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It's good to feel the seasons, it adds spice to the outdoor experience. It's probably good healthwise to adjust to the seasons - people exercise even though it's not fun, but for some reason having your body adjust to temps isn't something people do... I loved the hot rainy summer day hikes in Atlanta and the temperature bands swings you feel snowmobiling in CO.
I hate palm trees. I hate trees that don’t change color in the autumn. I hate trees that don’t have enough girth or spread to truly anchor a landscape. I hate a summer of constant heat and humidity, or the nonstop drone of air conditioning. If you dare go outdoors, you wilt like an unwatered annual plant. I like deciduous trees that bud out in the spring, densely leaf out in the summer, change color in the autumn, drop leaves in order to show their structure in the winter, and anchor a white wonderland that seems so appropriate during the Christmas holiday season. If it means a winter of more indoor habitation, that’s fine. I like building a fire in the fireplace and spending weekends with a glass of scotch or wine, reading something enjoyable, planning and/or contemplating life, job, and relationships during this “down season”. Before I know it, early spring arrives and the cycle begins again. A climate that does not include these cycles of nature seems like such a waste and a copout to me. It's the distinct seasons that give one depth of perspective and a connection to nature.
This should have had a poll. It’s interesting to see the thoughts of people who like winter, since that’s a foreign concept to me, lol. It would be fascinating as well to take the temperature of the C-D room (pun intended) to see how many prefer what without reading through the entire thread.
I've done both, and neither are enjoyable, but winters are harder in my opinion. Heat requires air conditioning, and you might have to take more showers and change clothes more often. But severe cold is life-threatening. You can easily die from hypothermia.
I'm a distinctly "4 seasons" guy, but have lived in places with uncomfortable summers (TX) and cold winters (MA, PA, NJ). If I were forced to pick, I suppose I would say brutal winters are worse, because in TX we could always drink beer in the pool when it was 105 outside. In the doldrums of winter, even here in the NYC area, I often find myself just hanging inside unless I have something specifically planned.
All of that said, the winters here in NYC have become almost non-events, even in just the 10 years that I've lived here. My parents in MA had snow like twice all winter, 2nd one in a row for them. The places left with actual brutal winters are becoming fewer and fewer. If I can wait it out another 10 years here, I'll basically be in North Carolina with skyscrapers and good restaurants
FWIW the rate of people dying from heat has gone up, but not nearly as rapid as the decline of people no longer dying from cold, which is a much larger threat. Temperature minimums across the world are also rising much faster than temperature maximums, so arguably we're going towards a more livable world temp wise.
Brutal summers and brutal winters are both brutal and awful. That's what the word "brutal" means.
I think your last sentence is key here, as the word “brutal” has to be defined for both.
Also, as another poster mentioned, winters even in places that get higher snowfall totals on average aren’t as consistently cold and the same goes for snow staying on the ground like it would in years past.
I'm a distinctly "4 seasons" guy, but have lived in places with uncomfortable summers (TX) and cold winters (MA, PA, NJ). If I were forced to pick, I suppose I would say brutal winters are worse, because in TX we could always drink beer in the pool when it was 105 outside. In the doldrums of winter, even here in the NYC area, I often find myself just hanging inside unless I have something specifically planned.
All of that said, the winters here in NYC have become almost non-events, even in just the 10 years that I've lived here. My parents in MA had snow like twice all winter, 2nd one in a row for them. The places left with actual brutal winters are becoming fewer and fewer. If I can wait it out another 10 years here, I'll basically be in North Carolina with skyscrapers and good restaurants
Not very many “major” metros in the United States would have what you consider “brutal winters” with consistently deep snowfall.
Plenty of smaller towns and places in the mountain west would meet that definition though.
I think your last sentence is key here, as the word “brutal” has to be defined for both.
Also, as another poster mentioned, winters even in places that get higher snowfall totals on average aren’t as consistently cold and the same goes for snow staying on the ground like it would in years past.
Brutal weather is brutal weather though. I would prefer to not have to endure a brutal winter or a brutal summer. Given a free choice, my response would be neither. That's my point. Everything beyond that is subjective.
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