Fantasy City/Urban Area Locations

[SFBruin]

Oh yeah, there's a lot of desire in the US to live in sunny places like Arizona or Florida.

Then again, it's kind of up to people to live wherever they want (environmental issues aside), so more power to them I guess.

[SFBruin]

Fwiw, there's kind of a disconnect between what places are seen as nice in the US and which ones actually are.

Chicago is not really known for natural beauty too much, for example, but the lake is really pretty.

Seattle, on the other hand, is famous for being pretty, but in reality is just cloudy and depressing 8 months of the year.

[10023]

Environmentally and ecologically, we should not be living in places that require air conditioning to be cranking 24/7 or food to be shipped great distances.

Not to mention that local meat, fish and produce will also almost always be better when it reaches the consumer (or to begin with - many products such as varieties of tomatoes that have been bred for shipping are garbage). Why would you ever want to live somewhere that required you to eat canned or frozen food rather than shop at a local farmer’s market?

Anyway, a Mediterranean climate with plenty of sunshine most of the year and a sea breeze to avoid extreme heat in summer is the best climate for humans. There’s a reason why the majority of humankind lives near an ocean or sea. Second to this is the tropical highlands (think Kenya or central Mexico), or a bit of altitude generally (hence all the hilltop villages in Italy, Occitanie, Spain or even northern India).

[SFBruin]

I agree, but I think that there are more variables to it than that.

After living in the PNW for just over a year, I really am starting to value a climate that is a little warmer haha.

[iheartthed]

Originally Posted by Yuri

I meant many people in the US overlook cities because they're are located on a setting deemed "bland".

It's not that they're "bland" but they get cold and dreary for almost half the year. The places that are booming the most in the U.S. are the blandest, but they are mostly located in warm weather regions.

[10023]

Originally Posted by SFBruin

I agree, but I think that there are more variables to it than that.

After living in the PNW for just over a year, I really am starting to value a climate that is a little warmer haha.

The problem with Seattle is the grey overcast skies and rain. Same as England. Beautiful when it’s warm and sunny, but that doesn’t happen often enough to stave off seasonal depression (even in the summer this year).

[someone123]

Originally Posted by 10023

The problem with Seattle is the grey overcast skies and rain. Same as England. Beautiful when it’s warm and sunny, but that doesn’t happen often enough to stave off seasonal depression (even in the summer this year).

Not sure about Seattle but this fall has been brutal in Vancouver. We've had some rain on 17/24 days in October. We probably only had 1-2 days that could be described as "sunny". We also experience "Junuary" some years and the forest fire smoke has taken out a couple weeks on average per summer lately so you can guess how much actual nice weather we get per year. People tend to focus on the relative lack of cold but the worst aspect of the weather here is how long you can go with nothing but crap weather.

I really like the UK and say the Netherlands but I am not sure I'd be happy there given the climate. Though at least there travel is much easier. Here a lot of people get 10 days off work per year, air travel costs a lot more, and you need to get a covid test before returning (if you test positive I guess you are stuck for 10-14 days).

[ChiSoxRox]

I'm an oddball in that I like rain and cold weather. Honestly, one reason I moved to Fairbanks was how mild summer was. Maybe it's my Swedish heritage.

On the thread topic, when we start consistently getting an ice free Northwest Passage in summer, perhaps that will create a more permanent port somewhere on the North Slope. However, it would probably be seasonal workers coming in, as even I find the darkness of the North Slope in winter formidable.

[JManc]

Originally Posted by ChiSoxRox

I'm an oddball in that I like rain and cold weather. Honestly, one reason I moved to Fairbanks was how mild summer was. Maybe it's my Swedish heritage.

On the thread topic, when we start consistently getting an ice free Northwest Passage in summer, perhaps that will create a more permanent port somewhere on the North Slope. However, it would probably be seasonal workers coming in, as even I find the darkness of the North Slope in winter formidable.

My wife has to go up to the North Slope every so often (oil and gas) and it's a harsh living for those who have to do it on a regular basis.

[ChiSoxRox]

Originally Posted by JManc

My wife has to go up to the North Slope every so often (oil and gas) and it's a harsh living for those who have to do it on a regular basis.

Agreed. I've been to Deadhorse in August and it was raining sideways at 38 degrees. Even when the weather is clear, the solar angle in June is barely off the horizon.

With the state of ship navigation and logistics, would an ice free Northwest Passage even need ports on the tundra? Utqiagvik (Barrow) has that location jutting out into the potential shipping lane, so likely a great spot for Coast Guard/responders but it's also a Native community that might not want the shock of new development.

Deadhorse has the road connection, but the setting and the oil field development is so relentlessly dreary, even for me.

[10023]

Originally Posted by SFBruin

I agree, but I think that there are more variables to it than that.

After living in the PNW for just over a year, I really am starting to value a climate that is a little warmer haha.

Oh, and I’m with you on a warm climate. But what you want is water, or altitude. Somewhere that is warm in the sun and cool in the shade is ideal. Then you don’t need air conditioning. The Mediterranean climate basically offers this, if you’re by the water. You could live on Ibiza and never turn on an air conditioner or a radiator.

[iheartthed]

Originally Posted by 10023

Oh, and I’m with you on a warm climate. But what you want is water, or altitude. Somewhere that is warm in the sun and cool in the shade is ideal. Then you don’t need air conditioning. The Mediterranean climate basically offers this, if you’re by the water. You could live on Ibiza and never turn on an air conditioner or a radiator.

Same. I'm seriously considering purchasing a vacation house in the Mediterranean within the next decade.

[pj3000]

Water temp in Mediterranean too chilly year-round for this guy.

No interest in going somewhere to vacation in the good weather, and have the water unswimmable for more than half the year.

[10023]

Originally Posted by pj3000

Water temp in Mediterranean too chilly year-round for this guy.

No interest in going somewhere to vacation in the good weather, and have the water unswimmable for more than half the year.

I was in the water yesterday. Sure, it gets too cold from late November to April, but that’s really only 5 months tops. And on the US West Coast it is never warm. For year round swimming you to be in Florida.

[10023]

Originally Posted by ChiSoxRox

Agreed. I've been to Deadhorse in August and it was raining sideways at 38 degrees. Even when the weather is clear, the solar angle in June is barely off the horizon.

I would kill myself within a week.

[SIGSEGV]

Originally Posted by 10023

I would kill myself within a week.

You would have hated where I spent this summer
https://thumbs.gfycat.com/HarmfulJit...lek-mobile.mp4

At least I didn't have to sleep in a tent this year.

[CaliNative]

Originally Posted by JManc

My wife has to go up to the North Slope every so often (oil and gas) and it's a harsh living for those who have to do it on a regular basis.

The food is very good & plentiful in the oil camps of the north slope. When I was a geologist in the 1980s on some of the rigs onshore & offshore, you could get good steaks, halibut, crab legs, pretty much anything 4 times a day. Deserts good too. I gained weight needless to say. 4 steaks? No problem. They cook it for you. All free. You eat well. Makes up for the tedium and cold. Downside: alcohol prohibited on the rigs. Does your wife come back a bit heavier after her trips? I just bet they eat well in the science camps in Antarctica! I hear they eat pretty well in the military too, at least on the bases. They fly in good food. C rations a thing of the past unless on patrol. General rule: the harder or more tedious or dangerous the job, the better and more plentiful the food.

[10023]

Originally Posted by SIGSEGV

You would have hated where I spent this summer
https://thumbs.gfycat.com/HarmfulJit...lek-mobile.mp4

At least I didn't have to sleep in a tent this year.

At least that’s somewhat exciting. For a few days. The grey overcast drizzle is just shitty always, and interrupts normal life.

[CaliNative]

Best climate: central coast of CA or more correctly, a few miles inland away from the constant cold ocean wind & fog of summer. Maybe from Pismo Beach north to Monterey area, but a few miles inland so it is sunnier and mild. Hearst had it figured out. Hearst "castle" was a few miles from the coast on a low ridge. Perfect. This "perfect" zone about 5 miles from the ocean extends up and down the CA coast from San Diego to the Oregon border, but it is most perfect on the central coast. Close enough to the ocean to have the cool marine air usually, but far enough for the morning fog to usually burn off by noon and for it to warm up into the 70s F. on the average summer day. Mild winters, with lots of rain in the north, much less south.

[10023]

^ Sounds like Portugal. Too much rain in the north (of either) during winter though.