[spork78]

I am moving from Salt Lake City to the Orlando area. While I'm looking forward to leaving the cold and snow behind, I have no idea what I'll need as far as clothing (my previous visits to Florida were in the summer). My packing space is rather limited. How many of my sweaters, long-sleeved dresses, and hoodies should I keep, if any? Will my cardigans come in handy for layering in air conditioning?

I'm sorry if these questions seem silly but I've always lived in areas with extreme winter weather.

[Fredesch]

Spork, for non work clothes you can practically live in flip flops, t shirts and shorts. Keep a decent jacket for when you visit SLC, you will not find a decent jacket here as locals never need them. I doubt you will need anothing made of wool. My wife uses a sweater when she gets up at dawn and goes beach combing. Keep at least a couple of sweaters/hoodies. There is no formal or semi-nice clothes required in Florida. If your work and church don't require them, you can leave all your dresses in Utah.

The national weather service can tell you the recorded low and high temp for every day of the year and you might be suprised to find that three days after the low for the year it was in the mid 70s. Most lows in Florida are during the night and it can get 20 degrees warmer during the day. Cold snaps may be cold enough to damage tropical plants, but it really doesn't get very cold or stay cold for more than a few days. Also cold is relative, folks that have been here a long time will tell you that is gets cold. While they are wearing a (crappy) jacket with hood up, tourists and more recent residents are wearing t's and shorts.

[Sheepie2000]

I've found that the same temps in FL feel colder than in Ohio. 40F in Ohio can be pleasant, but here if feels frigid! January, February and March tend to be unpredictable. It can get quite cold and cement block houses seem to make it worse, imo. I was told not to bring winter clothes/coats/flannel sheets/comforters, but I have found that I'm glad to have them during cold spells. Yes, it warms up quickly, but why be cold while waiting for the warmth to return. Also, some restaurants keep the a/c too cold and you might want a sweater or at least long sleeves.

[Restrain]

Some jeans and long sleeve shirts, one coat, couple light jackets and sweaters. Will handle you Dec-March. Then back to shorts and flip-flops. Buy your clothes down here, different styles than you will find back there.

[unquiltom]

I was in Daytona last year during our coldest week of the winter and let me tell you, it was COLD! There will be days where you'll need some decent cold weather gear, but unlike Utah, you won't need a variety of stuff to last you for months. Keep a jacket that you know will keep you warm for those rare instances, but there's no need to have multiple cold weather jackets. Oh, and you will become acclimated to the Florida weather and a day in the mid 50's will make you feel like it's freezing.

[spork78]

Originally Posted by Sheepie2000

I've found that the same temps in FL feel colder than in Ohio. 40F in Ohio can be pleasant, but here if feels frigid!

LOL - I lived in Michigan for thirty-three years. On the first 40-degree day in March, we'd all have our tees and shorts on with our car windows rolled down and the radios blasting!

[spork78]

Originally Posted by unquiltom

I was in Daytona last year during our coldest week of the winter and let me tell you, it was COLD! There will be days where you'll need some decent cold weather gear, but unlike Utah, you won't need a variety of stuff to last you for months. Keep a jacket that you know will keep you warm for those rare instances, but there's no need to have multiple cold weather jackets. Oh, and you will become acclimated to the Florida weather and a day in the mid 50's will make you feel like it's freezing.

Thank you for the great advice! After 33 years in Michigan and 4 years in Utah I can't imagine 50 feeling like freezing but I'll take your word for it! I'm looking forward to ditching the many pairs of gloves, mittens, and thermal undies that I own.

[Rabflmom]

Originally Posted by spork78

Thank you for the great advice! After 33 years in Michigan and 4 years in Utah I can't imagine 50 feeling like freezing but I'll take your word for it! I'm looking forward to ditching the many pairs of gloves, mittens, and thermal undies that I own.

Don't ditch all your winter clothes......depends on what you like to do. Sometimes it is hard to find gloves and hats here on the beach for cold weather days. Also if you plan to go North in the winter sometimes it comes in handy to have a coat, boots etc. What they do sell here is a lighter weight on jeans, coats, etc. Mostly we have cotton sweaters to layer. Don't think they sell a lot of wool down here.

We used heat several nights last week to take the cold out of the house for showers in the morning , but by noon usually I'm in ts and capris outside. We did go to the beach in jeans and a hoody though. Wind can be biting when the temps go down here.

[grampaTom]

Dry fit clothing is a must. Cotton get pretty soggy. I now have 5 pairs of flip flops

[smarino]

Just looked in my closet, and there's mostly shorts and T-shirts. One light hoodie jacket, three pair of sweat pants, and three sweat shirts. One pair of gloves for my hands on the bike (need them maybe 6 times a year, if that). Three also 3 pr of socks, 3 pr of sandals, and no shoes. Haven't owned shoes in 30 years, I just go w/ the socks when it's cold, which of course is not often. We're in St Pete. When we lived in Hawaii there were no socks, long pants, gloves or sweat shirts. Just one jacket for cool nights.