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Winter (or any cold) is much worse. How many different problems and hassles do you experience from heat compared to cold? Feeling hot? Compared to feeling cold it's much more preferable to me. There's an endless amount of things I don't like about living in a place with cold weather. One is feeling all warm and uncomfortable whenever I go from outdoors to indoors or in a car since I'm all bundled up. Just having to bundle up every time you want to go outside for any amount of time sucks bad. Then having to lug around a coat and layers of clothing when you take them off indoors. Major hassle.
The second of many reasons is I prefer when other people aren't all bundled up. Humans are a kind of beautiful art, and it's just an instant buzzkill for me to see them looking so unnatural. Also the heat selects for in shape people much more than the cold does. Just telling it how it is.
There's just too many reasons why cold is much worse than heat. Dark days, car problems, only indoor exercise, dry skin, dirty ugly snow, gloves and hat etc. sucks bad, worse nightlife because temps keep dropping at night, snow hassles, more flu/colds around, flora looking barren, less wildlife sightings, less summer blockbuster movies.
Less sports outside, worse sunsets and sun rises, no open windows, more dangerous driving/walking, less tan skin, less stargazing, less gardening, less ice cream etc, no swimming, more luggage packing, no outdoor dining, no rain to clean cities off, less Vitamin D, more people in worse moods, shorter days, less activity outside, less events, less fresh produce. It really doesn't end for me..
People don't swim outside down south in the winter either. And there are more car accidents in the sunbelt areas than up north.
I’m not sure why “shoveling snow†keeps getting mentioned, when the vast majority of people that live in snow country own snow blowers. Most northern areas have a high percentage elderly population, and most of them don’t move to warmer climates.
I'd be curious about the stats on that. I've lived in a cold weather state my whole life and I've definitely seen way more shovelers than snowblowers, especially among the elderly. Snowblowers are far more common in the nicer, upscale suburbs.
Winter (or any cold) is much worse. How many different problems and hassles do you experience from heat compared to cold? Feeling hot? Compared to feeling cold it's much more preferable to me. There's an endless amount of things I don't like about living in a place with cold weather. One is feeling all warm and uncomfortable whenever I go from outdoors to indoors or in a car since I'm all bundled up. Just having to bundle up every time you want to go outside for any amount of time sucks bad. Then having to lug around a coat and layers of clothing when you take them off indoors. Major hassle.
The second of many reasons is I prefer when other people aren't all bundled up. Humans are a kind of beautiful art, and it's just an instant buzzkill for me to see them looking so unnatural. Also the heat selects for in shape people much more than the cold does. Just telling it how it is.
There's just too many reasons why cold is much worse than heat. Dark days, car problems, only indoor exercise, dry skin, dirty ugly snow, gloves and hat etc. sucks bad, worse nightlife because temps keep dropping at night, snow hassles, more flu/colds around, flora looking barren, less wildlife sightings, less summer blockbuster movies.
Less sports outside, worse sunsets and sun rises, no open windows, more dangerous driving/walking, less tan skin, less stargazing, less gardening, less ice cream etc, no swimming, more luggage packing, no outdoor dining, no rain to clean cities off, less Vitamin D, more people in worse moods, shorter days, less activity outside, less events, less fresh produce. It really doesn't end for me..
Aaaaamen. You've summarized my feelings pretty aptly. I hate that I can't get comfortable in winter. And the winter clothes is annoying and expensive.
Aaaaamen. You've summarized my feelings pretty aptly. I hate that I can't get comfortable in winter. And the winter clothes is annoying and expensive.
I grew up in San Diego and went to college in Michigan. Besides the obvious of the weather, grey skies, dormant vegetation, etc, I forget how annoying the clothes were. Not so much from wearing pants, boots, jacket, etc, but roasting when you went to a house, class, store, etc, with the heat cranked.
While you can lug your coat around, layering down always isn’t an option. And don’t get me started on putting on boots (and socks) vs flip flops for the smallest of outdoor tasks. We have a cabin in the mountains here that gets a ton of snow and these little things get old over a weekend.
Car problems and hassles in the heat more compared to cold- You kidding?
Nope, car batteries and coolant system take a beating in brutal heat. I used to work in car sales and brand new cars would have batteries die sitting on the lot due to the heat.
Only indoor exercise in heat- What about at night? Can't do that in the cold. Either way is better than with a coat, gloves, hat etc. Plus working out in the heat accomplishes more.
Who works out in a coat and gloves in cold weather climates? LOL People walk/run in long sleeve athletic wear and sweat pants
No open windows in heat- Why not? Car windows? Summer breeze?
In what idyllic wonderland? There's typically no breeze anywhere I'm aware of and of so it's like a convection oven. Refreshing!
Only lightweight clothing in heat- That's very much preferable to me and I like lighter clothing on other people too.
Wearing a one dimensional wardrobe year-round is lame to many.
Can't dress up in the heat- And why is that? I dress up more at night when it's cooler out and I'm not really spending a lot of time outdoors anyways when I'm dressed up, day or night. Plus people are dressing more and more casual as the years go by anyways. And no coat yippie.
Because it's too hot.... In summer diurnal cooling often doesn't happen until well past darkness.
UV exposure is much more unhealthy- Much more unhealthy is a huge stretch. Do I really have to list all the benefits of heat and the negatives of cold on the body and mind?
Huge stretch? Ask a dermatologist or better yet someone with skin cancer. Also cold weather climates have been proven healthier to the human body.
Hot weather in general is more stressful on the body- They both have bad effects on the body if you don't know what you are doing. What about the mind? My mind prefers heat much more because of all the reasons in my other post above. It all adds up.
Your preference doesn't make it better, pretty simple there.
No outdoor dining- Why not? Much easier to use fans to cool off then to have to use crappy heat lamps while balancing your coat and layers at the table. How about at night? Most of my outdoor meals are at night. Isn't that when most people eat dinner?
Again, there's not the massive temp/humidity drop you're alluding to unless you're talking dinner at 9-10pm. Balancing coat/layers at the table? Most folks tend to hang them up at a coat check for comfort's sake.
People are hot and grumpy- Maybe the people you hang around with, my people prefer The Heat.
Your people are in the minority as I don't know anyone here in FL who enjoys sweating in the heat.
No farmers markets in heat- Compared to when it's cold out? Good one.
Yeah, fruits and veggies wilt/die sitting out in the heat. They close up in much of the South from late May to early September.
Drought conditions hinder plants- If your living in a drought zone I suggest you try to move asap.
I'm planning to as much of FL is in drought and has been with the exception of tropical weather like hurricanes. A good chunk of the Southeast has had similar conditions.
Less activity outside in heat- Have you ever even been in cold weather? Unless you're talkin NYC, which is still untrue. You might see people on the street there but they aren't interacting as much and are much less vibrant and hurrying in the cold.
I lived in DC and Philly, visited NYC often. When it's ridiculously cold, yes....but otherwise people still go out and do things unless they're too preciously delicate to deal with it.
Less wildlife when hot out- Yea maybe if you live in the desert. Tropical is the opposite.
No, it's not. From early dawn to dusk wildlife other than birds disappear until the heat lessens. Go to a zoo sometime and observe..
I'd be curious about the stats on that. I've lived in a cold weather state my whole life and I've definitely seen way more shovelers than snowblowers, especially among the elderly. Snowblowers are far more common in the nicer, upscale suburbs.
I don't have concrete stats on it, just lots of on the ground experience. Snow blowers are far more common than shovels in the Snowbelt areas that I'm familiar with, areas that typically average 75-125'' in a season. These are also areas that typically have 25-35% of the total population over age 65, higher than a number of areas of Florida.
Gimme a break. Anytime anyone mentions preferring cold to heat y'all always go "BuT aTlEaSt We DoN't HaVe To ShOvEl SnOw!" I'm simply stating that shovelling snow is not the mind numbing torture you guys always make it out to be. Its a chore you do. As if there's no chores to be done in the extreme heat. Yep... that grass will cut itself in the 99 degree heat doncha worry about it!
I understand that after living in a snow belt that hot summers seem like a fair exchange from cold and snowy winters. But after living in both (Buffalo and Houston) I would absolutely say that "brutal" summers are much worse than "brutal" winters.
I define "brutal" as frequent heavy snow (100+ inches/season), consistently very cold (10 deg F or lower) for extended periods of time, maybe throw in frequent wind with blowing and drifting snow. The #1 effect is that you stay home more, clean driveway/car more frequently, use caution when traveling (like by staying home when you shouldn't be out). Yes there may be some cabin fever, and yes if you act stupid you can get stranded, but generally those places are built to handle the weather, the roads get cleared, power stays on. And it doesn't snow every day, sometimes days or weeks without snow. Temperatures fluctuate, can also be in the 40s and 50s or higher for short periods. And so on.
My own "brutal" experience in Houston is relentless days over 90 degrees with dew points in the upper 70s and 80s from May through October. There are basically zero breaks from this pattern unless there is a tropical system. Sometimes there are daily flooding rains followed by extended droughts with property damages, rot, foundation issues. Sometimes spring tornadoes. Even worse are the tropical systems yearly, some with flooding rains, periodic hurricanes with life-threatening wind, storm surge, and stream flooding. Even if not a direct hit, can be affected and may be forced to evacuate as a precaution. Had many thousands pf dollars of property dame from both "normal" climate and tropical systems, but I was "lucky" my house wasn't flooded, gutted, or swept away (I knew many people that experienced this). And to top it off insurance rates are much higher in these areas. Also, surviving a "brutal" summer is no guarantee that you still couldn't experience some "brutal" situations in winter - look back at Texas in 2022 with a state-wide ice storm and a collapsed power grid.
And heat to me is just damned uncomfortable, always sweating or hiding indoors in the air conditioning. Month after month avoiding the sun, talk about cabin fever...
I think a comparable "brutal" winter to an average Houston summer would possibly be living on Mt. Washington. Other than that, I take winter in the snow belt over summer on the Gulf Coast any day of the week (and I did!). FWIW I don't consider winters in Buffalo "brutal" but that's not to say there aren't some days with brutal weather. But brutal weather down south can destroy your property and kill you, even if precautions are taken. Up north you can hunker down in snow, but there is no hunkering down from wind and floods in the south.
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In summer diurnal cooling often doesn't happen until well past darkness. 
