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Better than the -8 this morning just 50 miles away in places like Poughkeepsie and Danbury, CT
Look carefully at the low temperatures for the cities of the Northeast. Perhaps due to the effect of all the big buildings and the "urban heat island" effect, NYC usually has the highest nighttime low temperatures even going all the way down to DC.
And with all the concrete and major need to clean snow (the Dec. 26 blizzard being a rare exception), at least in the city itself snow is usually gone a lot faster than places even near the city.
For those who think NYC weather is cold, snowy and awful, just live a mere hour north and west of it and you'll feel a lot different. Most natives of the northeast (except maybe going south to southern NJ through Philly/Baltimore/DC) actually consider our winters to be pretty "wimpy", just ask someone from Boston or upstate NY.
I find most of the people who love CA and hate NY are usually long-time native NYers with a "grass is always greener" complex
I personally do think CA is beautiful and had a possible opportunity to move there about 15 years ago, but I think at least LA and maybe San Fran have issues similar to NYC just because they are simply large cities (in the case of LA very large almost in they NYC mode.....a little myth to bust, NYC metro is almost as "sprawled" as LA, we just don't notice it as much because of our much superior public transit......look at a map of northern NJ or Long Island (or even the northern LI Sound shore covering Westchester and Connecticut) and don't tell me we don't have LA-sized sprawl........people in other parts of the country find our commute times outrageous too......even people "near" us like those in Hartford or Albany).
No place is "perfect".
Agreed 100%. The main reason why almost everyone doesn't consider NYC (out of Manhattan) and its suburbs to be sprawl is the public transportation system, which is the best in the country. You got NJ Transit (Buses and Trains), the subway, Metro-North RR, LIRR, and Coach USA along with other bus lines all come together into Manhattan (the main CBD). Even with all of that we still got the longest commute times in the country! Go figure. You'd think maybe Miami or LA with all the amount of traffic, but nope it's NYC.
We complain it's too hot and then it's too cold. It rains too much or it snows too much. There are many other places which have worse weather than NYC. The reason why it's sooo hard for NYC to really have those brutal cold temps is the heat island effect. Humans, a whole another city with all the underground equipment, tons of road traffic, buildings, subways all produce heat.
Nightcrawler, I also am looking to move to CA in the next few years, and I notice a lot of people say "Oh, but there are earthquakes, mudslides, and so much traffic, and the people are fake" etc, etc. Nine times out of ten, these people have never even been out to California, but they have these tales of doom and gloom. Sometimes I think it's just jealousy.
I honestly am not worried about those things! I am just looking forward to the change, and not having to deal with the depression I inevitably get every winter here in NY, not that the summers are so wonderful either. Like you said, I am looking forward to the sunny, warm weather.
Sometimes I feel you can't tell people your dream because they will just try to bring you down with negativity.
But some of us actually have lived in California, and in San Diego, where the OP is looking to move.
Weather: you will not see snow, probably not, unless you have the financial means to go up to Big Bear, which is what a lot of San Diegans do because the weather is so meh. You get the occasional hailstorm, and frost in winter, and "June gloom" -- you will rarely see the sun in June in SD County. Year-round the temp. drops by 20 - 30 degrees after dark, and most non-natives are unprepared for this. It may be 75 at 3:00, and at 5:30 it may be 45-50 degrees. You do need a heater and a warm jacket. The sun sets early there, year-round. The air temp on SD beaches is around 60 - 65 degrees including summer, and if you've never dipped your toe in the Pacific, you're in for a shock.
Transportation: someone on this thread complained about trains stopping due to snow. OP will not have that issue b/c there is no public transport in SD County. (I would not advise anyone to take public buses in SD). To go anywhere from point A to B takes hours and hours in your car, because traffic on the 15 and the 5 is unbelievable. Take the time estimated on your GPS and double it, then double it again. Poway to La Jolla can sometimes take you 4 hours, but your GPS tells you 45 minutes.
Earthquakes, Wildfires, etc.: Most buildings are built 'to code' now, meaning they won't fall down. During a shaker, though, stuff will break and nerves get rattled. Very expensive to build to code, BTW.
Fires -- yeah, 2 years after I left San Diego I watched on the news my entire neighborhood go up in flames. I watched my former house go, I watched my neighbors' houses go. Calls to friends and neighbors went unreturned for a while as infrastructure (and communications) destroyed by fire. Remember that the entire southwest is completely dependent on Hoover Dam and the Colorado River that trickles to SoCA. Lack of water is a problem that won't go away soon.
People: If you're looking for a haven where people are just chill, post-60's sunny personalities with flowers in their hair, you probably won't find it in San Diego. I don't think I've ever lived in a place where people are so tightly-wound (except maybe Scarsdale, hah). For the most part they are uptight and angry. I wouldn't say they are 'fake', but they seem to always be distracted and 'not there', it's hard to explain. I think the high cost of things makes everyone nervous and workaholic, foreclosure is always looming (bubble economy burst). There is a lot of tension between the right-wing conservatives (big, big presence, somewhat due to the many military installations in the area) and the supposed 'border-crossers' and all the other 'invaders'.
N.B. on Palm Springs: I would spend a long vacation there before you decide to move there. PS is probably a barrel of laughs if you're 75 years old or above. Not that there's anything wrong with hanging with the geriatric set.
Of course I did like you -- moved to CA singin' The Mamas & the Papas "California Dreamin'" but please be prepared for reality.
Personally? I like the honesty of New Yorkers (they say what they mean and mean what they say), and since I have a house in New England, I think -- New York cold and snow? Small potatahs!
Honestly, I have never been as depressed in my life since moving here. I haven't seen the sun in almost a week now, and the snow, rain, sleet is never ending.
I feel it's very unhealthy also. The human body needs Vitamin D and the sun is a good source.
And last summer was so unbearably hot that I didn't even spend as much time outside as I normally like to.
How do you native NYers do it?? How do you stay sane in this depressing, dreary place?
I understand the cold and the snow, but haven't seen the sun? What are you talking about, the sun is out right now as I speak, aside from the three snow storms and the one time it rained, I've seen the sun every other day. I think your depression is purely psychosymatic and you geniuenly just don't like the city or cold weather, but don't make up stuff like we're in Norway or Anchorage. If you really think you're lacking vitamin D drink milk. Don't get me wrong I don't like January or February weather, but people from places without seasons tend to really exaggerate about the weather here. I moved here from Florida, and the summers were waaaay too long with intense sweltering heat from April to late September, having to shower several times a day because you sweat so much. In Montreal I slipped on dry ice in June, everywhere has undesirable parts of its weather NYC is not alone.
Agreed 100%. The main reason why almost everyone doesn't consider NYC (out of Manhattan) and its suburbs to be sprawl is the public transportation system, which is the best in the country. You got NJ Transit (Buses and Trains), the subway, Metro-North RR, LIRR, and Coach USA along with other bus lines all come together into Manhattan (the main CBD). Even with all of that we still got the longest commute times in the country! Go figure. You'd think maybe Miami or LA with all the amount of traffic, but nope it's NYC.
We complain it's too hot and then it's too cold. It rains too much or it snows too much. There are many other places which have worse weather than NYC. The reason why it's sooo hard for NYC to really have those brutal cold temps is the heat island effect. Humans, a whole another city with all the underground equipment, tons of road traffic, buildings, subways all produce heat.
um sorry even without the public transportation system nyc out of manhattan is not sprawl. Maybe the the suburbs but the boroughs are not sprawled either with public transportation or not.
um sorry even without the public transportation system nyc out of manhattan is not sprawl. Maybe the the suburbs but the boroughs are not sprawled either with public transportation or not.
Guess you haven't been to Staten Island and Eastern Queens.
um sorry even without the public transportation system nyc out of manhattan is not sprawl. Maybe the the suburbs but the boroughs are not sprawled either with public transportation or not.
You are not getting the gist what he is saying. He is comparing The LA metro area to the NY metro area. I agree they are both large urban sprawls. The only differece is most of LA is entirely dependent on the freeway system. NY is not.
Guess you haven't been to Staten Island and Eastern Queens.
Why is eastern Queens lacking a subway system? The subway in the Bronx almost reaches Westchester.
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Seriously, lucky you! That will be me soon! 
