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Ahhh...Gotcha. The OP was really reaching for cherry picking points. He should just move to the East Coast already and get some real life experience with it rather than wasting time pining to leave the west.
I think the cherry picking of weather/climate stats on this forum can definitely go for both coasts.
Some get nosebleeds. I live south of Colorado where its even dryer and at the same altitude as Denver and I've never had a nosebleed here in the 3 years I've been out here. I'd also rather use chapstick and skin lotion than a snowblower clearing 5 foot snowbanks in the winter. Summers in Colorado certainly aren't any hotter than most places back east, to say hotter than hell, well that's exaggerating. Not to mention the West has more microclimates, on a hot summer day in Denver one could easily drive an hour away to higher altitudes where its in the 70's.
Denver in early spring can get cold and snowy when winter is starting to taper off back east. It's also fairly common for it to get balmy and sunny days in mid-winter in the 60's. Places like Boston have many winters that remain an ice box from New Years to March with not very many thaw cycles in between. By and large I think its fair to say Denver overall has a milder climate with more nice days than Boston.
How often do you actually get to enjoy a vacation in the mountains though? America isn't Europe, we don't exactly have a lot of worker's rights. I don't even own a car myself, though in Denver you'd pretty much have to unless you lived right on the transit line.
Yeah Boston is probably a bit worse than Denver in the winter, but at least the winter weather is limited to winter. The Northeast does get mild spells in the winter as well, this year has been pretty unusual. New York City actually rains more than it snows in the winter. Different strokes of course, but I'd take the Northeast's seasonal regularity over the freakshow that is the Great Plains.
Location: northern Vermont - previously NM, WA, & MA
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JerseyGirl415
I think the cherry picking of weather/climate stats on this forum can definitely go for both coasts.
Yeah weather is rather fickle like that. That said, as repulsive as the mountains of snow in Boston look to me right now, summer here gets pretty boring. I can't wait to come back to the New England coast again this summer. So much so, I'm coming back twice this year, in June and August.
Quote:
Originally Posted by valsteele
How often do you actually get to enjoy a vacation in the mountains though? America isn't Europe, we don't exactly have a lot of worker's rights. I don't even own a car myself, though in Denver you'd pretty much have to unless you lived right on the transit line.
I thought this was about climates out west, not politics. I spent my birthday last August enjoying the mountains in Telluride, Colorado and it was phenomenal so I'm not sure what you mean. Having six weeks vacation like the French sure would be nice, but that doesn't hinder my ability to enjoy the mountains with the three weeks that I do have. Though if you want to delve into worker's right's there is always the P & OC forum. Personally I wouldn't touch that forum with a 10 foot pole, it's a circle jerk of lunacy.
Quote:
Originally Posted by valsteele
Yeah Boston is probably a bit worse than Denver in the winter, but at least the winter weather is limited to winter. The Northeast does get mild spells in the winter as well, this year has been pretty unusual. New York City actually rains more than it snows in the winter. Different strokes of course, but I'd take the Northeast's seasonal regularity over the freakshow that is the Great Plains.
You really should stop giving your inhibitions so much power and figure out a way to relocate to the Northeast then.
Last edited by Champ le monstre du lac; 03-05-2015 at 08:10 AM..
I would argue that aside from the immediate Pacific shoreline of Southern and Central California the West does not have a "mild climate". It's not really that much better than the climates back east, just bad in different ways. It's still far more hostile on the whole than the climates in Europe.
Just like areas out east, the west has harsh climates and mild climates. The difference between the two is quite staggering. Snow out west melts quick, it doesnt usually out east, unless youre far south. It can get blisteringly hot out west, but the lack of humidity makes it far more comfortable than out east, especially compared to swamps like LA, FL, AR, etc.
Quote:
Originally Posted by valsteele
Alaska is frigid. Hawaii is hot and humid and in many places insanely wet. In fact the entire West is either extremely arid or extremely wet, very little in between. The only place with a good balance is the Bay Area. Aside from the coastal Pacific Northwest, parts of Hawaii and the northern Rockies the entire region lacks water.
Lack of water doesnt make things "worse". In fact, in my opinion, it makes it better (read:less bugs, less humidity, less severe storms,etc).
Quote:
Originally Posted by valsteele
Colorado has a winter that is far longer than anywhere back east, even if it's broken up by mild spells. The climate is dry to the point of discomfort. Your nose will bleed, and you will need chapstick. And their summer is hot as hell to boot. On average the Rockies are colder than pretty much anywhere back East aside from the areas that border Canada.
CO's winter may be longer, but its not nearly as harsh as what you find in, say, NH or ME. Dry air doesnt mean nose bleeds. You can get them anywhere. Its true dry air accentuates the problem, but Ive never had a nosebleed in AZ in my years here. Neither has any of my family. And I would classify summer in CO as "hot as hell". Its actually quite mild.
Quote:
Originally Posted by valsteele
Even the Pacific Northwest is not a great climate. Sure it lacks a proper winter, but the coastal Pacific Northwest experiences March for 3/4 of the year, then it's suddenly hot as hell for 3 months. The interior of the Pacific Northwest is as cold as the Midwest in the winter and just as hot in the summer, the only difference is it's drier and less humid.
I agree the Pac NW has a bad climate. Its overcast most of the year, and drizzly. Its what Id call "hell". lol But, winters are mild, which is a plus for many people who relocate their. Minus the occassional ice/snow storms up there in Seattle, Portland, etc, winters are very mild.
Quote:
Originally Posted by valsteele
The West is so dry that the landscape literally sets itself on fire on a frequent basis. Yet some people have this idea that everything west of the 105th parallel is like San Diego and bad weather doesn't exist there. The lack of air conditioning out west is shocking considering pretty much the whole West reaches 100F every single year.
Are you suggesting the west spontaneously combusts?
Are you suggesting the west spontaneously combusts?
In a way yeah. The forests are actually supposed to burn periodically, but we've stopped them artifically. Naturally most of the forests out West ought to be more like chaparral or woodland, aside from in the coastal PNW and Northern Rockies.
I think eastern US forests naturally burn periodically too, but the intervals are much longer. I could be wrong though.
Ahhh...Gotcha. The OP was really reaching for cherry picking points. He should just move to the East Coast already and get some real life experience with it rather than wasting time pining to leave the west.
Just like areas out east, the west has harsh climates and mild climates. The difference between the two is quite staggering. Snow out west melts quick, it doesnt usually out east, unless youre far south. It can get blisteringly hot out west, but the lack of humidity makes it far more comfortable than out east, especially compared to swamps like LA, FL, AR, etc.
I don't think snow sticks around all year in places like New York City. NYC actually gets more rain than snow in the winter. This winter has been highly unusual. It's only in upstate and northern New England, and Wisconsin/Minnesota/Iowa/the UP that snow sticks around all winter long.
Most years New York and Philly's winters are closer to a Portland or Seattle winter than they are to a winter in Montreal. I would even say a milder than average NYC winter is similar to a colder than average Portland or Vancouver BC winter.
I would argue that aside from the immediate Pacific shoreline of Southern and Central California the West does not have a "mild climate". It's not really that much better than the climates back east, just bad in different ways. It's still far more hostile on the whole than the climates in Europe.
Alaska is frigid. Hawaii is hot and humid and in many places insanely wet. In fact the entire West is either extremely arid or extremely wet, very little in between. The only place with a good balance is the Bay Area. Aside from the coastal Pacific Northwest, parts of Hawaii and the northern Rockies the entire region lacks water.
Colorado has a winter that is far longer than anywhere back east, even if it's broken up by mild spells. The climate is dry to the point of discomfort. Your nose will bleed, and you will need chapstick. And their summer is hot as hell to boot. On average the Rockies are colder than pretty much anywhere back East aside from the areas that border Canada.
Even the Pacific Northwest is not a great climate. Sure it lacks a proper winter, but the coastal Pacific Northwest experiences March for 3/4 of the year, then it's suddenly hot as hell for 3 months. The interior of the Pacific Northwest is as cold as the Midwest in the winter and just as hot in the summer, the only difference is it's drier and less humid.
The West is so dry that the landscape literally sets itself on fire on a frequent basis. Yet some people have this idea that everything west of the 105th parallel is like San Diego and bad weather doesn't exist there. The lack of air conditioning out west is shocking considering pretty much the whole West reaches 100F every single year.
We get it. You think the West is overrated. Everyone is entitled to their opinion.
I don't know how people can live in such a dry climate. Humidity below 30% is miserable to me. Plus I have a passionate love of thunderstorms, so I will definitely be staying in the eastern US.
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The lack of air conditioning out west is shocking considering pretty much the whole West reaches 100F every single year.
