balmy evenings and occasional warm rain showers. I've done a cruise in the Caribbean starting from Miami (this was in May) and it's perfect relaxation/beach/pool weather. I've also vacationed in Hawaii several times and spent a week in D.C. in June. So I know I don't mind the humidity for short stretches but living with it for months on the end might be different.

I also don't mind our L.A. cool rain in winter because it's a refreshing change of pace and I know the sun will come out after the front passes and make for excellent air quality and visibility for several days afterwards. From what I have seen, the Bay Area still stays cloudy/foggy often in winter on non-rainy days.

I wish I could create a hybrid climate of L.A winters (average winters and not drought ones) and Boston summers (still gets some humidity, warm rain and thunderstorms, but also lots of clear, comfortable, and not so humid days as well). Still very comfortable weather year round, lots of sunshine, lush and green, enough rain, and no water shortages or wildfire issues.

Then Seattle's climate is definitely out of the question for you. It's LA on those cool rainy days but for weeks and at times, a month or two on end. I live that as I hate any kind of heat but if you love sunny days in winter and if the Bay Area is too cloudy for you, Seattle won't work. Again, for what you're looking for, you'd most like have to leave the US. Sydney AU is the only place I can thing of off the top of my head with that combination.

[ABrandNewWorld]

Originally Posted by Gentoo

Then Seattle's climate is definitely out of the question for you. It's LA on those cool rainy days but for weeks and at times, a month or two on end..

Yes, and not to mention that Seattle's rain is colder than L.A's with much shorter daylight hours. In L.A., after a light rain, the ground will dry completely the next day if it's sunny. If we get half an inch or more, it will dry within two days if they are sunny. I would imagine that in Seattle, the ground stays wet or at least damp all winter long. That would create a damp and gloomy feel for months at a time.

When I was in Miami, it poured an inch in less than an hour around 3PM but the sun came out right afterwards and the ground was completely dry by sunset. A combination of high sunshine and high rainfall hours actually make the best climate for ecology as well; you can grow a larger variety of plants and crops with higher yield and quality.

That's why I choose Miami over Seattle anyday.
As for the Bay Area vs. Miami, I'd choose the Bay Area but far inland enough to have average summer highs in the 80s and just drive down to L.A. for one weekend a month.

[saibot]

Originally Posted by ABrandNewWorld

I would imagine that in Seattle, the ground stays wet or at least damp all winter long.

Not just all winter long, all YEAR long. My brother lives in Lynnwood (suburb north of Seattle), and I have visited often, mainly in the summer. The ground has always been wet and muddy when I've been there; maybe I've just missed the windows when it is dry but if there are any, they must be pretty short.

[BayAreaHillbilly]

Originally Posted by ABrandNewWorld

they don't even get a taste of the monsoons.

Not sure what made you think that. While it is true we get less influence from the SW Monsoon, we are certainly not free of it. This summer was a classic example. A few spots nearly exceeded rainfall records for certain days. Granted, exceeding a July or August record can be really easy for a given day of the month. But still, we definitely had multiple outbreaks of the SW Monsoon this summer.

[Gentoo]

Originally Posted by ABrandNewWorld

Yes, and not to mention that Seattle's rain is colder than L.A's with much shorter daylight hours. In L.A., after a light rain, the ground will dry completely the next day if it's sunny. If we get half an inch or more, it will dry within two days if they are sunny. I would imagine that in Seattle, the ground stays wet or at least damp all winter long. That would create a damp and gloomy feel for months at a time.

When I was in Miami, it poured an inch in less than an hour around 3PM but the sun came out right afterwards and the ground was completely dry by sunset. A combination of high sunshine and high rainfall hours actually make the best climate for ecology as well; you can grow a larger variety of plants and crops with higher yield and quality.

That's why I choose Miami over Seattle anyday.
As for the Bay Area vs. Miami, I'd choose the Bay Area but far inland enough to have average summer highs in the 80s and just drive down to L.A. for one weekend a month.

That's only true if you're growing tropic stuff. Many plants need a chilling period. After California, Washington is the state with the most varied agriculture, not Florida.

[Gentoo]

Originally Posted by saibot

Not just all winter long, all YEAR long. My brother lives in Lynnwood (suburb north of Seattle), and I have visited often, mainly in the summer. The ground has always been wet and muddy when I've been there; maybe I've just missed the windows when it is dry but if there are any, they must be pretty short.

Yeah those wildfires in Washington love that wet ground

[Tulemutt]

Originally Posted by Gentoo

Yeah those wildfires in Washington love that wet ground

Well, to be fair, the poster was nearly correct. It does dry out as July progresses and through about mid-late September. On the wet (west) side of the Cascades. And the infamous wildfires are almost entirely on the east, dry side of the mountains.

[Jay100]

Originally Posted by ABrandNewWorld

With the other thread thread about how California's climate is overrated, underrated, etc., I thought I'd start this one about if you had to move out of California?

Which climate do you think would be harder for a coastal Southern Californian to adjust to if they had to leave California and didn't want to deal with harsh, snowy winters (that rules out the midwest and northeast).

A) Seattle: very pleasant and comfortable summers but miserable, chilly, gloomy, and rainy winters where you hardly see the sun at all for 9 months. Occasional sleet and snow in winter but cold rain is dominant from October through May.

B) Miami: very pleasant and comfortable winters but extremely humid, steamy, and hot summers with daily thunderstorms, some of them severe, and hurricane threats every summer. Rainy season is summer with the dry season in winter.

Note: Miami gets almost twice as much rain as Seattle but it comes in sudden and heavy downpours of the intensity that Californians never see and it's sunny, hot, and humid shortly before and after those downpours.

Seattle gets a lot of rainy days but it's usually light to medium and very similar style to when it rains in coastal Southern California in winter except in Seattle it's a tad colder and lasts for weeks and months while it only lasts a day or two in Southern California before the sun comes out. You also literally go weeks without seeing the sun at all and only get a few sunny days a year outside of summer.

Which do you think would be a bigger shock on the system to someone who is accustomed to and prefers Southern California's climate?

Miami is great in winter but, hot as hell in summer. Summer months are like being in a Sauna. So you would need great AC. Overall, I think FL is nicer than CA.

[TristramShandy]

I moved to the West Coast to get away from the humid summers of Rhode Island. I'm filling my pockets with bricks and jumping into the ocean if it became Miami. I wouldn't move to Texas or Florida under any circumstance (not even a political statement - - just a climate one).

[OptimusPrime69]

Lest we forget Florida gets there fair share of wild fires every March and April... Thats toward the end of our dry season, so those plants that have gone with little to no rain all Winter start to dry out and March and April is when the sun begins to re-intensify and all it takes is a cigarette butt, or a strike of lightning and POOF.....a huge wild fire/.