Adventures with Dr. Lady Cutie Troublemaker

Life is in flux BIG TIME these days. I want to keep in touch with all of my peeps. The Internet is this beautiful thing. I can move to a brand new city and still stay in easy, near-daily contact with the people I love. When I feel connected to the people in my life that matter, I am unstoppable!

Considering Climates

By Abby at 10:58 am on Friday, March 10, 2006

I’m sitting in my living room in JP wearing a green tank top and springy green skirt. I know there’s a wind advisory, and it’s grey as hell outside, but it’s a relatively warm day for Boston (52 degrees) and I’ve been thinking about how weather affects me.

I spent the early part of the morning researching the climates in US Cities. While I’m not researching specific places or jobs, I am working on a list of what I want in a living environment, and climate plays a large role in that. One thing I know I can’t do is another 6-month "Abby Winter." What is an Abby winter? Well, I thought about this a lot, and I thought about the places I’ve actually lived. During my years in Oberlin, Bloomington, and Boston, I have tended to get very mopey around February until I start seeing blue skies and greenery again. I also have had to contend with significant eczema, which seems like no big deal, but it’s this chronic irritation that never abates. Chronic irritants that never abate aren’t the best choice when trying to craft a life of less stress.

And so back to the "Abby Winter" thing. I grew up in Atlanta, and from my perspective, Atlanta has 3 clear months of winter: December, January, and February. I looked up the average temps there during those months, and that ended up being the months with average temperatures below 50 degrees. Not that 50 degrees feels like winter, but in months with that average, there are at least enough cold days to give the gestalt feel of winter… at least to me.

So I picked a few cities that are supposed to be good place to live and seem right for me, as well as a few places I’ve actually lived and plotted months of "Abby Winter." Here’s what I came up with:

Asheville, NC – 5 months
Atlanta, GA – 3 months
Boston, MA – 6 months
Cleveland, OH – 6 months
Denver, CO – 6 months
Indianapolis, IN – 5 months
Memphis, TN – 3 months
Raleigh, NC – 3 months
San Diego, CA – 0 months
San Francisco, CA – 0 months
Seattle, WA – 6 months

Having lived in the 6 months places, I know that’s too much winter for lil ole Princess and the Pea me. Having lived in the 3 months places, I know that’s OK, but it can mean too much sweltering weather in the summer (when the eczema problem becomes the heat rash problem – and no, I’m not kidding).

What is a total mystery to me is the concept of no freezing winters and no sweltering summers. A whole year of mild temperatures. It sounds really good conceptually, but it’s so unfamiliar to me, such a big UNKNOWN that I have no idea of how it would be for me.

No depression in February? No eczema? No heat rash? That all sounds awesome. But the grass always seems greener on the other side, then it ends up not being the case at all.

Memphis is too hot, and Atlanta borders on being too hot, too. Raleigh and Ashville are a little bit better, but then there’s that whole precipitation thing. Did you know that it rains more in Atlanta than in Seattle? And from my experience, Bloomington (1.25 hours south of Indianapolis) has a LOT of rain, but it’s because it rains consistently all year long.

I’m not even sure this is all relevant information, but sometimes it is soothing and comforting to collect it all and see what my REAL preferences are, as opposed to the ones I’ve always thought were true.

And to my Boston friends, people say this is an emotionally cold place, and while that is sometimes true, I’ve met a lot of wonderfully warm people who are the exception to the rule. Me wanting to live somewhere milder is no reflection on the ties I’ve made here.

Filed under: Moving,Ramblings/Brain Dumps/Opinions15 Comments »

15 Comments

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Comment by Chris

March 10, 2006 @ 11:34 am

Best of luck finding that climate sweet spot.

I can’t decide what weather I want, myself. On one hand I’m really nostalgic for those warm Southern springs and even miss the sweltering summer (though I’ve probably gone soft from years up here). On the other hand, New England summers are marvelous and the fall, too. And after ten plus years, I’m starting to get acclimated to the winter, so it would be a shame to move just as I’m getting used to the drudgery!

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Comment by kellan

March 10, 2006 @ 11:35 am

Ah yes, the “Subjective Winter” question.

For me growing up in California Winter was a null concept. We had a season called Winter, it was definable, but it didn’t carry an emotional charge (aka fear and hatred) the way a New England Winter does. So I’m in the San Francisco has 0 months of Winter crowd.

J. however, growing up in New York, found SF to have 11 months of Winter, cold, gray, and wet all the time, and refuses to ever set foot in the city again on general principle.

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Comment by Leah

March 10, 2006 @ 11:54 am

I’m not sure I agree with your assessment of 6 months of abby winter in denver–for example, last friday i was wearing a skirt and a tank top and it was 70 degrees. What is it I always hear, something like 300 days of sunshine here? I would say based on living here almost 3 years that is true. Plus we don’t get much snow in Denver, it’s all an hour and 15 minute drive away i the mountains.
So Denver is great (in my humble opinion). However I think if I had to move now it would be to San Diego. Cuz there it is nice sooo much and less cold then here even. And near the water. It’s grand.

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Comment by Abby

March 10, 2006 @ 12:38 pm

My dad was talking about San Diego last night. Said it might be a good place for me. While I don’t like the idea of picking a place on a map where I don’t have ties, I also know that many of my friends are portable (i.e., live in my computer) AND that I tend to make friends wherever I go. I’m not too bothered about being away from my parents, because I keep in close contact with them no matter where I am. And, we can all fly to see each other. Maybe my next research project will be the days of sunshine thing. I know that when I was doing research last year, Boston was supposed to have more sunny days than Bloomington, but there is NO WAY that’s true!!

Veronica was saying the same thing about Denver, Leah. I think that it could be OK. I do loooooove the mountains.

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Comment by Abby's mom

March 10, 2006 @ 1:44 pm

I don’t think I could stand not having a change in seasons. I’d miss the trees coming out with their yellow-green leaves and the buds appearing and the anticipation of their flowering. I’d miss the color of fall. Actually, the weather in Jasper is about perfect. We’re in the mountains, so we have some winter, temperatures are mild in the summer, and spring and fall are glorious.

You need to stay below a certain latitude (I’m not certain what that is.) so that you never go beyond an equal number hours of daylight and dark. That 7 hours of daylight vs. 17 hours of dark in mid-winter really got to me in England.

I wouldn’t look at annual precipitation. London & Atlanta have about the same yearly precipitation, but in England, it comes down all the time – just in mists. Annual days of sunshine is the right thing to look at here. London has very few; Atlanta has many.

As for eczema and skin rashes, I empathize with you. It is no trivial matter. When I went off my arthritis medicine, my eczema got so bad I looked like I had black eyes, and I was miserable with the burning & itching. It totally effected my life. I’m finding that the mere change in water sources has caused the escalation of this problem for me. I’m working on getting a water softener installed.

So many things to consider… It’s never perfect.

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Comment by poornima

March 10, 2006 @ 3:01 pm

Today was the perfect day in Carbondale, IL – 68 degrees – perfect. And I wish it could be like this all year. Took my open toed sandals out of hibernation and felt so good wearing them. I know what you mean by long winters and too hot summers. Let me know when you find the perfect place weather wise….I might just follow you there! Ha ha.

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Comment by Abby

March 10, 2006 @ 3:19 pm

I guess it’s sunshine I’m looking for, but not heat. But I really have no idea how lovely weather year-round would be. Would it be lovely? I guess then, I’d take vacations to places that were more like the seasons. And I guess I wouldn’t itch all the time. I’m not looking for a tan, just a little Vitamin D for the happies. And you know, fewer potholes and rotaries!

I found some sunshine data earlier. Typical of me, I’ve imported it into Excel, sorted by total sunshine and done some conditional formatting to make the sunny months more sunny and yellow and the less-sunny months grey!

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Comment by Renee

March 10, 2006 @ 10:03 pm

Not that I’ve lived anywhere other than GA, but I know if I lived somewhere where there’s 0 winter I would be bored because I love the fact that the south has such obvious changes in season, without being too extreme winter-wise. I too HATE Jan/Feb and get very moody. I’ve been on cloud 9 here during the last week because spring is finally around the corner! It was 74 here today. I swear I’m not trying to get you to move back her. Or AM I?

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Comment by Spidra Webster

March 10, 2006 @ 10:33 pm

Native Californian here. Weather was certainly a reason I moved north from LA. Even LA was too hot for me. (I’m not sure if that would still be the case now since my metabolism has changed.)

It is a *myth* about California not having seasons. Just because our seasons don’t look like yours doesn’t mean they don’t exist. I can tell you what winter in LA feels like. You get some of the best air you’ll get all year. The storms blow the smog out and when the sun comes out again the world has been scrubbed clean. And when you see the blue cloudless sky, feel the nip in the air, and see Mt. Wilson, you realize what a paradise it must have been before WWII started the sprawl.

There are definitely seasons in CA.

>I tend to make friends wherever I go

If you ever get the ability to bestow some of your powers, I want this one.

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Comment by Abby's mom

March 10, 2006 @ 10:56 pm

Tonight I ate dinner with a woman who moved away from California. She went on and on about all the reasons she left – taxes, cost of living, smog, Arnold Schwarzenegger, etc. I can’t even remember all the reasons she gave. I began to wonder, “What is it that Abby likes about California?”

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Comment by Abby

March 11, 2006 @ 12:01 am

There are so many options! I think the climate in Northern Cali and North Carolina are the most promising, but these kids are doing a good job of selling Denver to me… although the low humidity concerns me a bit.

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Comment by Abby's mom

March 11, 2006 @ 6:44 am

What’s the political climate in Colorado?

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Comment by Abby

March 11, 2006 @ 7:40 am

I think that it’s a red state but that Denver is a blue area… like Bloomington, Oberlin, Midtown Memphis, and Atlanta. There are always these maps.

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Comment by Spidra Webster

March 11, 2006 @ 8:46 pm

People who leave California tend to be Republicans who want a more conservative environment and/or people who don’t have an overwhelming need to live in a cosmopolitan progressive state with good weather. What I mean is I really couldn’t live too many other places in the US. I can’t tell you how ideal and highly-paid the job would have to be that would induce me to relocate. My dad calls me a hothouse flower since he figures I should be willing to drop anything to go to a good job. I can’t. I need the progressive politics, the felicitous variety of terrain, the splendid weather, the cosmopolitanism of the best areas of CA. (If the choice were between Fresno and NYC, you know I’d take NYC.)

Yes, it’s hard to afford a home here. Yes, the cost of living is high. That is because there are so many people competing to live here. Folks who don’t want it badly enough will leave and if they’re satisified with less or different, I can’t blame them.

As for smog, yeah, we have it. Not because we’re much worse than the majority of Americans – we’re not. If Wyoming had the population density we have, they’d have smog like we have. It’s not that any other Americans (except people living in certain ecological enclaves and those lucky enough to live in cities with superior public transport) are much better than we are. It’s that we’ve had freeways longer than any other state. It’s that we have tons and tons of people living here who are living like typically entitled Americans. If you want to avoid smog, live near the coast. It’s the valleys where the smog really settles.

So what is it that’s so good about CA? If you live along the coastline, you’ve got that great Mediterranean climate that is very rare in the world. We have people here from every country in the world. That results not only in great ethnic restaurants but a real ferment in music, theater, dance and art. I think we’re more progressive in general than a lot of states, but not as progressive as a whole as I thought when I was younger. The Central Valley, Orange County, Inland Empire and San Diego are conservative areas. But most of the coastal areas are very progressive.

So why couldn’t I live somewhere like NYC? Well, it’s even more expensive than SF, I find New Yorkers to be pretty abrasive as a rule, the pace of life there is way more hectic than I like and I don’t like the weather extremes. That’s reason enough. Although a friend of mine from Jersey claims the reason she digs me is because I’m more like an East Coast person, in her opinion.

Guess you can tell I’m being defensive, but I’ve heard an awful lot of people put CA down lately. I’m not thrilled with us but most of the reasons I’m not thrilled with CA are actually reasons I’m not thrilled with the US of A.

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