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I moved to south Florida from the Midwest, just after graduating from college. Where I worked (for 41+ years) was just 1/2 mile inland from Biscayne Bay. I had to spend a few hours during every week outdoors, all year. When I was younger, the heat/humidity did not bother me as much as during the last 15 years or so, as I've gotten older. The heat begins in April, humidity builds up in mid May through October. It is as hot as Hell! I don't agree with you. I don't want to stay imprisoned in air conditioning for 8 months of the year. In cool/cold weather, I can put layers of clothing on and work or play outside. The high heat and humidity just drains my energy! I live 10 miles inland.
People react differently to various climates. I guess that I'm one of those people who have lost my tolerance of hot temperatures. I also miss spring and fall which, in south Florida, is nothing like people experience north of the subtropics. I'm an 'outdoors' person and always have been. Growing up in the Midwest, I would sit outdoors and do my homework. I realize there are many days when it will be too cold to do this, but I feel trapped indoors when it is soooooooo hot and humid.
Forty years can do that to you. For you it's the hot, for us it's the cold. We find heat is on for six months in the North and the AC is on for sx months in the South. We have/had high tolerance for cold and turned the heat on later than many and the same for the AC, we tolerate heat/humidity well and don't turn on the AC until later than many also. That's from living in an old house with no AC for 30 years in the North.
We adjust to where we live and deal with the downsides, there are plenty in both regions. I like both and am happy in either one, but have 60 years of cold winters that make a warm winter more enjoyable at this point.
I moved to south Florida from the Midwest, just after graduating from college. Where I worked (for 41+ years) was just 1/2 mile inland from Biscayne Bay. I had to spend a few hours during every week outdoors, all year. When I was younger, the heat/humidity did not bother me as much as during the last 15 years or so, as I've gotten older. The heat begins in April, humidity builds up in mid May through October. It is as hot as Hell! I don't agree with you. I don't want to stay imprisoned in air conditioning for 8 months of the year. In cool/cold weather, I can put layers of clothing on and work or play outside. The high heat and humidity just drains my energy! I live 10 miles inland.
People react differently to various climates. I guess that I'm one of those people who have lost my tolerance of hot temperatures. I also miss spring and fall which, in south Florida, is nothing like people experience north of the subtropics. I'm an 'outdoors' person and always have been. Growing up in the Midwest, I would sit outdoors and do my homework. I realize there are many days when it will be too cold to do this, but I feel trapped indoors when it is soooooooo hot and humid.
I'm with you, no matter how many cuss words some other poster may choose to direct my way.
When I was 18 years old in 1962 I relocated to Baton Rouge, Louisiana to attend Louisiana State University. Back in those stone age days, not all the dorms were even air conditioned yet, and I lived in one that was not for two years. My primitive old car was not air conditioned either, and I spent a lot of time outdoors - was in the marching band for one thing.
Yes, I acclimated. That's how one acclimates - by not having air conditioning to retreat to!
Well, I moved away from southern Louisiana, first to Germany and then back to Los Angeles, but I continued to visit my mother in Baton Rouge every other year, usually staying with her in her (air conditioned) apartment for a couple of weeks. Also, her car was air conditioned. The acclimation was gone, never to return. Like almost everyone in that region, I fled from air conditioned dwelling to air conditioned car to air conditioned restaurants, stores, and offices. I even tried going out before the sun was up to jog, but in that climate it did not work, and I returned drenched in sweat. It was miserable to the max, exactly like Gainesville, Florida was. I didn't need more than the two days in Gainesville to come to that conclusion, either. Two days was one day too many.
This Florida talk, the pros and con's all really boil down to one thing, Humidty. You pick your posin, it's Florida and other places along the Gulf , or you go to the SW states like AZ. And NM. Where it's so dry you start to forget, for a moment that it's 100 out side! Florida is more humid than hot, which makes living there difficult .The SW is better for most aging people, it's just a lot of folks don,t like the thought of living in the desert.
Well said. Both are extremes. But then again, it is downright humid in much of the country unless you go West. For many, West is a natural place to be, it's doable. For those with close ties in the East, or who are East Coast natives, the West option seems extreme.
I agree with the poster who says we acclimate to wherever we are...if there is a good reason to be wherever we are. As retirees, we have more options of course b/c we are not tied to a location due to a career/job. When I was working FT I hardly ever thought about the winters up here. And the "weathermen/women" and the media made no big deal about snowstorms and temps, winter was winter so what did anyone expect?
Now that I'm seeing 70 in the not-distant future, and the media is whipping up the horrors of winter, and I'm feeling the difficulties of it, yes I am tempted to look at options...but for me personally, the two choices waver between the extremes of SW parched heat and drowning in FL humidity. I don't like those choices.
Forty years can do that to you. For you it's the hot, for us it's the cold. We find heat is on for six months in the North and the AC is on for sx months in the South. We have/had high tolerance for cold and turned the heat on later than many and the same for the AC, we tolerate heat/humidity well and don't turn on the AC until later than many also. That's from living in an old house with no AC for 30 years in the North.
We adjust to where we live and deal with the downsides, there are plenty in both regions. I like both and am happy in either one, but have 60 years of cold winters that make a warm winter more enjoyable at this point.
I would like to hear your story of how you made the transition from North to South, what age, what concerns, what challenges, etc. Of course you have family in FL so it's a huge incentive to be there. Would you have moved to FL if you didn't have family there? How ARE you dealing with the long heat/humid months? What are some of the downsides? (and where in FL are you, may I ask). That should help Northerners considering relocating there.
Well said. Both are extremes. But then again, it is downright humid in much of the country unless you go West. For many, West is a natural place to be, it's doable. For those with close ties in the East, or who are East Coast natives, the West option seems extreme.
I agree with the poster who says we acclimate to wherever we are...if there is a good reason to be wherever we are. As retirees, we have more options of course b/c we are not tied to a location due to a career/job. When I was working FT I hardly ever thought about the winters up here. And the "weathermen/women" and the media made no big deal about snowstorms and temps, winter was winter so what did anyone expect?
Now that I'm seeing 70 in the not-distant future, and the media is whipping up the horrors of winter, and I'm feeling the difficulties of it, yes I am tempted to look at options...but for me personally, the two choices waver between the extremes of SW parched heat and drowning in FL humidity. I don't like those choices.
i do think that weather reporting as an industry in itself has helped in focusing on this element to a greater degree than ever before. now every possibility of snow, ice, sleet turns into "eye on the storm"reporting, on the local station, with the weather- reports on the road, the changing weather map, predictions of how much and when,- being showcased. i do think that years ago weather was more taken for granted and accepted, but now, of course, a minute change in wind velocity or snow storm path can be reported instantly.
also i think we have more options in having control, so to speak, with the weather. we can take a plane to florida for a few weeks if we don't like the cold up north,whereas 30 years ago, probably only a small segment of the population had these options. people are living longer and retirement planning may be about decades rather than 5-8 years. so weather and climate become more important.
i'm writing this in a hurry, so somewhat disjointed, but, it seems that more choices and more information have , in some cases, only created more frustration.
i'm writing this in a hurry, so somewhat disjointed, but, it seems that more choices and more information have , in some cases, only created more frustration.
casty girl
I agree. I am always reminded of my parents' good friends, a couple who wanted, in their late 40s, to move from here to the PNW. It was their dream for some reason, probably based on hearsay and maybe one trip there. There was no Internet, no other media reporting on "locations," no slick regional magazines, nothing other than what was gleaned by instinct or by a friend or relative living in the other location. They somehow did it, relocated, and the husband died shortly after from a heart attack and the wife, having no family there, moved back here to square one. I think about that sad case, and that lost dream, but I am also amazed at how decisions were made before the tech/instant media age. I imagine that most who moved to the Golden State moved there in similar circumstances (if not for job reasons)
i do think that weather reporting as an industry in itself has helped in focusing on this element to a greater degree than ever before. now every possibility of snow, ice, sleet turns into "eye on the storm"reporting, on the local station, with the weather- reports on the road, the changing weather map, predictions of how much and when,- being showcased. i do think that years ago weather was more taken for granted and accepted, but now, of course, a minute change in wind velocity or snow storm path can be reported instantly.
also i think we have more options in having control, so to speak, with the weather. we can take a plane to florida for a few weeks if we don't like the cold up north,whereas 30 years ago, probably only a small segment of the population had these options. people are living longer and retirement planning may be about decades rather than 5-8 years. so weather and climate become more important.
i'm writing this in a hurry, so somewhat disjointed, but, it seems that more choices and more information have , in some cases, only created more frustration.
casty girl
I think the largest factor in where we wind up, or gravitate towards, is still distance related more than the choice of humid or just hot. For example , if you are from Mn. ( a dividing line ) it's more likely you will wind up in the SW than Florida. The same goes for northern Wi. and far north Mi. as well. Florida is a slam dunk if you are from ,say Ohio or Ny.
I make these divides , painted with a broad brush, and I agree those quickly decided trips during your working years, to hop a plane to Orlando, is a deciding factor as to where you go when the choice comes around in retirement. One of the reasons it's turned out this way is also what's " trendy" too. Taking a look as what history tells us , Florida has lived the boom and bust factor for longer than I have been around. The SW has not evolved that way when it comes to your " second home" or final residence choices. The largest factor for retirement areas in the SW has been the influence coming from the closer largely populated places, Calif. being the leading place. Making the move from NJ. to Scottsdale is more a long term, no return ,final decision., while NJ folks have been going to Florida forever, many maintaing residences in both places.
This distance thing holds a lot more than just miles, Florida is actually quite concentrated in comparisons to other warm places. Throw in the affordable factor ( that's related to distance too ) where interior Fl.can be accessible to retires on limited budgets much more so than transplanting ones self in the middle of the Sonora Desert.
For me to be happy, I need to be able to spend time outside every day. It turns out, I found my bliss in Crescent City, CA, where the weather is very mild year round. It's not a fancy town, by any stretch of the imagination, but the people are friendly, and the ocean is in my front yard and the giant redwood forest is in my backyard, and it's never too cold (no snow!) or too hot. Temps range pretty much year-round at 50 - 70 degrees.
While I still work, I am in my mid 50s. I can do a lot of my work from home.
We chose a place that is convenient to the rest of the country by car (Long Island was not) has a very low cost of living, (we want to travel more) moderate politics, friendly people and 4 seasons. Eventually, we want to spend Jan. and Feb. in FL.
We also have access to some of the finest health care in the country at the nearby Cleveland Clinic.
While I still work, I am in my mid 50s. I can do a lot of my work from home.
We chose a place that is convenient to the rest of the country by car (Long Island was not) has a very low cost of living, (we want to travel more) moderate politics, friendly people and 4 seasons. Eventually, we want to spend Jan. and Feb. in FL.
We also have access to some of the finest health care in the country at the nearby Cleveland Clinic.
Moved to North East Ohio and we love it.
Granted you improved your location in a realistic way ,but..........Cleveland, Oh. ? There are better picks than that I am sure, and still be reasonably close to the Clinic.......Your other option move to an area where Mayo Clinic is convent.
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The issue of acclimation
