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I grew up in NY (Long Island) which has a fairly temperate climate. We have big snow storms, we have bad heat waves, but the extremes are not the norm.
We went to vacation in Phoenix in March '99. It was the first day of spring and we went to a spring training game and I felt like the skin was burning off my body - and it's sooooo dry. That was the one thing I couldn't cope with. No one loves humidity but that kind of dry was too much. My DH got totally sick and I ended up with the worst bloody nose I've ever had, just bled like a stuck pig for 20-30 minutes. Crazy. And that was EARLY SPRING!!!
Now we live in NC and while the summers are hot, I can deal with it. I REALLY hate being cold. The winters here are even too much for me, LOL - I feel like a 90 year old saying that but it's true! It's been in the 40s-50s the last couple weeks, and kind of dismal and gray (unusual) and even my DH was complaining the other day "I don't remember it being like this the last couple of years!" LOL - this is only our 3rd winter here, but it's true that February is usually the beginning of spring here.
Spend some time in the areas you like in the summer and see if you could cope with that for months on end. I like NC because it has 4 distinct seasons and I do like that, even though I complain about the cold.
I too, live in the PNW....on the coast. I did move away from here, many years ago, for short periods of time. I love how you described the extreme heat as "like hell". LOL That is exactly how it feels to me, even if it's only in the upper 80s. Another poster said that Eastern WA is a totally different climate and they're right. Unfortunately, it can get REALLY cold in the winter and REALLY hot in the summer, over there.
I'm sure you're feeling the blahs of the weather, this winter. I know I am. I'll take it though, you know? Having lived elsewhere, where temps DO get into the extreme, I moved back here....not only for the people, but for the "mild" temperatures. When I lived in the "extreme" climates, I found myself trapped indoors, a whole lot more than I'm comfortable with. I love to be outdoors, even if it's raining. I intensely dislike being very cold or very hot and do love to spend time outdoors.
I too, live in the PNW....on the coast. I did move away from here, many years ago, for short periods of time. I love how you described the extreme heat as "like hell". LOL That is exactly how it feels to me, even if it's only in the upper 80s. Another poster said that Eastern WA is a totally different climate and they're right. Unfortunately, it can get REALLY cold in the winter and REALLY hot in the summer, over there.
I'm sure you're feeling the blahs of the weather, this winter. I know I am. I'll take it though, you know? Having lived elsewhere, where temps DO get into the extreme, I moved back here....not only for the people, but for the "mild" temperatures. When I lived in the "extreme" climates, I found myself trapped indoors, a whole lot more than I'm comfortable with. I love to be outdoors, even if it's raining. I intensely dislike being very cold or very hot and do love to spend time outdoors.
i've lived in eastern washington for 9 months on top of being in seattle, and yes, it does get cold. It would make me stay indoors, since i can last outdoors for maybe 20 minutes. in the seattle area, i can be outdoors for hours, but the rain/overcast makes me stay inside.
the biggest difference is this, in seattle, since i see the sun so little, it makes me depressed, while in eastern washignton, i can open the window and theres sunlight, or drive in a car and see sunlight, which makes my mood better. I lack sun!!!!! and i tried light boxes, it doesnt work. I dont feel depressed at all in the summer, and i am bulletproof, nothing can make me sad. once winter comes all i think about is negative thoughts, no matter what happens
Isn't it amazing though, when the sun does come out in the winter though? When we do get the sun here, BAM! I open all of the blinds and I'll stand in the window and let the heat penetrate my bones. I generally keep our white blinds and light colored curtains drawn, if it's overcast. I also have my house painted in light colors. All of the artwork on my walls are of wonderful, outdoor, nature scenes. None of them have cloudy skies and they're ALL places that I would love to be. You can almost smell the air and feel the sunshine, because of those paintings.
Maybe that's why I don't get too depressed in the winter around here. I've decorated my indoor space in such a comfortable, soothing manner, in light colored/nature colors, in order to control my environment. Truly...I think that's the best way around these winter blahs. Also, I try to stay busy on projects, indoors. It's kind of an urgency, you know? I have to get these things done, because once the sun comes out, I'm going to be SO busy outdoors....I'll have no time to do these indoor things. :-)
I despised Minnesota winters and finally, after 66 winters, retired and moved to the Ozarks of northern Arkansas.
To me, the weather is perfect !
Four seasons , mild winters, beautifull scenery, lots of sunshine, but no real extremes.
This winter I go on my daily walks and many times wear a flannel shirt more often than a sweatshirt and stocking cap.
I was warned about the summers, but I go on a 2.2 mile brisk walk every day ( even when the temps were over 100)
I think I made the right choice by moving from frigid MN to a " half way back" location to begin with.
I saved myself the expense of moving too far south,then moving again to present location.
Where I live may not be ideal for everyone, but it is ideal for me.
has anyone moved from a cold place to a really sunny, hot place (arizona, florida, texas, etc) and moved back because of the extreme heat?
I live in washington state and I wish for more sun, as I get depressed in the winter. if you are one of those folks who moved south for the sun, cant take the heat, and then moved back, please tell me your experiences/feelings about it.
Yes. We escaped North Carolina last summer. Prior to that we had lived in Southern California, and North Carolina heat was much worse.
It's okay if you are indoors a lot - air-conditioned house to ac car to ac work - but if you plan to be outdoors much, the heat and humidity are too much. If you do move, choose a sunny place in the west, where the heat will be dryer.
The air here (Western Washington), even though it is much cooler, actually feels a lot more like California than North Carolina.
When I lived in Washington State early in our marriage I really hated that there was no summer.
I put my suit on to go swimming in July and realized it was just to cold in the air and lake to even try,
Summer wasn't sunny and warm... or just barely warm some days.
The dampness and coolness really bothered me.
I think North Carolina has an ideal temperature. It has four seasons just like South Carolina has. North Carolina had less tourism and some great land with gorgeous trees.
Yet...You can head to the wonderful swimming at the NC shore.
Summer can be hot and that is when I park my chair at the edge of the ocean.
But, we have plenty of trees and lakes here to entertain us.
Winter is crisp. Fall brings colorful leaves. Spring is full of flowers and gardens. Summer, swim, sail, take a boat out, and have fun. That's why we live here.
There is always something to do during all seasons.
Good thread civic, something I worry about too. I need the sun more than I get here in Northern NY, but I also need more heat. Grandparents live in Myrtle now but even their winters seem too cold, sometimes they have stretches in the 40s. I can handle stretches in the 50s or 60s but not the 40s. But I don't want the triple digit summers either.
I really see Hawaii or the Caribbean as the only solution
Hawaii is the perfect climate, but unfortunately very expensive COL. We also live in upstate NY and have an RV which we travel to the FL Keys for a couple of months in the winter (we are there now). BUT for the last three days the humidity has been oppressive so we're stuck inside!
I've been trying the Phoenix area out this year. I rented a house here. I'm not taking to the area at all. I go thru the motions and try to be patient with the area. I just can't take to this endless driving here. The endless sprawl of the same development over and over. Strip mall, gas stations, Walgreens, CVS, restaurants, walled in apt complexes and subdivisions. The metro must stretch some 80 miles or so point to point and is still growing. All the same exact development. Its a terrible design and should have been addressed decades ago. Simply put it has no sense of place to its development and that is a red warning flag. It will not stop its sprawling development, and the signs are all there to keep paving over more desert. Geez at least put in some big parks and I don't mean primitive hiking trails out in the dirt. Something for people to get out and jog and walk around with some shade tree. Not some little greenway in a subdivision or a path along a canal without one shade tree. In other words very little effort put into much of anything here. Other than get more and more people into a car, so they can drive and pollute the air more than it already is. Don't bother having dealth with and put in adequate transit decades ago. No that would be against the religion of the region. Republican extremist and all their followers controlling the area so its this mess.
Driving to one of the many big box stores that seem to crop up forever here. Numbingly boring I'm sorry Metro Phoenix but numbingly boring for such a major city. My little main street in New England has more life to it than downtown Phoenix.
In its favor there are many sunny days but winter is not nearly as warm as people like to say it is. I think for anyone actually looking for warm winters most of the winter. Then this is not the place. People can give all the baloney comments they want on how warm winter is. BULL. Its 20's 30' 40' and 50's thru much of the winter months. Many houses if not newer are cold and poorly insulated. Translation. A big winter utility bill to accompany the outrageous summer electric bills. No real savings on utility costs out here vs the northeast.
So other than visiting the Grand Canyon, and the beautiful areas north of Phoenix. These are really the Arizona that is appealing and worth one's time. Its just this Phoenix area. I wonder every day what kind of people would have designed a place into this mess. A place that has so much potential into such a bland place with no real soul to it. I'm out of here when the lease is up.
So that's my travelogue of Metro Phoenix. A place in the heat lol. That's the least of the problems with this dried up Valley of the Sun.
In its favor there are many sunny days but winter is not nearly as warm as people like to say it is. I think for anyone actually looking for warm winters most of the winter. Then this is not the place. People can give all the baloney comments they want on how warm winter is. BULL. Its 20's 30' 40' and 50's thru much of the winter months. Many houses if not newer are cold and poorly insulated. Translation. A big winter utility bill to accompany the outrageous summer electric bills. No real savings on utility costs out here vs the northeast.
It's true, winters in Phoenix are hardly warm. I used to put on my winter jacket, gloves and hat mornings from Dec 1- March 1 to walk. And, 4 pm'ish it gets darn cold, not Florida. But, people think it is when they move there. Summers are horrendous and the winter "warm" isn't really much compensation, well it wasn't IMO.
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