How Do You Tolerate the Summers in the Southeast (state, relative, accidents)
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We moved to Maine this fall. Despite having a throw-back winter this year, with low temps and LOTS of snow, I've felt warmer here. When I'm outside, I'm bundled up, and the cold is dry - no humidity. It makes a huge difference. And inside, we have a pellet stove that keeps our living space very comfortable - much warmer and more comfortable than our Virginia heat pump ever could!
I wondered about Maine this winter, if it got so bone-chilling as in other areas. You are right about damp-cold, bad for old bones (and the spirit).
What I'm gathering so far is that some midAtlantic/Southern folks are faring better than when they were in the North, but that the humidity and ice still don't make for a hugely different winter. It confirms my conviction that it's either Florida or California (within the States) if one wants easy winters.
I wondered about Maine this winter, if it got so bone-chilling as in other areas. You are right about damp-cold, bad for old bones (and the spirit).
What I'm gathering so far is that some midAtlantic/Southern folks are faring better than when they were in the North, but that the humidity and ice still don't make for a hugely different winter. It confirms my conviction that it's either Florida or California (within the States) if one wants easy winters.
I was born in Boston, and spent the first 14 years of my life there. Then my father was transferred to Washington, D.C., and one thing led to another, and I ended up living in Maryland, D.C., or Virginia for the next 47 years.
I never got used to the weather in that area. Spring there is wonderful, since I don't have allergies. Fall there is wonderful, as it is in many/most/all states.
Summer - to me - is brutal. I think I could take the heat, but the humidity is ugly.
Winters also have humidity. I have felt colder in northern VA when the temps have been in the mid-40's than I have felt this year in Maine with the temps in the mid-20's. Of course, this winter, temps here in the mid-20's have felt downright warm!
And the snow there is rarely snow - it's a wintry mix, and it features a lot of ice. Every once in a while ... every 7-10 years ... they get a really big, honest-to-God snow storm that shuts down the area for a number of days. But more often than not, it's 1-4 inches of mostly slush, and the roads are treacherous.
Florida and California have their own problems/drawbacks, but harsh winters don't appear to be among them.
It's not for me, but .... I know some Mainers who used to winter in Alabama along the Gulf Coast, and they enjoyed mild winters with nice off-the-water breezes.
In the past 6 weeks, we've been to CT twice,(where we had lived all our lives) to SoCal once(visit sister) and in between back to NC, our new full time home ( and summer vacation area for 25 years).
CT: horrible biting cold , driving/black ice worries, and being stuck inside made us glad we were out of it.The summers were frequently too chilly for even the grandkids to want to go in the pool.
SoCal First visit there, LOVED the dry heat, in the 60-70's daytime, dropped down drastically at night we did have to put the heat on most nights.
Southeastern NC. Winter has varied natives say it's been unusually cold. Still, we're out and about , even at night. Able to plan on going places without the weather dictating our activities.The colder air can be dampish, we're near the coast. We have a small gas fireplace that takes the chill off when the heat pump is not able to (below 40°).
Yes, we live in a/c in the summer. The nights can be humid for indoor sleeping, but outside are pleasant and we get the advantage of cooling breezes from being near the coast. Spring and fall are long and pleasant, so the couple of very hot monthes is a good trade off, IMO.
And I guess we're more casual in this part of the south, as we hang onto the summer wardrobe as long as possible:khakis, sandals and shorts.A few of the guys were wearing shorts in January!
Oh, no dank smell here, but there is the low tide smell near the marshes which we had in CT also.
Hope this was helpful!
I live in Orlando area at the moment and although it gets hot and humid in the summers, I don't have a problem with it. Just go outside and let the sea breeze puff over your body. You may feel the heat at first but soon the sea breeze becomes a natural air conditioner. Folks down here do outdoor stuff and water sports. That helps too.
Just curious, did they move Orlando closer to the Atlantic ocean? I've been to Orlando many times and I thought it was about 1/2 way between the Atlantic and the gulf.
Since the nights in the south are not as long as they are in the north in winter, you don't get that gloomy winter blues that is so common.
That is one of the key issues for me. I get depressed when the days become too short. For example, when we left for Virginia this Dec. it was pitch dark like the middle of the night at 4:15. As we drove south, the sun began progressively setting a little bit later. In two days we arrived in Virginia and the sun was setting at 5:30.
"Winter" there was great--the longer days were like a bonus and it made me feel a whole lot better. Some days were cool and you needed a light jacket, other days you could get by without a jacket. I wore long cotton pants and regular shoes, no boots, no hat, no gloves.
I've been there before in winter when it was almost warm, other winters it was cool. But never, ever was it filled with day after day of sub freezing cold with ice and snow. I love snow--not so much now that I am older--but I have nothing against it. It's simply the danger of dealing with it when you are older and having your plans dictated and ruled by it.
Virginia is a big state so the climate varies, of course. I want to live by the coast to be near my sister who works in Chesapeake and I like being near the ocean. It's the summers that I worry about. So SE Virginia or maybe somewhere near the coast of NC.
Thank you for asking this question. We lived in Florida for almost six years and the summers were unbearable. All the things I loved, walking, gardening, bicycling, had to be strategically planned for ahead. I took my walks at dawn, sometimes before sun up, I gardened before 8 am but eventually hired people to do it for me. Biking was a dusk to dark activity. It's not a heat you get used to. We began taking our walks in malls. You can always put on layers of clothes and embrace a northern winter but my first rude awakening came when I walked the beach in June, my feet in the water, and I was so sweaty wet that I had to go straight home and shower. It sucks.
you get use to it, average temp here in summer around 95, i get cold anything under 70. you just get use to it. i don't even run the a/c in my house, just ceiling fans
I have been wondering the same thing since we haven't crossed a beach location in NC, SC, or Florida off our list quite yet.
I know in Phoenix different people react differently to the intense summer (dry) heat. And I'm with Texdav above in being able to tolerate intense heat but finding the cold physically painful even though I've lived in Montana with cold winters all my life. Yet for ipoetry it's the opposite.
In Phoenix (not the question you asked, I know, but same point) some people HATE the "oven-blast" of heat; I enjoy it for the most part, and relish stepping out of an air-conditioned store into the warmth. (Not so much getting into the 200 degree car, lol) Some people go from AC to AC while others golf in 115 degrees! For me, having the heat last all night wears on me, but other than that I would gladly trade the hot summers in Phx for the cold winters I've spent my life hating. A cold drink and a dunk in the pool & I'm fine, but again, the dry heat evaporatively cools me. Not sure it would work that way out east...?
Point is I think it's different for everyone and unfortunately there's no way to find out whether you can stand it except by committing to spend a lot of time in the new location--logistically difficult for most of us, I think!
I have never spent more than two weeks in a humid summer location, but I did find Kentucky in July a bit sticky.....
We visited coastal SoCal last week and found it much too chilly, though very beautiful. This is good news since we can't afford it anyway! lol I found myself pining for Phoenix in spite of the beautiful beach views.
So we'll be heading to Florida in the heat of the summer this year just to see how it feels to us. I am thinking I don't do well with damp, and this will be the end of my dream of a beach home....but we'll see. Different people like different things, and maybe I'll love the humidity. I am looking forward to reading others' responses and experiences, but unfortunately I have come to the conclusion that I might see things differently from the next guy and this is the one area where C-D can't fill in the blanks of first-hand experience.
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