Wher to move for hot summers and snowy winters (transplants, to live)

[Taynxtlvl]

Denver, Colorado also Salt Lake City Utah. Both have cold winters but with some decent warmer days thrown in and hot summers. Both also have a high rate of sunshine unlike the northern plain states. I'd have to suggest those two places for certain.

[BeyondInfinity]

Originally Posted by spiffytools

Hi.
First post, so please be pleasant with me

The missus and I (both early 30s) are looking for somewhere to move in the States, where we will have lovely winters with lots of snow but also warm and hot summers, with lots of BBQ at night.

I don't mind the occasional thunderstorm, in fact I love them, but we are just fed up with the one season we have here in England, cold and rain.


We have a green card and employment is not that important, as self-employed. The main point really is the weather.

We were originally looking at Flagstaff, AZ, but they have about 200 nights per year below 40F, might be a chilly.

Any ideas? We are considering any of the 50 states.


Thank you so much in advance.

Kevin

Checkout Chicago, IL.

[denverian]

Originally Posted by Taynxtlvl

Denver, Colorado also Salt Lake City Utah. Both have cold winters but with some decent warmer days thrown in and hot summers. Both also have a high rate of sunshine unlike the northern plain states. I'd have to suggest those two places for certain.

I was going to make this suggestion. If the OP is coming from England, he may be unaware of the miserable humidity anywhere east of Colorado.

Denver and Salt Lake City have similar climates. We get cold and snow in winter, although not constant snow cover. The nearby mountains will have constant snow cover and ski resorts. But in summer, the humidity is low/very comfortable, so outdoor living is great from mid May to early October. If you like to be outside and barbeque, these cities offer a great climate in summer. Denver will regularly be in the upper 80s to mid 90s from late May to mid September and can get over 100, but with low humidity, you don't sweat much and it cools down in the evening to the 70s, 60s overnight. And we don't have all the mosquitoes and bugs that they have everywhere in the U.S. east of Colorado.

[cjg5]

Originally Posted by denverian

And we don't have all the mosquitoes and bugs that they have everywhere in the U.S. east of Colorado.

Nor do we have much of those pests in Eastern Washington. The dry air helps see to it, though if you are close to water there might be a few. Nothing like the coast or the rest of Western Washington though. We also experience longer hours of daylight in the summer than areas farther south. Though admittedly less hours of daylight in the winter months. That's okay though, the daylight diversity throughout the year is part of what makes Washington interesting and fun!

Eastern Washington, climate and terrain for the living! Can't wait for it to be my home someday.

[rock_chalk]

Originally Posted by stlouisan

I'd say anywhere in the central to lower Midwest would be a pretty good fit for you. Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Kansas, and Missouri are probably the most consistent in terms of reaching both extremes.

Not at all. The lower Midwest gets very little snow.

Total snowfall: http://hurricane.ncdc.noaa.gov/climaps/snow1413.pdf
Snow depth: http://hurricane.ncdc.noaa.gov/climaps/snow32b.pdf

Heck, I don't even recommend most of the upper Midwest. I never understood how anyone could dislike winter when I lived out West. Then I moved to the Midwest, and winters here are absolutely terrible. There is a huge difference between powder and slush. Rain in winter is an awful thing.

If the OP wants a city, my recommendation would be Salt Lake City.

[stlouisan]

Originally Posted by rock_chalk

Not at all. The lower Midwest gets very little snow.

Total snowfall: http://hurricane.ncdc.noaa.gov/climaps/snow1413.pdf
Snow depth: http://hurricane.ncdc.noaa.gov/climaps/snow32b.pdf

Heck, I don't even recommend most of the upper Midwest. I never understood how anyone could dislike winter when I lived out West. Then I moved to the Midwest, and winters here are absolutely terrible. There is a huge difference between powder and slush. Rain in winter is an awful thing.

If the OP wants a city, my recommendation would be Salt Lake City.

I wouldn't call around 20 inches very little, which is closer to my end of it. People further north might, but it's enough snow that you're usually satisfied you've gotten enough. That's not a lot, but it's definitely not very little. Snow is far from uncommon here, and winters where snow falls in excess of this average are far from uncommon. And as far as snow goes, that's not the only aspect of winter...the lower midwest also gets plenty of sleet and ice, and also is cold in the winter, except for the very southern edges. Just about every part of the Midwest gets a good sampling of all four seasons. Surprisingly, Springfield, Missouri doesn't average much lower than 20 inches either.

[stlouisan]

Originally Posted by rock_chalk

Not at all. The lower Midwest gets very little snow.

Total snowfall: http://hurricane.ncdc.noaa.gov/climaps/snow1413.pdf
Snow depth: http://hurricane.ncdc.noaa.gov/climaps/snow32b.pdf

Heck, I don't even recommend most of the upper Midwest. I never understood how anyone could dislike winter when I lived out West. Then I moved to the Midwest, and winters here are absolutely terrible. There is a huge difference between powder and slush. Rain in winter is an awful thing.

If the OP wants a city, my recommendation would be Salt Lake City.

Perhaps I should have been more specific the central portions of Missouri, Kansas, on north and roughly a line extending due east to west are what separate the parts of it that can reach both extremes and the parts which typically don't. St. Louis in particular has hit years of greater than 24 inches of snow multiple times in the past few years. I still realize that the Upper Midwest would laugh at this statement, but for the majority of the country, snowfall averaging around 20 inches qualifies as moderate. St. Louis averaged 22.5 inches of snow from 1971-2000, 17.7 from 1981-2010. So it's clearly capable of hitting both extremes. In the past 6 years, we've had one where snowfall was over 20 inches, two where snowfall exceeded 30 inches. Columbia last year had snowfall levels typical of Cleveland's.

[stlouisan]

Originally Posted by Jeromeville

Hot summers and snowy winters? Upstate NY is what you want. The summers are getting hotter, definitely. And although this winter has been crazily without snow, usually you get plenty.

I would not call Upstate New York hot in the summer. It's nothing compared to where I live.

[rock_chalk]

Originally Posted by stlouisan

I wouldn't call around 20 inches very little, which is closer to my end of it. People further north might, but it's enough snow that you're usually satisfied you've gotten enough. That's not a lot, but it's definitely not very little. Snow is far from uncommon here, and winters where snow falls in excess of this average are far from uncommon. And as far as snow goes, that's not the only aspect of winter...the lower midwest also gets plenty of sleet and ice, and also is cold in the winter, except for the very southern edges. Just about every part of the Midwest gets a good sampling of all four seasons. Surprisingly, Springfield, Missouri doesn't average much lower than 20 inches either.

When someone tells me that they want a "lovely winter with lots of snow" my assumption is that they find snow aesthetically pleasing and likely also enjoy winter sports and activities.

Anywhere that routinely receives rain during the heart of the winter months is not going to achieve either of these goals. Slush and ice have none of the advantages of snow.

To me, any argument about "the majority of the country" is irrelevant here because the OP has the option of living pretty much anywhere.

[Broadrippleguy]

Indianapolis gets 2 feet of snow per winter. Compare that to Chicago which gets 7 feet of snow per winter or more depending on lake Effect. Or South Bend
Not really a comparison.
Less snow makes it better for life but in Indy you can still enjoy the 4 seasons. Hence the major advantage.