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NYC and the mid Atlantic is a pretty good 4 season area. Spring can be can be scenic with the trees and blooming, summers are generally not too bad. The summer nights are beautiful and the easy access to water provides a respite on the hot muddy days, the fall is beautiful with the foliage, winter is not too bad. Christmas season is magical, Jan and Feb are not great. But, the proximity to the Ocean limits the deep freezes you get in interior areas. You can get snow and then a few days later it will be be 50 and sunny.
I find in general in the colder climates, a big chunk of life is packed into summer, so there's a certain mystique around summer that becomes less and less prominent the further south you head.
I remember as a kid growing up in a Northern climate that there was just a general vibe of excitement and giddiness in May/June . Not only was the end of the school year in sight, of course, but also there suddenly were a lot more house parties, events to attend and generally people just came out of their shell a bit. It's like everyone's default tone of voice and facial expression moved a little closer to the 'happy' end of the spectrum.
Of course, on the flip side September and October brought a certain melancholy with them that worked in the reverse. In the North, there's something wistful to those last mild days.
Love this. Yes, seasons are great. When I lived up north, I learned to appreciate the spring, summer and fall and then brace myself for the winter. Winter was a good excuse to be doormant.
The suburbs of Rochester, Syracuse and Albany, NY in the summer.
Close to the Adirondacks, Finger Lakes Wine Country, Catskills, Thousand Islands, Lake Ontario Beaches and countryside rolling hills with many scenic lakes, gorges, and hiking trails.
Many summer festivals, fairs, concerts and sporting events too.
This is so true. Upstate New York in the summer is a magical place. Hyperbolic, I know, but there’s really some truth to it. As mentioned by others, there’s an energy of excitement and liveliness in the air. People seem happier, perhaps more engaged. Growing up in Rochester, there was an annual window from roughly Memorial Day to Labor Day where families would pack in tons of activities to take advantage of that near-perfect weather. Lakes and gorges in the Finger Lakes region make for wonderful day trips, but even the cities come alive. Rochester’s lilac and jazz festivals draw massive crowds, I know Buffalo puts on some huge celebrations and Syracuse gets the Great New York State Fair.
Quote:
Originally Posted by CamThomas
Love this. Yes, seasons are great. When I lived up north, I learned to appreciate the spring, summer and fall and then brace myself for the winter. Winter was a good excuse to be doormant.
You learn to anticipate food, sports, etc.
Going dormant in the winter explains it. Now that I live in the Deep South, people just don’t seem excited for summer anymore. In some ways, summer is the worst season down here because it can get oppressively hot. That feeling of being shuttered inside during northern winters happens in the South to a certain degree, especially in July and August when temperatures and the UV index peaks.
Western Washington state is definitely more of a summer place. IMO, it has the best summer weather of anywhere in the lower 48. Whenever the rainy season kicks off in Autumn people seem to hibernate until late Spring lol. Speaking of the weather, this weekend is going to be unusually hot...upper 70s/low 80s is more like July/August weather...wild...makes me nervous about how hot this summer will actually be.
This is so true. Upstate New York in the summer is a magical place. Hyperbolic, I know, but there’s really some truth to it. As mentioned by others, there’s an energy of excitement and liveliness in the air. People seem happier, perhaps more engaged. Growing up in Rochester, there was an annual window from roughly Memorial Day to Labor Day where families would pack in tons of activities to take advantage of that near-perfect weather. Lakes and gorges in the Finger Lakes region make for wonderful day trips, but even the cities come alive. Rochester’s lilac and jazz festivals draw massive crowds, I know Buffalo puts on some huge celebrations and Syracuse gets the Great New York State Fair.
Going dormant in the winter explains it. Now that I live in the Deep South, people just don’t seem excited for summer anymore. In some ways, summer is the worst season down here because it can get oppressively hot. That feeling of being shuttered inside during northern winters happens in the South to a certain degree, especially in July and August when temperatures and the UV index peaks.
Exactly. Living in SoCal where the temperature while I’m awake is generally 60-90, it gets boring. Nothing changes. I don’t anticipate much
Exactly. Living in SoCal where the temperature while I’m awake is generally 60-90, it gets boring. Nothing changes. I don’t anticipate much
I think it's just different. The thing I noticed the most in Southern California is that seasons are just terms associated with certain cultural rites inherited from the seasonal culture 'back east' in America and Europe - i.e. like 'summer' being the big school break or 'fall' being associated with Halloween/Thanksgiving - but they're not really given any relevance beyond that. People by and large go about their business in January the same way they do in April, August or October. Life is largely decoupled from the traditional seasonal rhythm.
That can be seen as boring, but it could also be seen as allowing you to focus on things other than the weather. I mean in the D.C. area in winter I gotta keep an eye on the forecast to consider snow/ice/extreme cold when making plans, in spring and summer I gotta look out for severe weather or account for extreme heat/humidity, from mid August through early October tropical storms/hurricanes can affect things. I've been forced to spend a night in a hotel when a big wind storm knocked out power as part of a cold front that brought temps close to zero Fahrenheit, and it took them two days to fix it. Right before Christmas. I could have done without any of that.
Honolulu, Hawaii
Miami, Florida
San Francisco, California
New York City, New York
Charleston, South Carolina* (home)
Las Vegas, Nevada
Seattle, Washington
Austin, Texas
San Diego, California
Nashville, Tennessee
Honolulu, Hawaii
Miami, Florida
San Francisco, California
New York City, New York
Charleston, South Carolina* (home)
Las Vegas, Nevada
Seattle, Washington
Austin, Texas
San Diego, California
Nashville, Tennessee
This is not meant as an attack on Texas cities. There are a lot of nice days every season in Texas cities.
But, summers are way too hot. Winters can be really warm or cold, same with spring and fall. You just never know. Austin has already hit 90 before May.
Yea summers in TX are no joke. Spring isn't either because we get intense T-Storms and hail. Winters can get shockingly cold here too. I remember it was colder in Austin than NYC November of 2022 and I first hand experienced it when I went to NYC. I was shocked.
I'd pass on visiting at least half of these cities during the summer months.
Yeah the only one of those cities I'd think "summer is the time to go there!" would be Seattle.
Maybe Honolulu/San Diego as they seem to be more temperate/warm year round than "hot"
I've heard San Francisco is actually cold/gloomy in the summer and warmer/nicer in the fall .... "the coldest winter I've ever felt was Summer in San Francisco"
Texas in summer? Pass. The only significant amount of time I've spent in Texas was about 12 years ago for a week in April. Stayed in Waco (my GF at the time was at law school at Baylor) and spent time in Dallas and Austin... every day was 90+ and humidity had already set in... in April!
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