[tmg4me]

HI,

I live in New York and there is quite a period of time where the weather is gray and dreary with no sun especially in the winters. I enjoy the four seasons but when there is no sun it really affects me, it's called SAD, Seasonal Affective Disorder and I have it bad. I've been struggling with depression my whole life but when the weather gets like this I feel worse. I'm 48 years old and don't want to live the rest of my life struggling with this.
Once I researched where I read that NY had a majority of the year with no sun. I don't remember where I read that.

I just wanted to know if anyone else experiences the same thing I do and wanted to know if living in Florida would be good to lift depression with the state having sunshine most of the year?

Thank you
Theresa

[Arcenal813]

Hot and muggy, massive daily downpours, lots of lightning... for a solid 8 months straight. Keep that in mind when thinking about the "sunshine state."

[Robino1]

Florida does get a great amount of sunshine. Be aware that along with the sunshine there are other things to consider. Heat, humidity, mosquitoes, spiders and LOTS of ants.

I never suffered from SAD but I do have to admit I love the sunshine, the heat and the humidity. The bugs...not so much. I can deal with those and think it is a fair trade-off.

Have you visited down here to get a feel for the state? If you haven't, I really suggest you take a couple of weeks and spend time down here. I really suggest you do this in the height of the summer season. That gives you a more realistic feel for the heat and humidity that everyone talks about.

I think Oregon takes the cake in the most gray days though. Moss grows all over the trees in Portland. Kinda cool looking but I know I couldn't live there. Nice to visit

[Robino1]

Originally Posted by Arcenal352

Hot and muggy, massive daily downpours, lots of lightning... for a solid 8 months straight. Keep that in mind when thinking about the "sunshine state."

Daily downpours is kind of misleading, don't you think? Yes, rain almost every day BUT the showers/storms pop up, drop their load and then disappear. Then back to sunshine. You don't cancel plans because it is going to rain. You just do what your going to do, wait the rain out, then continue on.

[gyrene2083]

I'm from the Bronx, and the New York summers can get just as humid or worse than Florida, as I family often down in Spring Hill. Yes it gets muggy, humid and the rains come and go, to me that doesn't bother me. The freaking bugs bother the hell out of me though, lol. But the question is would the sunshine do you any good, and I would say that it would.

You'll get all the Vitamin D you need and then some down there, and that should help lift your spirits.

[d4g4m]

I'm from Brooklyn. I moved to Sarasota a few decades ago. Best thing I ever did for my mental and physical well being.

[The Villages Guy]

I suffer greatly with SAD and could not take living in MA anymore. We moved to NC, which was a big improvement over MA and after several years moved to a quaint gulf coast town in FL and it has been just fantastic. Love, love, love the sun and weather year round. I am a heat lover and cold weather disliker.

[The Villages Guy]

Originally Posted by Robino1

Daily downpours is kind of misleading, don't you think? Yes, rain almost every day BUT the showers/storms pop up, drop their load and then disappear. Then back to sunshine. You don't cancel plans because it is going to rain. You just do what your going to do, wait the rain out, then continue on.

Yes and it's a 50% chance of storms, meaning they are in the area in the afternoon but not everyone gets them everyday. Some do, some don't. The opposite the next day. But almost every day has a good chunk of sun. Winter is mostly pure sun.

[The Villages Guy]

Originally Posted by Robino1

Florida does get a great amount of sunshine. Be aware that along with the sunshine there are other things to consider. Heat, humidity, mosquitoes, spiders and LOTS of ants.

I never suffered from SAD but I do have to admit I love the sunshine, the heat and the humidity. The bugs...not so much. I can deal with those and think it is a fair trade-off.

Have you visited down here to get a feel for the state? If you haven't, I really suggest you take a couple of weeks and spend time down here. I really suggest you do this in the height of the summer season. That gives you a more realistic feel for the heat and humidity that everyone talks about.

I think Oregon takes the cake in the most gray days though. Moss grows all over the trees in Portland. Kinda cool looking but I know I couldn't live there. Nice to visit

Great advice. I think trying to visit, NOT VACATION, for 1-2 months in the middle of summer will let you know if you can deal with the worst of the heat and humidity. Now keep in mind, with the exception of far, far south Florida, MOST of the year is NOT like the worst of the summer, NO MATTER what anyone tries to tell you OP. Normally, 5-6 months are pretty lower humidity and extremely sunny, 2-3 months are moderate humidity and lots of sunshine, 4 months are very humid with sun then building clouds afternoon scattered storms then clearing. Now this is a general overall average for the state and will vary depending on where you are located. Lean longer humidity further south and less further north. I find, from watching the weather reports, that it seems the dew points take a northward turn somewhere in the St. Pete/Sarasota area. That seems to be a pretty good dividing line on average, at least as long as I have been looking.

[justNancy]

Originally Posted by tmg4me

HI,

I live in New York and there is quite a period of time where the weather is gray and dreary with no sun especially in the winters. I enjoy the four seasons but when there is no sun it really affects me, it's called SAD, Seasonal Affective Disorder and I have it bad. I've been struggling with depression my whole life but when the weather gets like this I feel worse. I'm 48 years old and don't want to live the rest of my life struggling with this.
Once I researched where I read that NY had a majority of the year with no sun. I don't remember where I read that.

I just wanted to know if anyone else experiences the same thing I do and wanted to know if living in Florida would be good to lift depression with the state having sunshine most of the year?

Thank you
Theresa

Do you have a good job in New York? If so, spend $200 or so on a good, full spectrum light therapy device and buy some vitamin D. You'll be even more depressed if your pay is cut and you lose your benefits. I don't want to get personal about my own experience, but trust me on this.

Yes, it's true that many people love living in the FL sunshine. A lot of those people are snowbirds or retirees. Turn on Animal Planet some night and watch the shows about people who live in Alaska. I couldn't live there, but they seem to be happy.

If you've been struggling with depression your whole life, as you wrote, you won't suddenly become a different person because of the weather, even if it helps temporarily cure the blues. I'm not saying SAD is an excuse, but I moved out of Florida to escape depression. So much depends on your social circle. I probably met more unhappy people in SW Florida than I did when I lived in New England. Personally, I really enjoy putting on a sweater and taking a walk at dusk without a swarm of mosquitoes attacking me. Anyway, if sunshine was a cure-all there wouldn't be articles like this one

[URL="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/31/most-dangerous-cities-florida_n_4524866.html"]11 Of The Nation’s 100 Most Dangerous Cities Are In Florida[/URL]

or this one

[URL="http://sexoffendermap.org/top-10-states-with-highest-rate-of-sex-offenders-in-2013/"]Top 10 States With Highest Rate of Sex Offenders in 2015[/URL]

By the way, I am not bashing Florida. There are a lot of lovely, quiet and safe places to live in the state. Just make sure you have enough money to move and find a job. Florida has many beautiful communities and, compared to New York, it is very affordable, although that depends on where you live. At least you'll never need to shovel snow, and a walk on the beach can be a big pick-me-up. I was only pointing out that every area has its good and bad points.

If sunshine is your main goal, here's a list of the sunniest places in the U.S. Good luck!

[URL="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/07/13/map-where-americas-sunniest-and-least-sunny-places-are/"]Map: Where America’s sunniest and least-sunny places are[/URL]