If you had the power of changing ONE aspect to improve Miami, what would it be? (insurance, wages)

[valicky]

Originally Posted by hurricaneMan1992

Not to mention if you sweat significantly or your knees or back ache during a 10 minute walk at 8 am, you're probably out of shape. If you've lived in Florida and acclimated, humidity should affect you when running, not when walking at a moderate pace without direct overhead sunshine. You're probably out of shape because you sit in cars too much, and sit all day at work, and quite possibly rush to get home to sit in front of a TV for 2 hours. Sitting can be just as bad as smoking. It's also possible to spend too much time in over-chilled a/c so the acclimation process doesn't fully happen.

(OR it may be you're over-dressed--you can carry a sport coat over your shoulder and put it on when you get indoors, for example)

I was born here and I'm 51 years old. Yes, humidity affects me more now than when in my 20's. It's not that I can't walk in the humidity. I can and do. I go to the zoo in the middle of the summer, to Fairchild, Flamingo Gardens, Disney, the beach. The difference is I don't care if I'm sweaty there. I would care if I had to go to a work environment and had to spend the rest of the day feeling sticky. And to clarify further, I weigh a whopping 105 pounds so I don't have any extra "insulation" making it feel even hotter, thankfully. Btw, I'm self-employed, so I don't commute. If I did have to, the alternative to driving would have to at least be equal to it, if not better, for me to use it. As I'm sure it would be for 99% of the population.

[WINTERFRONT]

Lol, I'm so not out of shape... many girls want to have my body, yet I sweat when I walk in Miami.

[boxus]

Originally Posted by Wild Style

Yep, NYC in the summer can be hellish and some of those train stations and trains don't even have adequate AC, yet millions of people ride that train EVERY day! So you are correct. Miami can do more to make the place more walk-able though, like planting trees on EVERY street so that sidewalks are shaded. That would go a long way by itself.

Same with the DC area.

[hurricaneMan1992]

Originally Posted by WINTERFRONT

Lol, I'm so not out of shape... many girls want to have my body, yet I sweat when I walk in Miami.

At 8 am in the morning, or at 2 pm with direct sunlight? BIG difference.

A few drops in your underarms, and on your forehead that evaporate as soon as you get indoors and nobody notices afterwards, or front of shirt noticeably damp. BIG difference.

Unless you park in an air conditioned garage, it's unlikely you can get away with ZERO sweat even if you drive to work. Not to mention moving around throughout the day. You are still a warm-blooded mammal whether you drive and walk or take the train and walk! That's what deodorant and anti antiperspirants are for!! I think many of us think of "walking in Miami" as walking along the beach at 1 pm, so psychologically we are trained to associate walking with excessive heat and sweat. Kind of makes sense, since much of our non-commuting--errand running, shopping, and leisure--walking is in direct sun during the day.

I challenge you to try walking 10 minutes in the early morning and see how different you feel than walking at midday. Or at least do a realistic "sweat check" after your next evening walk along Lincoln Road, which is also similar to early morning. Or pay attention to the waiters and waitresses who are going back and forth between the tables carrying HOT food outdoors in summer, and most of them take the bus and walk to work. You might be surprised.

As a "sweat test" I just took an outdoors walk break away from my desk. Went out at a moderate pace around 18 min/mile, except jogged across one intersection to let an impatient driver pass. Cloudy and in the mid-80's, similar to normal summertime morning commute conditions (no direct sunlight). Nothing in 5 minutes. After 10 minutes, I could wipe a bit of sweat off my forehead and start to feel it in my underarms. 15 minutes (back to a/c building lobby), not much worse. No noticeable wetness on the front or back of my shirt. Deodorant (which I applied at home and re-applied when I got to my desk in the morning) still holding up. Started to rain a bit at the end, got more wet from that than 15 minutes of walking. As I finish typing this, even that moisture is almost evaporated. I'm wearing a standard cotton polo shirt and casual slacks. BTW, I sweat profusely when running, enough to scare my wife when I get back home, (as well as vigorous walking in the sun at 1 pm...) so I'm definitely not one of those "nothing-makes-me-sweat" types.

As we (hopefully) learned in high school health class, having a nice body is NOT the same as being in shape. Your heart rate and core temperature shouldn't go up much during an easy 10 minute walk. I DO have enough "insulation" to enter races as a Clydesdale, sometimes the nurse looks at me funny when she checks my blood pressure and heart rate. Looks and physical conditioning are not necessarily correlated!!!

[hurricaneMan1992]

Originally Posted by valicky

I I go to the zoo in the middle of the summer, to Fairchild, Flamingo Gardens, Disney, the beach.

During what time of day are you generally walking at these places, and how long are you walking continuously and/or exposed to direct sun?

During what time of day would you be walking between the train or bus stop and your work in the morning, and how long would you be walking continuously for and/or exposed to direct sun?

[valicky]

In the early morning hours, even though it's maybe 10 degrees cooler, the humidity is much higher than midday. The humidity is what is worse than the heat. That's why I'd walk in Phoenix, but not here, except maybe Nov to March depending on how and when the cooler, dry season arrives. The humidity is what makes me feel gross. I have longer hair and my hair will get that outside smell, which I can't stand. Maybe it's just me, but I seriously dislike that humid outside smell. Deodorant and perfume just mask it, they don't take it away. Only a shower can do that. If I walk 10 minutes to a bus stop and wait 5 minutes for it (hahahahahahahahahahaha!) that's enough for the humidity to attach itself - especially in the morning. The afternoon wouldn't really matter because 1. It's lower humidity at that time and 2. You're usually heading home where you can promptly rid yourself of the humid smell. If you have short hair maybe you don't notice that smell as much. I'm not talking armpit BO here. This is outside, sweaty, humidity smell. Not sure how else to describe it and I don't notice it when I've traveled to OR, AZ, SC, OH, NY, DC, TN, GA. Reminds me of that Seinfeld episode where the car got the BO stench.

[WINTERFRONT]

Originally Posted by hurricaneMan1992

At 8 am in the morning, or at 2 pm with direct sunlight? BIG difference.

A few drops in your underarms, and on your forehead that evaporate as soon as you get indoors and nobody notices afterwards, or front of shirt noticeably damp. BIG difference.

Unless you park in an air conditioned garage, it's unlikely you can get away with ZERO sweat even if you drive to work. Not to mention moving around throughout the day. You are still a warm-blooded mammal whether you drive and walk or take the train and walk! That's what deodorant and anti antiperspirants are for!! I think many of us think of "walking in Miami" as walking along the beach at 1 pm, so psychologically we are trained to associate walking with excessive heat and sweat. Kind of makes sense, since much of our non-commuting--errand running, shopping, and leisure--walking is in direct sun during the day.

I challenge you to try walking 10 minutes in the early morning and see how different you feel than walking at midday. Or at least do a realistic "sweat check" after your next evening walk along Lincoln Road, which is also similar to early morning. Or pay attention to the waiters and waitresses who are going back and forth between the tables carrying HOT food outdoors in summer, and most of them take the bus and walk to work. You might be surprised.

As a "sweat test" I just took an outdoors walk break away from my desk. Went out at a moderate pace around 18 min/mile, except jogged across one intersection to let an impatient driver pass. Cloudy and in the mid-80's, similar to normal summertime morning commute conditions (no direct sunlight). Nothing in 5 minutes. After 10 minutes, I could wipe a bit of sweat off my forehead and start to feel it in my underarms. 15 minutes (back to a/c building lobby), not much worse. No noticeable wetness on the front or back of my shirt. Deodorant (which I applied at home and re-applied when I got to my desk in the morning) still holding up. Started to rain a bit at the end, got more wet from that than 15 minutes of walking. As I finish typing this, even that moisture is almost evaporated. I'm wearing a standard cotton polo shirt and casual slacks. BTW, I sweat profusely when running, enough to scare my wife when I get back home, (as well as vigorous walking in the sun at 1 pm...) so I'm definitely not one of those "nothing-makes-me-sweat" types.

As we (hopefully) learned in high school health class, having a nice body is NOT the same as being in shape. Your heart rate and core temperature shouldn't go up much during an easy 10 minute walk. I DO have enough "insulation" to enter races as a Clydesdale, sometimes the nurse looks at me funny when she checks my blood pressure and heart rate. Looks and physical conditioning are not necessarily correlated!!!

Same thing... I walk at 6 am and then throughout the whole day... and sometimes (if I'm up the whole night) at 2:30 or 3 am just to get out to take a break from the studio. I still sweat, without the need of walking 10 mins straight.

Like yesterday I went to sleep in my car, parked on the 6th floor, like at 4am and I was sweating on my way to my car. I was taking the stairs, but I usually don't sweat that much on the elliptical (gym) for a 3 or so mins of workout. I usually begin sweating like a pig some time around 30 mins of intense non-stop workout.

The only difference is that it's more painful when the sun is out cuz you feel the burning. It's a nonstop painful experience ... it's like someone is using sandpaper on you.

[WINTERFRONT]

HUrricane...

Living in Miami is like living in an aquarium. You can see how the windows get steamy at 3 am.

[MiamiRob]

The OP asks about how can we improve Miami and you people go on a 2 page rant about the weather which is something that we can't do anything about it! We are not God so back to subject please!

[InternetWhiteKnight]

The weather. Specifically, the summer moths. All 8.5 of them.