Is Houston's low cost of living a myth? (Sugar Land, Humble: living in, statistics) - Texas (TX) - Page 14 - City-Data Forum

jek74 · 01-11-2013, 05:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dalparadise

So, did you miss the "10 days per month" comment or the portion of the one article you quoted about moving a couple of miles within SF and it affecting the rainfall totals as much as 20%?

How about "here you go, champ" as a condescending tone, when your numbers did nothing to back up your ludicrous assertion?

I didn't mean to offend you. I was just calling it like I saw it.

OK, let me walk you through this. Ten is an avg right? Say the variance is 5 days. So in any given month you could see 15 days of actual rain. Say there are another 5 or so days where it looks like it's going to rain, but doesn't. To a biker rider, same difference. He knows its the rainy season, why take a chance. That means some months, 20 out of the 30 days of that month he is probably going to not take his bike that day. That's a lot. On the same token there are probably winter months where the rain doesn't come. But the variance allows for an awful lot of rain enough to cause anyone who rides a bike to modify their behavior. To most people, that is going to seem like a lot. Basically 2 out every 3 days and possibly for a 3 month period. There Dal, does that explain things better? Dal, I use to travel out to the Bay area a lot and while I have few data points, there was one winter I was there for 8 days and it rained 8 days straight. Sure, I'm data mining here, but when I was out there almost everyone of my co-workers who worked downtown said, yup, this is the rainy season. Bad luck on my part? Probably. But again, it rains enough to cause one to have a plan B Dec through Feb. I'm not attacking your beloved SF Dal, just stating the facts. Again, 15 or 20 days a month during a high month might not be a big deal to you as apparently driving a very expensive car is par for the course. Different strokes for different folks. But considering that TX had a drought a few years back where we went what, 7 months with no rain, raining 2 out of every 3 days for a few months would feel like a monsoon season.

ToyYot · 01-11-2013, 05:29 PM

Maybe you two should start your own mutual appreciation thread.

dalparadise · 01-11-2013, 05:50 PM

How did an average of ten become 15-20 again? Also, you should know that "rain" here is not like in the middle of the country. We do get one or two heavy downpours per winter, but typically, rain comes in fairly light showers and our yearly totals at less than a typical Houston winter. Plus, that 7 month stretch of no rain you talked about- that's every year in SF. April-October will see zero rainfall.

One of your links showed the 10-day forecast for this, the rainy season, and had nothing but sunshine every day. That's as relevant as your experience.

The more typical pattern in winter is a couple of days of rain followed by 3-4 sunny ones. Also, weather systems come in from the Pacific, where there is little to influence or change their track. So the weather is much more predictable here, negating that assumption that a cloudy day means rain is a possibility. It doesn't mean that at all. In fact most "cloudy" days are actually "foggy" days, which have nothing to do with rain. Fog burns off by 10:30 or 11:00, just like clockwork.

One more thing, why are you so obsessed with the car I used to drive? You keep trying to make it look like some kind of character flaw that I used to have a nice car. I find this to be a rather strange psychosis on your part. I merely made an observation that driving a more expensive car than one really needed was an effect of Houston's culture it's a relative statement that applies to you, too. You drive a car that is more expensive than your Chicago transit pass was, right?

I drove what I drove because I like cars and I could comfortably afford it. What's the big deal? In a city like SF, where the car is subject to more street parking and is less fuel efficient or utilitarian, it's more of a liability than an asset. Why is that so hard to understand?

jek74 · 01-11-2013, 05:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dalparadise

How did an average of ten become 15-20 again? Also, you should know that "rain" here is not like in the middle of the country. We do get one or two heavy downpours per winter, but typically, rain comes in fairly light showers and our yearly totals at less than a typical Houston winter. Plus, that 7 month stretch of no rain you talked about- that's every year in SF. April-October will see zero rainfall.

One of your links showed the 10-day forecast for this, the rainy season, and had nothing but sunshine every day. That's as relevant as your experience.

The more typical pattern in winter is a couple of days of rain followed by 3-4 sunny ones. Also, weather systems come in from the Pacific, where there is little to influence or change their track. So the weather is much more predictable here, negating that assumption that a cloudy day means rain is a possibility. It doesn't mean that at all. In fact most "cloudy" days are actually "foggy" days, which have nothing to do with rain. Fog burns off by 10:30 or 11:00, just like clockwork.

One more thing, why are you so obsessed with the car I used to drive? You keep trying to make it look like some kind of character flaw that I used to have a nice car. I find this to be a rather strange psychosis on your part. I merely made an observation that driving a more expensive car than one really needed was an effect of Houston's culture it's a relative statement that applies to you, too. You drive a car that is more expensive than your Chicago transit pass was, right?

I drove what I drove because I like cars and I could comfortably afford it. What's the big deal? In a city like SF, where the car is subject to more street parking and is less fuel efficient or utilitarian, it's more of a liability than an asset. Why is that so hard to understand?

I'm done arguing the rain with you. I'll be the adult here and hit the stop button. Regarding the car, I was simply making a point that different people have different baselines. Some people in Houston think 75 is hot as hell, others think its cold. It's important to note that as what you perceive to be hardly no rain, could be a lot of rain to someone else. That is all. I'm done here.