4 months of Texas summers versus 4 months of Midwest/Northeast winters (Houston: to buy, pros and cons)

[Arkay66]

Let's see: Today is 11 Dec. We attended the village Christmas Parade. Sunny, clear skies for the Commemorative Air Force flyover, 68 degrees, humidity in the low 30s, all the parade participants in summer clothing (except poor Santa and Mrs. Claus). Now we're enjoying open windows and a pleasant breeze as we put up our Christmas tree.

My cousin in western Montana is still trying to dig himself out of the snow, and winter hasn't even arrived there officially.

Yeah, I'll take living in a house where I only turn on the heat a few times a year for 3-4 days to living at umpteen degrees below 0 for months and months.

No contest.

[C24L]

Originally Posted by Arkay66

Let's see: Today is 11 Dec. We attended the village Christmas Parade. Sunny, clear skies for the Commemorative Air Force flyover, 68 degrees, humidity in the low 30s, all the parade participants in summer clothing (except poor Santa and Mrs. Claus). Now we're enjoying open windows and a pleasant breeze as we put up our Christmas tree.

My cousin in western Montana is still trying to dig himself out of the snow, and winter hasn't even arrived there officially.

Yeah, I'll take living in a house where I only turn on the heat a few times a year for 3-4 days to living at umpteen degrees below 0 for months and months.

No contest.

Actually today is December 14 not the 11th,Arkay66.

[GoldenHair]

Texas wins. You do not have to shovel heat. Shoveling snow breaks your back.

[Seguinite]

I've been in Texas for nearly 40 years. Only in the last few has the heat really gotten to me. Going to retire in southeast Nebraska. Don't like the snow, but the cold doesn't bother me.

[kemahkami]

I find both cold and heat easy to deal with - you just layer up, or dress light, respectively.

But cold, in general, is more detrimental when it comes to agriculture, horticulture, and biodiversity - the colder a place in, the less value the land has regarding those key economic and QOL purposes. This relationship stands regardless of if the cold is dry or wet, gloomy or sunny, rainy or snowy, etc. In contrast, heat alone is never detrimental to outdoor agriculture, and becomes a problem only when accompanied by drought of lengthy duration - and even then, the problem is overcome by the use of sustainable irrigation.

Hence, you get plenty of important cash crops and tropical plantings occurring in areas that see heat just like Texas, whereas you see no such occurrence in areas that see winters like the Northeast/Midwest. Same goes for the emergence of civilization cradles, you have Egypt, China, and Indus that can see heat just like Texas, yet no areas that see sustained freezing cold.

[Treasurevalley92]

Originally Posted by ScrappyJoe

I find both cold and heat easy to deal with - you just layer up, or dress light, respectively.

But cold, in general, is more detrimental when it comes to agriculture, horticulture, and biodiversity - the colder a place in, the less value the land has regarding those key economic and QOL purposes. This relationship stands regardless of if the cold is dry or wet, gloomy or sunny, rainy or snowy, etc. In contrast, heat alone is never detrimental to outdoor agriculture, and becomes a problem only when accompanied by drought of lengthy duration - and even then, the problem is overcome by the use of sustainable irrigation.

Hence, you get plenty of important cash crops and tropical plantings occurring in areas that see heat just like Texas, whereas you see no such occurrence in areas that see winters like the Northeast/Midwest. Same goes for the emergence of civilization cradles, you have Egypt, China, and Indus that can see heat just like Texas, yet no areas that see sustained freezing cold.

This is a vast over simplification at very best.

For some specific crops, yes, warm weather is necessary. "Bio diversity" though isn't the same as productive. The Amazon has very poor soil. Now yes, some particular cash crops like cotton or tobacco prefer hot weather, and of course there is citrus.

There are plenty of plants that don't grow well in Texas because we don't get consistent hard freezes. cherries, lentils, cranberries, rye, huckleberry etc etc.

I was talking to a farmer who farms just east of Waco and he mentioned he gets much less productivity per acre for corn than northern climates.

Another issue you run into with "Bio Diversity" is that you have many more diseases and pests to destroy your crops. You need to spray more pesticides in the south.

Farm land in Iowa is much more productive and hence worth more than Farmland in Texas.

Part of the reason vast ranches were accumulated over time is because our land is cheap.

You could argue that early agricultural society preferred warmer weather. That is true, but as soon as people developed the tech they began doing agriculture in colder climates as well. There are certainly advantages to living in cooler climates. With modern practices and tech southern places don't hold a huge advantage like they did 5k years ago.

If southern land was really so much better the land in the Southern US would be worth a whole lot more than it currently is, but it isn't. Texas is the only Southern State in the Top 10 states for Agg value. The next one after that is Georgia at 14.

[Treasurevalley92]

Originally Posted by Arkay66

Let's see: Today is 11 Dec. We attended the village Christmas Parade. Sunny, clear skies for the Commemorative Air Force flyover, 68 degrees, humidity in the low 30s, all the parade participants in summer clothing (except poor Santa and Mrs. Claus). Now we're enjoying open windows and a pleasant breeze as we put up our Christmas tree.

My cousin in western Montana is still trying to dig himself out of the snow, and winter hasn't even arrived there officially.

Yeah, I'll take living in a house where I only turn on the heat a few times a year for 3-4 days to living at umpteen degrees below 0 for months and months.

No contest.

I don't think it is any surprise that people in Texas prefer the heat, they live in a hot spot.

The weather this weekend was nice, but too warm for the time of year.

I'd take western Montana snow any day of the week. So much do do outdoors there. Winter is one of my favorite times to be up in the mountains and woods...its so quiet and you can see all sorts of tracks in the snow.

[kemahkami]

Originally Posted by Treasurevalley92

This is a vast over simplification at very best.

For some specific crops, yes, warm weather is necessary. "Bio diversity" though isn't the same as productive. The Amazon has very poor soil. Now yes, some particular cash crops like cotton or tobacco prefer hot weather, and of course there is citrus.

There are plenty of plants that don't grow well in Texas because we don't get consistent hard freezes. cherries, lentils, cranberries, rye, huckleberry etc etc.

I was talking to a farmer who farms just east of Waco and he mentioned he gets much less productivity per acre for corn than northern climates.

Another issue you run into with "Bio Diversity" is that you have many more diseases and pests to destroy your crops. You need to spray more pesticides in the south.

Farm land in Iowa is much more productive and hence worth more than Farmland in Texas.

Part of the reason vast ranches were accumulated over time is because our land is cheap.

You could argue that early agricultural society preferred warmer weather. That is true, but as soon as people developed the tech they began doing agriculture in colder climates as well. There are certainly advantages to living in cooler climates. With modern practices and tech southern places don't hold a huge advantage like they did 5k years ago.

If southern land was really so much better the land in the Southern US would be worth a whole lot more than it currently is, but it isn't. Texas is the only Southern State in the Top 10 states for Agg value. The next one after that is Georgia at 14.

There are way more crops and plants need warm enough weather to survive compared to those needing colder weather. Matter of fact, even the cold-loving crops don't need the freezing cold of the North, only a bit of upper 30s to low 40s chilliness. As a result, Texas and Southern states can grow all the cold loving crops along with exclusive species that won't survive up North. The only handicap for Southern states with agriculture come from how much the land is tied up to private ownership, along with suburban sprawl constructs - otherwise, Iowa and the Midwest are essentially replaceable.

In the case of biodiversity, the productivity manifests within the ecologic complexity, as well as the resultant QOL experiences. Warmer areas experience much more benign weather conditions, at least with regards to consistency - this allowed the evolution and perseverance of intricate, multi-webbed food chains and speciations, in turn crafting a more mature, interesting, and dynamic ecosystem. The Amazon Rainforest oozes with unique life, hence why it's perhaps the Earth's key ecological jewel. In contrast, the Northern US forest is very boring, filled with the same species that can be found everywhere else in the US - even Texas, dry as much of the state is, features more interesting and unique biodiversity in its landscapes than the Northern US.

These benefits even extend to cultivated plants in urban areas. Texas cities have a decent selection of evergreen trees, flowers, even palm trees, the North doesn't have near as much options.

So, there's no doubt that cold weather has its fans, along with some reasonable benefits. But as per ecological and historic-settlement patterns, it's pretty clear that cold just naturally isn't as sustaining and valuable as warm climates.

[KathrynAragon]

I hate to state the obvious, and I don't mean "If you don't like it here, why don't you move?" but honestly - if a person doesn't like long, hot summers, maybe they should consider living somewhere other than Texas. Most of Texas has long, hot summers and mild winters. It just IS that way. No amount of liking or disliking it is going to change a weather pattern.

May as well live where you love to live. Life is short - enjoy it!

[Frustratedintelligence]

Originally Posted by Treasurevalley92

If southern land was really so much better the land in the Southern US would be worth a whole lot more than it currently is, but it isn't. Texas is the only Southern State in the Top 10 states for Agg value. The next one after that is Georgia at 14.

Is that based solely on the type of crops grown? Because the south seems great for growing many things, but not the most popular foods apparently. I'd bet peanuts are the sole reason for GA being #14.