A life of perfect weather nearly everyday of the year (San Diego: to live, vacations)

[saibot]

Originally Posted by Gerania

I can do that in PA. It got up to 58° here yesterday near Philadelphia and Blue Mountain ski resort in the Poconos is open.

https://www.skibluemt.com/mountain-cams/

Right. But the difference that although we have snow accessible, we never have to deal with it personally, unless we want to.

And we would never say, "Wow, it got up to 58!"

[stablegenius]

Originally Posted by tstieber

I mean, it depends on what you think is warm. The last few weeks have been around 60f for the high temp and 30-45 at night. It's not Chicago, but to me, that's not warm per se. But sometimes, there are warm days in water. It's not like Hawaii or Miami though. Overall, I think the weather is perfect bc it's not like that, but it's also not like the cold weather places. Gentle seasons. "Spring comes in summer, summer comes in fall, fall comes in winter, and winter not at all."

Right, there is a misconception by outsiders that it’s actually warm here all the time and that’s not true.

[NORTY FLATZ]

Originally Posted by stablegenius

Right, there is a misconception by outsiders that it’s actually warm here all the time and that’s not true.

True, they think "Babewatch" and it's like this 12 months a year. (It's only 10 months, honest!)

The other "shocker" is that the ocean water temperature is 60F right now, getting up to 72ish in the Summer.

If it were like Florida, we'd be like Florida. Bugs included.

Including hurricanes. (Hillary exempted...)

And Hillary was nothing, compared to the energy and lives lost from Hurricanes in the South.

[CatWarmer]

I grew up in Michigan then lived in Chicagoland basically for the next 40 years, city and suburbs. Chicago was a great city - museums, architecture, restaurants - but they kept having winter every darn year. Finally after a drive back from Ft. Lauderdale during a winter break, where we hit sleet in Indiana and woke up to several inches of snow, I had an epiphany. I didn't have to live there for the rest of my life!

It took five years to convince my husband, and another five years to make it happen. We scoured the country with a long list of criteria and in the end, San Diego won. We had vacationed here several times and husband had been to many conventions also. We tested it out for a couple of months one winter before finalizing the decision.

Is it perfect weather? No - there were a few myths that were disproven: It never rains, there are no bugs, it's always warm and sunny. We live on Point Loma and learned that the nearby ocean meant that it really isn't all that sunny throughout the spring. And our temperatures might be 10-15 degrees lower than inland. And that there are four temperate zones in San Diego county - coastal, inland, mountain, and desert.

That being said, I love love love living here and have not regretted it for one minute, nor do I miss snow and ice and cold. (Our old hometown was -8 degrees this morning.) I do sometimes miss spring flowers and fall leaves, but I had decades of that and it's a fair trade off to look out over our pool at our lemon and palm trees and Birds of Paradise plants.

Also living here during the pandemic likely saved my sanity. When everything was closed, I could still go for walks in my neighborhood and nearby through all seasons. I don't think I've dined indoors at a restaurant this whole time - almost everywhere has outdoor dining and heat lamps when necessary. Husband goes to a farmers market every Sunday year round and plays outdoor tennis every week.

So no, never bored with the weather and I am fine with ranges from the 40's to the 90's instead of from -26 to +108.

[Vector1]

Originally Posted by carminesnow

Just watched some videos of life down in southern Calif and just wondering how is that life of having nearly perfect weather every single day of the year. Warm, sunny weather almost nonstop all year. Is that life nearly perfection? Or does it get boring/old over time? Just curious.. Interesting

I agree that SD has consistently great weather, and many people prefer it compared to the seasonal changes.
However the pacific is too cold for many people, so parts of FL are a better choice for beachgoers and those into water sports.
As to boring, many would love to have consistent boring weather so you can always plan your outdoor activities without worrying.
I could never live there for many reasons (i.e. costs, taxes, regulations, CA politics, earthquakes, etc.), but it is a great city weatherwise.

[WorldKlas]

SD was our retirement destination and we do love it there. But the tradeoffs in taxes and cost of housing sent us to Las Vegas where weather is great 9-10 months annually and we do our vacationing in those hot summer months to leave. Funny thing is that 75% of our neighbors have moved here from CA!

[AnythingOutdoors]

Originally Posted by Parnassia

Of course, it will depend on what climate a person likes or seems to suit them physically. I was born and grew up in southern OC and found it utterly dull. That sameness grated on me. No seasonal contrast, very little drama. Or course the climate influences people's interests and recreation and how most people spent their time in OC didn't really intrigue me. Even though I'd never lived with it I always dreamed of snow. Couldn't wait to leave. I purposefully attended university and chose a career that took me far, far away and never went back. For me anyway, northern tier states are as far south as I want to be.

Same. I grew up Central Coast with a bit more seasonal variation, yet still utterly dull to me. I'd really miss having four seasons if we ever move back to CA. Snow, fall colors, summer thunderstorms, spring flowers... all of it.

IMO, summer here is far better. No May Grey/June Gloom/No-Sky July/Fogust. Just glorious hot sunny and dry, except the occasional t-storm!

As for outdoor activities, I'm outside more in Boise because there's a seasonality to my activities that keeps things from getting boring. Summer is for fishing, backpacking, camping, river rafting, hiking, mountain biking, swimming. Fall is hunting season and also the best fly fishing, yet still great for mountain biking and early season backpacking (often with hunting mixed in) -- oh and cast-and-blast (chukar hunting in the morning followed by fly fishing). In winter it's skiing, snow shoeing, sledding, building snow forts with the kids. Spring is magical, can ski, mountain bike, and fly fish all in the same day without traveling more than 30 minutes in any direction.

But I get it, not for everyone. That's the beauty of the US, so much variation within a single country. You do you!

[CalWorth]

Not all of California is paradise. There is a lot of desert. I grew up there. It sucked.

I lived most of my adult life in San Diego. The mild weather made it easier to get outside all times of the year. But it started to get hotter. Unless you live right at the beach, you will need a/c, which wasn’t always the case. I only lived 8 miles from the ocean with no a/c. All the new buildings (due to crowds of people moving there) blocked the ocean breeze & there were many very hot days in the last 5 of the 20+ years in my last house there.

California also has a lot of wildfires & much of the terrain is very brown, especially SoCal.

If you really live where you say you do, go to coastal Turkey. You could get a cheap flight & not have to deal with psychotic, drug-addicted, tent-dwelling lowlifes.

[FlySD]

Originally Posted by CalWorth

Not all of California is paradise. There is a lot of desert. I grew up there. It sucked.

I lived most of my adult life in San Diego. The mild weather made it easier to get outside all times of the year. But it started to get hotter. Unless you live right at the beach, you will need a/c, which wasn’t always the case. I only lived 8 miles from the ocean with no a/c. All the new buildings (due to crowds of people moving there) blocked the ocean breeze & there were many very hot days in the last 5 of the 20+ years in my last house there.

California also has a lot of wildfires & much of the terrain is very brown, especially SoCal.

If you really live where you say you do, go to coastal Turkey. You could get a cheap flight & not have to deal with psychotic, drug-addicted, tent-dwelling lowlifes.

Yes a lot of older homes do not have AC - only furnaces. I sometimes wonder how they manage on very hot days.

I sometimes do HVAC service work for rental companies. I've been called out due to reports of a non-working AC. When I got there I found the AC was not working because.....there was never an AC to begin with. I tell tenants - especially those from out of state - to verify with the landlord that the home in fact has AC before renting if it important to them and to find a home with AC if they need it.

Many assume that all homes have AC which is not the case.

[1AngryTaxPayer]

We have full HVAC but just don't use it. We do use the wood burning stove and portable AC a few times a year. I hunt and fish all over the US so if I want a fix I just go do it. I truly enjoy my 70 degree average for most of the year. Nothing better than knowing you can ride every day by say 11 am without a heavy coat.

I've deer hunted in local snow in the AM and caught a boat for local tuna in the afternoon.

San Diego not that long ago didn't have all of the big city problems it does now.