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I think many places in the Western U.S. have better weather because it's east of the "humidity line". Here in Denver, we have low humidity year-round, and that's much more conducive to outdoor living. From about mid May to early October, there will be some time nearly every day where it's pleasant to be outdoors. If it's 100 degrees during the day, by 7 p.m. it starts cooling down. Then in Winter, due to the strong sun and low humidity, there are many days where it's pleasant to be outdoors during the afternoon. Plus we get days up in the 60s or even low 70s here and there from Nov. - March. So most homes here have porches or some outdoor living area, and many restaurants have outdoor dining.
I always thought the weather in PA sucked, but it looks like weather in most places is bad for more than half the year.
In PA... its too cold from Nov thru March. May and June are perfect. August and Sept are really nice as well. July is hot as hell. And about half of April and October are pleasantly warm, and the other half of each month is chilly. So that means May, June, Aug, Sept, and 1/2 of Apr and Oct, giving you 5 months of good weather.
I always thought I wanted to move to Texas or somewhere warm, but when i look at it, it doesn't seem to be that much better. Its very nice in Oct, Nov, Mar, Apr, and May. June thru Sept is hot as hell. Dec thru Feb is cold, although not as cold as PA, but still not nice.
It seems like whether you live in a warm or cold climate, unless you live on the California coast or maybe parts of Florida, the weather is only really good for 5 months at best. Are there any places that aren't super expensive where they get a lot of "spring" weather? Or is it true that most places have weather that is either too cold or too hot for the majority of the year? I don't know how much better off i would be in a Southern climate when i really look at it.
While I would agree that parts of the far northern tier of USA suffer from too much cold weather…while parts in the deserts and parts of the far southern tier suffer from a long season of hot weather – I think I think it’s a big stretch to say that most places have bad weather for half the year – at least here in the USA.
Although so much about temp/sunlight/rain…prefaces is personal, studies show that most humans prefer sunny climates (more than 2500 hrs a year) and monthly mean temps from 50 F (10 C) to 80 F (26 C). Although Philly is not so great in terms of these weather variables - here in the USA…there are plenty of climates that fall into that range about 8 months a year – and they are not all coastal cities. Cities like Miami, Los Angeles, Houston, San Diego, Sacramento, Orlando, Las Vegas, Charleston, San Francisco, Corpus Christi, …ect have 8 or more months that fall into a comfortable temperature range. Millions of people live in these cities, never have to deal with snow, cold, desert style heat, constant overcast skies, or the low light of higher latitudes. Most people prefer temps in the 50 to 90 F range and sunshine...any of these cities will have that type of weather for much of the year.
I guess Southern California, too, is pretty much like most other states, getting 5 or 6 months of guaranteed nice warm/hot weather...(July thru December here). While we don't have blizzards or super freezing weather, we get the rainy season from Dec. to March and it gets quite cool (50-55). What is really yucky is the marine layer occurring off and on from April through June... gray, overcast, gloomy, damp, chilly, colorless weather.. (what I call the "stinky gray" days LOL). Definitely not bikini weather! Of course the farther inland you go, like Palm Springs, Borrego Springs, you are in Desert heat areas and hot weather 8 months of the year.
Heck, we'd be really happy with 5 months of nice weather, we get 2 months most years, this summer only 3 weeks.
The weather here has mostly been "nice" since I moved here two and a half months ago. Is Seattle's weather really that much different than Bellingham's? I'd say all but maybe ten days of my 76 days here so far have looked like this:
I was in Seattle Friday, and it was indeed cloudy and cool (though not raining) so I seriously am wondering if Seattle has only really had three weeks of nice weather. That's certainly not been the case up here.
Last edited by Lamplight; 10-18-2011 at 11:36 AM..
I guess Southern California, too, is pretty much like most other states, getting 5 or 6 months of guaranteed nice warm/hot weather...(July thru December here). While we don't have blizzards or super freezing weather, we get the rainy season from Dec. to March and it gets quite cool (50-55). What is really yucky is the marine layer occurring off and on from April through June... gray, overcast, gloomy, damp, chilly, colorless weather.. (what I call the "stinky gray" days LOL). Definitely not bikini weather! Of course the farther inland you go, like Palm Springs, Borrego Springs, you are in Desert heat areas and hot weather 8 months of the year.
How often is it gray in Southern California? I assumed it was still sunny more often than gloomy.
More sunny than not here in SoCalif but those marine layers are pretty often from April to June... most times it "burns off" by around noon and gives way to sun, but the days that are gloom gray damp are so unpleasant. The summer of 2010 was called "The Bummer Summer" here... marine layer days all the month of June through end of July. Tell the truth, I've been colder here on a marine layer day of 60, than a 45 degree day in New England, where it's a sparkling clear blue sky . Dampness always feels colder I guess. Of course when sunny 'n bright here you can't ask for a prettier place
We get 11 and a bit months of winter and maybe a handful of days of spring here.
Personally, good weather to me is comfortably mild (for me 21-26°C), calm winds, dry and pleasant. The kind where you can do anything out of doors without dressing up for the cold or the weather.
Buxton has had 18 days meeting this description for the year 2011.
I always thought the weather in PA sucked, but it looks like weather in most places is bad for more than half the year.
In PA... its too cold from Nov thru March. May and June are perfect. August and Sept are really nice as well. July is hot as hell. And about half of April and October are pleasantly warm, and the other half of each month is chilly. So that means May, June, Aug, Sept, and 1/2 of Apr and Oct, giving you 5 months of good weather.
I always thought I wanted to move to Texas or somewhere warm, but when i look at it, it doesn't seem to be that much better. Its very nice in Oct, Nov, Mar, Apr, and May. June thru Sept is hot as hell. Dec thru Feb is cold, although not as cold as PA, but still not nice.
It seems like whether you live in a warm or cold climate, unless you live on the California coast or maybe parts of Florida, the weather is only really good for 5 months at best. Are there any places that aren't super expensive where they get a lot of "spring" weather? Or is it true that most places have weather that is either too cold or too hot for the majority of the year? I don't know how much better off i would be in a Southern climate when i really look at it.
I live slightly inland from the coast where it's noticeably warmer and sunnier, but I believe weather comes down to personal preference. I love SoCal's climate because of the low humidity and abundant sunshine year-round. The warmth is a plus and we get our share of cooler days as well. I used to live in PA (Scranton area) and the only month I personally liked was July and sometimes August-early Oct. The rest of the year was cold. The overcast skies most of the year and constant rainfall were HUGE downers.
How often is it gray in Southern California? I assumed it was still sunny more often than gloomy.
That all depends on where you are! Coastal areas get more "marine layer" days. It's a low level grey clouds. It generally comes in from the ocean moving to the east, but mountains stop it from going further inland.
I lived in coastal Orange County for a decade and it was almost daily in late May through June, but some days it "burned off" in the afternoon so you would get some sun. It really didn't bother me since it kept the outdoors at room temperature.
I went to college for a couple years in San Bernardino and I remember heading to the beach with friends on numerous hot, sunny days. As we came down the 91 into Orange County, we'd drive into the marine layer and then be disappointed at how cold and overcast it was at the beach, while it was 90 and sunny at home.
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. Dampness always feels colder I guess. Of course when sunny 'n bright here you can't ask for a prettier place 
