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  #61  
Old Posted May 31, 2022, 9:57 PM
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Originally Posted by austlar1 View Post
I'm 76 years old and have lived all over the US at different points in my life. California has the nicest overall climate, but it is possible to find aspects of it objectionable. SF is just too chilly and windy in the summertime unless you live in one of the micro-climates sheltered from the wind and fog. LA is just too damn sunny. Day after day of monotonous sunshine. On the other hand, the weather can be so mild and pleasant that it almost feels like floating in the air. Phoenix was just too much for me. The summer heat cancelled everything else out. Atlanta was agreeable for the most part. Mild winters. Spring and Fall rather beautiful. Summer kind of a humid slog. DC was a lot like Atlanta, except the winters were a bit more rugged and tended to linger into March and early April. I always seemed to have a nasty chest cold by late March or early April in DC. NYC was a slightly colder version of DC. I did not like winters in NY. Summers, especially weekends, were not so bad. BTW, I much prefer east coast beaches (North Carolina all the way up to Provincetown) to California beaches. I grew up in Texas, and now I am back living in Austin. I often regret my decision to return here. The summers are brutal in every way. The allergy season is almost year round, but it is at its worst (Cedar/Mountain Juniper) in the winter when the weather is otherwise usually highly agreeable. I think I might like living in coastal North Carolina for some reason, maybe a nice little city like Wilmington. Oh, well. That's not going to happen. I am beached (and there are no beaches) here in Austin for the duration.
Southern California weather is rather pleasant. I did find myself missing rain at times though.
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  #62  
Old Posted May 31, 2022, 10:07 PM
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Originally Posted by Steely Dan View Post
I've never really give much thought to the "what climate would I like to live in" question.

I was born in Chicago. I've always lived in Chicago. And I will one day die in Chicago.

So whether or not this is a "good" climate is pretty much irrelevant to me. It just is what it is. Little more than background noise.

I sure as shit ain't ever moving somewhere else for something as mundane as the weather.
I feel the same about Phoenix. I haven't always lived here, and am not yet fully resigned to dying here. But I was born here, lived here most of my life, family lives here, and the weather is not going to be a major factor in whether I stay.

I do like the weather. ~8 months of not even really having to think about the weather. And in the extreme summers, I get a sick satisfaction out of accepting the fact that I'm a desert rat, and leaning into the harsh summers. There's a great quote from 'Watership Down' (the novel) where the author muses that "many human beings say that they enjoy the winter, but what they really enjoy is feeling proof against it." I feel the same about our extreme summers: I couldn't say I enjoy them, but there is a satisfaction in enduring them.
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  #63  
Old Posted May 31, 2022, 10:36 PM
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Of Santa Anas, Sundowners and Diablos

One thing I detest about the SoCal climate are the Santa Ana Winds, which bring extremely hot and dry weather to coastal areas. They can strike anytime in the year, but are most common during autumn. They raise the chance of wildfires in the hills, especially in drought years. A similar warm/dry wind in NorCal is called the Diablo (Devil) Wind, and in Santa Barbara I believe they are called sundowners. The terrible Oakland Hills fire in the early 1990s struck during a Diablo, and most of the worst SoCal fires strike in Santa Anas. Fortunately, these winds aren't particularly frequent, especially in NorCal, but when they happen, they are feared.

The common cause of these winds is when the Great Basin cools off in autumn, it usually sets up a high pressure zone over the area. As the high pressure cool air descends from the high elevation Great Basin to the low elevation west coast, it heats up (like a bicycle pump heats up when you pump it). During these adiabatic winds, it is often warmer at the coast than in inland areas, the opposite of the normal pattern.

The winds are less frequent in NorCal than SoCal because the High Sierra usually provides a partial barrier to the descent of the winds from the Great Basin, a barrier not as much of a factor in SoCal. Only the strongest pressure gradients can get the winds over the Sierra crest into NorCal. The winds can move more freely from the GB and Mojave into SoCal.

Last edited by CaliNative; Jun 1, 2022 at 1:35 AM.
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  #64  
Old Posted May 31, 2022, 11:11 PM
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Originally Posted by 10023 View Post
Agree on the benefits of altitude, but I’d move to Mexico City before the American southwest.
Winter generally has horrible pollution, though. And the security situation, while still the best in Mexico, has deteriorated. And good luck finding high quality schools or really anything child-centered with acceptable first world standards.

Outside of winter, the weather is almost perfect, though. And the city is comically inexpensive, if paid in USD. And obviously tons of fun.
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  #65  
Old Posted May 31, 2022, 11:32 PM
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I reject the notion that desert Cities aren't green.







Desert landscaping is a product of Midwestern transplants that like the novelty of low maintenance yards. It doesn't even save substantial amounts of water and contributes to urban heat island.

If anything it should be a requirement we have lawns and big leafy trees in the desert cities and make the commercial agriculture interests and manufacturing companies do better water mitigation.

But no instead they'll make people get rid of lawns and chop down big gorgeous trees
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  #66  
Old Posted May 31, 2022, 11:42 PM
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Originally Posted by Steely Dan View Post
I've never really give much thought to the "what climate would I like to live in" question.

I was born in Chicago. I've always lived in Chicago. And I will one day die in Chicago.

So whether or not this is a "good" climate is pretty much irrelevant to me. It just is what it is. Little more than background noise.

I sure as shit ain't ever moving somewhere else for something as mundane as the weather.
Same here.

I have this fantasy about living in a bucolic place with those very humid forests in temperate areas (New Zealand, Tasmania, Southern Chile, some spots in Europe and Japan), but back to the real world, on the places I've lived, weather is completely irrelevant. Like here in São Paulo, the weather is a complete non factor: not hot, not cold, normal rainfall. I don't even pay attention to it.
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  #67  
Old Posted Jun 1, 2022, 12:13 AM
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Originally Posted by Buckeye Native 001 View Post
Its not humid and the temperature usually drops to the mid to low 60s overnight. Swamp coolers and open windows after sundown help.
People really dont comprehend how much humidity changes the way you experience temperatures.

Id take 105 over 90 and Humid literally any day.
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  #68  
Old Posted Jun 1, 2022, 3:23 AM
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Originally Posted by badrunner View Post
The coastal Mediterranean climate or the high and dry sky island ecology of the mountain southwest are ideal for human health and well being. Hot humid lowlands are the worst, unless you like a long summer of sticky itchy marinating in your own juices. It's no wonder those places breed such intemperate people .
Agreed, humidity is awful. Being active in that weather is dangerous and it's funny seeing all the Florida residents on Tik Tok saying they're gonna stay inside until November. I'd rather enjoy weather year round.
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  #69  
Old Posted Jun 1, 2022, 3:26 AM
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Originally Posted by jmecklenborg View Post
Most of the Earth's surface is wasteland. Most of the United States is wasteland. Very little of it is broadly productive land.

Industrialization has allowed people to move, by the tens of millions, away from broadly productive land (Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, etc.) to precarious wastelands like Southern California, Arizona, and Florida.

What do people do in this "nice" weather? They mostly sit inside and watch TV or scroll on their phones. Most people like bragging about "nice" weather to their friends and acquaintances in "bad" weather, without actually doing much of anything outdoors.
Lol, no. People in California are pretty active outdoors. Many of the shopping areas are outdoors . Being outdoors is part of the lifestyle people pay for. I don't know where in California that's lacking this, at least near the cities. Hell, I was in Oceanside last Saturday, and there were tons of people all over the beachfront. Same for San Clemente.
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  #70  
Old Posted Jun 1, 2022, 4:44 AM
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Originally Posted by Crawford View Post
Winter generally has horrible pollution, though. And the security situation, while still the best in Mexico, has deteriorated. And good luck finding high quality schools or really anything child-centered with acceptable first world standards.

Outside of winter, the weather is almost perfect, though. And the city is comically inexpensive, if paid in USD. And obviously tons of fun.
Bogata, Colombia is supposed to have a nice climate. Mild and cool year around because of the high altitude even though near the equator. Same with Quito, Ecuador and Cuzco, Peru. Cost of living probably cheap. Not sure about crime. Cuzco bonus--near Machu Pichu and other Inca ruins. Quito has Inca sites as well. Can play at being Indiana Jones. If you like a cool desert climate, Lima, Peru is supposed to be mild because of coastal fog (cold Peru Current keeps it cool). Hardly any rain to ruin outdoor activities, although it does drizzle from the fog.

Last edited by CaliNative; Jun 1, 2022 at 5:24 AM.
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  #71  
Old Posted Jun 1, 2022, 5:09 AM
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When I was in Athens and Santorini a few years back, the weather actually reminded me a lot of LA. Definitely more dry than Italy. Rome was a little more humid but not bad.
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  #72  
Old Posted Jun 1, 2022, 7:50 AM
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Originally Posted by CaliNative View Post
"Hot humid lowlands are the worst".Curious that New Orleans and Miami are regarded as fun places. Only with constant air conditioning.
I can't speak for New Orleans but Miami isn't "Hot & Humid" all year long either.
As for the fun places South Beach/downtown Miami is on the coast so it has Sea breezes and keeps the temps within reason. It's not until you get to the inland suburbs 15-20 Miles near the Everglades & away from the coast that the heat & the humidity become annoying & you need the AC on.
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  #73  
Old Posted Jun 1, 2022, 8:50 AM
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Originally Posted by Buckeye Native 001 View Post
Its not humid and the temperature usually drops to the mid to low 60s overnight. Swamp coolers and open windows after sundown help.
I've lived in Florida and I've lived in Southern Arizona and I can tell you the "dry heat" thing is real. I am pretty miserable at 80F in Florida whereas it takes 90F to start making me seek out the A/C in Tucson. And I can't speak for all houses but mine is built to retain the night-time coolness well into the day. The one summer I stuck around, I didn't really need to turn on the A/C until mid-afternoon by which point it was 105F or so outside. If it doesn't get well into the 90s in a place like Flagstaff, I wouldn't think the heat would be oppressive like it is in much of the US Southeast or even mid-Atlantic (I grew up in Maryland).
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  #74  
Old Posted Jun 1, 2022, 8:56 AM
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Originally Posted by bobdreamz View Post
I can't speak for New Orleans but Miami isn't "Hot & Humid" all year long either.
As for the fun places South Beach/downtown Miami is on the coast so it has Sea breezes and keeps the temps within reason. It's not until you get to the inland suburbs 15-20 Miles near the Everglades & away from the coast that the heat & the humidity become annoying & you need the AC on.
You acclimate to places like these. I was pretty comfortable without A/C from October to April when I lived near Orlando, but after living many years in CA, when I used to return to visit family on the coast near Daytona I was pretty miserable except in the middle of winter--maybe late November through Feb. And I hated the "clammy" feeling one often got even in air-conditioned spaces.
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  #75  
Old Posted Jun 1, 2022, 9:03 AM
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My understanding is there are even microclimates within San Francisco. Like The Mission is almost always warmer/sunnier than Outer Sunset.
Absolutely. I live almost in the geographic center of town and typically in summer the fog lifts around 11 AM and comes back around 4 PM. In the Mission you may get another couple of hours of sun, but out in what we call "the Avenues", the western half of the city, it can be foggy all day in July and August. That's why rents and home prices are cheaper out there. SF may be one of very few places it's cheaper to live near the beach.
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  #76  
Old Posted Jun 1, 2022, 11:20 AM
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Originally Posted by L41A View Post
Southern California weather is rather pleasant. I did find myself missing rain at times though.
I don’t know how anyone could miss rain (and I live in London).

Maybe it helps to clean the air, which is nice after it rains and the sun comes out, but there is literally nothing that is enjoyable to do in the rain unless you’re a homebody that wants to not leave the house all day.
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  #77  
Old Posted Jun 1, 2022, 11:22 AM
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Originally Posted by CaliNative View Post
Bogata, Colombia is supposed to have a nice climate. Mild and cool year around because of the high altitude even though near the equator. Same with Quito, Ecuador and Cuzco, Peru. Cost of living probably cheap. Not sure about crime. Cuzco bonus--near Machu Pichu and other Inca ruins. Quito has Inca sites as well. Can play at being Indiana Jones. If you like a cool desert climate, Lima, Peru is supposed to be mild because of coastal fog (cold Peru Current keeps it cool). Hardly any rain to ruin outdoor activities, although it does drizzle from the fog.
Bogotá is way too cold (temps rarely hit the 70s, though the sun is warm) and pretty wet. Medellín has a nice year round climate.
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  #78  
Old Posted Jun 1, 2022, 1:51 PM
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Lima is shrouded in clouds and has overcast skies most of the time. Most parts of the city lack sewers as it rarely rains. It has a very cool climate considering its location near the equator.
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  #79  
Old Posted Jun 1, 2022, 2:07 PM
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I feel the same about Phoenix. I haven't always lived here, and am not yet fully resigned to dying here. But I was born here, lived here most of my life, family lives here, and the weather is not going to be a major factor in whether I stay.

I do like the weather. ~8 months of not even really having to think about the weather. And in the extreme summers, I get a sick satisfaction out of accepting the fact that I'm a desert rat, and leaning into the harsh summers. There's a great quote from 'Watership Down' (the novel) where the author muses that "many human beings say that they enjoy the winter, but what they really enjoy is feeling proof against it." I feel the same about our extreme summers: I couldn't say I enjoy them, but there is a satisfaction in enduring them.
I feel the same way. And I feel like I've grown so "thin blooded", I actually enjoy the warmth and heat of summer because winter is so cold and uncomfortable to me (anything below 60 degrees). Plus, there is the added excitement of the monsoon and its daily thunderstorm threat. Sure, thunderstorms don't usually make their way in to Phoenix on a daily basis.. we may be lucky to get 10 good storms per summer. But there are the daily build ups of large thunderheads in the mountains that are beautiful to look at, and very often at night there is a lightning show to see either nearby or in the distance. The daily anticipation is fun (if not frustrating sometimes because I love rain/storms) Summers are great, IMO. Not to mention the pool life
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  #80  
Old Posted Jun 1, 2022, 2:08 PM
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I used to hate winter and hence winter's in NYC but there is something really beautiful about the city in each of the four seasons.
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