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I'm fair skinned and grew up in the Mojave desert in California. I HATE to be hot! Also lived in south Texas...ugh. Never again. Also lived in Tulsa, and those summers were too hot too!
Now I live in Michigan....ah, yes. The winters are too cold in January and February to be sure, and spring is a sad joke. But the trade off is beautiful, spectacular summers! A few weeks that are too hot, but some summers only have a few DAYS like that, and even when we do have hot spells, I know from experience that they are NOTHING like the south. For which I'm thankful.
Agreed. I LOVE the summers along and northward of 43N latitude. The sun angle is more manageable and the heat is more manageable overall. I never quite understood why so many agrarian minded Europeans settled so far south in latitude to stake a claim in the new world compared to where they came from? Perhaps geographic knowledge was not very common then or they took whatever land they could get... I would think that those people who have a northern European background would be far more comfortable climate-wise in the northern 1/5 of the US and Canada.
Agreed. I LOVE the summers along and northward of 43N latitude. The sun angle is more manageable and the heat is more manageable overall. I never quite understood why so many agrarian minded Europeans settled so far south in latitude to stake a claim in the new world compared to where they came from? Perhaps geographic knowledge was not very common then or they took whatever land they could get... I would think that those people who have a northern European background would be far more comfortable climate-wise in the northern 1/5 of the US and Canada.
That may be true historically, but this is the 21st century...our 'background' or skin color doesn't really have to determine where we choose to live anymore thanks to modern technology. I work inside of a building now, effective sunscreen exists, polarized sunglasses, modern clothing, etc... you name it. I'm of a partly northern european background, so I'm moderately fair-skinned and I'm able to get by fine in central Texas...I would still have to utilize modern technology if I moved to Michigan anyway (heating my house/vehicle, modern clothing, heated workplace, sunscreen in the summer etc.), and I wouldn't enjoy the frigid temperatures to boot. Neither of us are agrarians or live in agrarian societies (AFAIK), so I'm a little confused as to your anachronistic POV re: the relevancy of the melanin/latitude connection in 2012.
That may be true historically, but this is the 21st century...our 'background' or skin color doesn't really have to determine where we choose to live anymore thanks to modern technology. I work inside of a building now, effective sunscreen exists, polarized sunglasses, modern clothing, etc... you name it. I'm of a partly northern european background, so I'm moderately fair-skinned and I'm able to get by fine in central Texas...I would still have to utilize modern technology if I moved to Michigan anyway (heating my house/vehicle, modern clothing, heated workplace, sunscreen in the summer etc.), and I wouldn't enjoy the frigid temperatures to boot. Neither of us are agrarians or live in agrarian societies (AFAIK), so I'm a little confused as to your anachronistic POV re: the relevancy of the melanin/latitude connection in 2012.
Well, this is likely more specific to the fact that I do take a medication that requires me to avoid getting too much sun exposure. I have very fair skin and received a sunburn at a latitude of Tulsa, OK (36N) while visiting a family member there. I only spent 30 minutes outside, but I could already tell that I would never do very well at a latitude as low as that even while spending a good deal of time indoors.
You mention you live in central Texas. Aren't the electricity costs astronomic based on AC use (cooling degree days). How was last summer like when the state basically broiled up with nearly no precipitation? I just can't imagine a situation like that.
I was making a point regarding historic settlement patterns because it interests me as a geographer and historian. For example, the Great Plains states received a large Germanic settlement wave in the mid to late 19th century. They settled fairly far south in latitude in many parts of the Plains states from Kansas to Oklahoma at latitude levels that were 12-14 degrees further south than that of the old world. I think the difference in that earlier time period was that the climate in that region wasn't nearly as hot as present. The Germans from Russia were known as "Volga Germans" and also settled parts of the northern Plains in North and South Dakota as well as NW Kansas. The Scandinavians gravitated more toward dairy farming in parts of Wisconsin and Minnesota and they also staked settlements in the northern reaches of Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. I also have a strong interest in climatology and meteorology so I enjoy studying the differences in climate between that of Europe and the US. Europe is moderated by the Gulf Stream current so extremes in temperature between Winter and Summer are less significant which I find fascinating. The latitude of cities like London and Berlin are further north than Montreal, Minneapolis, and Toronto.
Last edited by GraniteStater; 07-07-2012 at 10:35 AM..
I lived in Chicago for two years. Love the city, hated the reality of living there. Way too cold.
For me, its not an issue of too hot but rather not warm enough. Anything not warm enough would be anything north of I-40 and not in California. I had the opprotunity to move up north many times, but I never will. Its just way too cold.
It's 105 during the day, and it's still 95 at 10:30 pm. That's too cold!?
I love the heat. I loved it when I was stationed in the Mojave Desert (China Lake, outside of Ridgecrest, CA). The only time I didn't like it was walking to the flightline around the F-18's and it being 20+ degrees hotter due to the idling aircraft. Also we were close to the Kern mountains, and the winds coming off of them made it seems as if a blowdryer was constantly in my face.
Now that I am in the midwest, I love the humid heat. Even during the occasional heatwave (like we are experiencing now) I still love being outside. I also love the summer here because it brings the stronger thunderstorms.
Can't stand the winters here, and am considering a move in a year or so to Atlanta (I lived there before) or the Dallas/Ft. Worth area where the winters are a little more tolerable to me.
While I could theoretically adapt pretty much everywhere I consider anything South of DC to be way too hot during summer. Desert Southwest is pretty bad, too. Feels like walking through a hairdryer.
The Upper Midwest can be bad at times, too, but not that bad, so I rather live there, in the Northeast or in the PNW.
For me, pretty much anywhere but the upper Pacific Northwest, parts of California, and maybe northern Maine. And there are probably some high elevation towns I could tolerate.
Haha, this describes me as well. But, for me the worst is anywhere in the southeast, from Texas to up the eastern seaboard. The humidity plus heat combo is just too much.
It doesn't become to hot in the USA, except in Death Valley, and they warn you about it by putting the world "Death" in the name.
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