Moving for climate? Love our local climate & will never move? Or can't wait to get away from here for warmer or colder climes? what say you??

[chescowx]

On the topic of moving for snow/cold or heat etc.....I have been fortunate and have had and continue to have the ability to live anywhere I choose and still work like I do. Even with that choice...there is absolutely nowhere else I would ever live or move to than where I live today! I absolutely love the variability and inconsistency of the weather right here!!  I would be bored to live where it is either consistently warm and sunny.... or cold and snowy. I choose and love exactly where we live. That said I can totally understand and respect/admire folks that.... if your passion is for sun and warmth or cold and snow and you have the ability make the move to their dream climate.  I wonder if I am a rarity or are most of you always dreaming of being somewhere warmer or colder/snowier?? Am I the only one on this site that loves the weather here?? I suspect I am in the vast minority....but looking forward to each of your views. If you are a jumper....what sort of weather would you move to?? Thanks!

 

[Captain Lou]

Good topic and a question I think of more often as I get older. I would live in Aruba April-October (below the hurricane belt, prevelant trade winds, friendly atmosphere). I would reside in the Endless mt. region of Pa (beauty and 70+ inches of snow) the other 6 months. Rent out each property when I am not there. 

[chescowx]

My wife just wants Florida for winter and Jersey Shore for summer....I think that view is shared by likely the vast majority of non-weather enthusiasts not represented on this forum

[Rainshadow]

I am not going anywhere, but if I had my druthers I would go somewhere with less temperature extremes in winter & summer.

[tombo82685]

4 minutes ago, DebShadow23.0 said:

I am not going anywhere, but if I had my druthers I would go somewhere with less temperature extremes in winter & summer.

lowville it is then 

[Chubbs]

If I moved to Florida, would be for fishing not climate, same for Lowville.

[snowlurker]

I'm not sure where my ideal climate is.

Delaware is a little too warm in the winter for snow, way too hot and humid in the summer, but its spring and fall weather are delightful. 

[Captain Lou]

32 minutes ago, DebShadow23.0 said:

I am not going anywhere, but if I had my druthers I would go somewhere with less temperature extremes in winter & summer.

I believe in the USA,  the San Diego, California area offers the most comfortable year round living, beautiful, not too much rain, 60s and 70s for avg. highs, 50s and 60s for avg. lows. 

[Rainshadow]

33 minutes ago, Captain Lou said:

I believe in the USA,  the San Diego, California area offers the most comfortable year round living, beautiful, not too much rain, 60s and 70s for avg. highs, 50s and 60s for avg. lows. 

Yes, I always think of San Diego.  Then I think about their real estate prices and everything else about California and I stop thinking about it.

[ErieWX]

Erie is fairly temperate too and plenty of snow. Only 2-5 days per summer when we hit 90. Main caveat here is our winter clouds. Only around 10 sunny days since early NOV this winter. That’s really the price you pay living in the snow belt regions

[nodriveslow]

I've often said the Philly region is really a great place to live as we get to (most times) experience all 4 seasons and not deal with as much craziness/extremes that other locales deal with. I'm a little over an hour to the beach. 90 minutes to 2 hours to the Poconos/ski resorts, 90 minutes to NYC, and under 3 hours to DC. 90 minutes to the farmlands of Lancaster County, and of course in a very historical area. Now as I get older, this cold is getting a bit harder to tolerate (especially with no snow to show for it), but lived here my whole life and don't see us going anywhere else, unless The Lord has other plans.

[PRINCETON ANGLER]

Don’t mind the temperature range here. Loathe the Summer humidity and dark cloudy stretches we need to tolerate in Winter. I can’t totally remove other “life” things from consideration. I need decent restaurants, culture, health care and a good grocery store that’s not a 45 minute drive. Though like Captain Lou I just love the Endless Mountains, and would love to have Lowville snow, no bueno for me.

The only place I’ve been that meets most requirements is the high desert area around Santa Fe, NM. Temperature range similar to here. Dew points always tolerable. 300 days of sunshine, and enough snow in Winter to satisfy. Crush jobs to make Heisy types happy are rare around the city, but there are 10,000 foot peaks within 45 minutes that get hammered regularly. 

[Harbourton]

Mt. Washington Observatory!

[irishbri74]

Just glad we don’t have to deal with wildfires… but would love a summer residence in Maine/Vermont 

[CCsnow]

I've lived in Philly/NYC/Bay Area/LA...I love winter, but coastal Southern California  is pretty great. Lived in west LA just east of Santa Monica and the weather is pretty  much lovely year round, incredible beaches nearby, etc. Also lived in northeast LA about 25 miles from the ocean and the summers get pretty brutal there. The endless sunshine does get a bit oppressive at a certain point in both areas. In the wintertime, you get the big Pacific rainstorms which can be fun. All in all, while the weather in LA can get very dull, it balances out a bit with the access to so many different climates in CA...beach, desert, mountains, so much beautiful nature easily accessible. 

On the whole, I prefer Philly weather. All four seasons, and while winter can be disappointing, I think it's worth it for the major  snowstorms  we tend to get every few years. There's nothing like 20'' of snow shutting down the city in my opinion. Also, as a city person, not many great options that are much wintrier. Basically just Boston and Chicago, NYC marginally. 

To me, the big synoptic snows we get from wrapped up nor'easters are more satisfying than lake effect events or  mega snows at 6k ft in Tahoe or what have you. Also for me personally, while I am always rooting for cold and snow, I think if I lived somewhere where it was a true deep freeze for four months every year I would start to find it depressing. 

[snowwors2]

5 hours ago, irishbri74 said:

Just glad we don’t have to deal with wildfires… but would love a summer residence in Maine/Vermont 

Correct sir‼️

 

[snowwors2]

[icicleman]

I am like chescowx, although ardmore/wildwood in my case and I also like both climates and traveling back and forth between the two climates all year.  I lived in Norway for work for a year (which happened to be one of their coldest winters ever) and I don't need to experience extreme cold and snow again.  We can drive to a snow vacation easily around here, so I don't even care if PHL gets a ton.  I spend a lot of time in PA/NJ outdoors golfing, hiking, dogwalking, skiing, jetskiing and fishing (not nearly as successfully as Chubbs), but I also go see our PHL orchestra a lot and we go to NY for the NYCB and plays, so I would miss that if I moved.  My wife hates the extreme heat/humidity when it comes, but I don't mind it, I can always go stand in some water and fish (I am retired).  If I moved, weather would be a consideration, but it would probably be for cost-of-living or proximity-to-family reasons.  Never to Florida, you spend half your life at intersections down there.

[JLS4628]

There are actually not many places basically at sea level/near the ocean that get snow like the Northeast US.  I always wondered what it would be like to live in one of the Japanese cities in the north where it snows nearly every day all winter (e.g. Aomori, Sapporo, Hakodate).  I mean Sapporo is nearly the size of Philadelphia and gets a centimeter or two nearly every day all winter on average.

[frankdp23]

I like it where I am.  Get all 4 seasons and no weather is too extreme.  I do like parts of Florida, but would miss snow.  

[chescowx]

15 hours ago, CCsnow said:

I've lived in Philly/NYC/Bay Area/LA...I love winter, but coastal Southern California  is pretty great. Lived in west LA just east of Santa Monica and the weather is pretty  much lovely year round, incredible beaches nearby, etc. Also lived in northeast LA about 25 miles from the ocean and the summers get pretty brutal there. The endless sunshine does get a bit oppressive at a certain point in both areas. In the wintertime, you get the big Pacific rainstorms which can be fun. All in all, while the weather in LA can get very dull, it balances out a bit with the access to so many different climates in CA...beach, desert, mountains, so much beautiful nature easily accessible. 

On the whole, I prefer Philly weather. All four seasons, and while winter can be disappointing, I think it's worth it for the major  snowstorms  we tend to get every few years. There's nothing like 20'' of snow shutting down the city in my opinion. Also, as a city person, not many great options that are much wintrier. Basically just Boston and Chicago, NYC marginally. 

To me, the big synoptic snows we get from wrapped up nor'easters are more satisfying than lake effect events or  mega snows at 6k ft in Tahoe or what have you. Also for me personally, while I am always rooting for cold and snow, I think if I lived somewhere where it was a true deep freeze for four months every year I would start to find it depressing. 

CC come to Chester County....same annual snowfall as Chicago - but not in the city!!

[Parsley]

I'm definitely eyeing the Gulf coast of Florida, between Tampa and Naples. Older I get the more I need sun and consistent warmth. I'd miss snow but would have no trouble traveling a few weeks a year to a snowy destination to get my fix. 

I'd also consider the southwest like Scottsdale, AZ. In that case, snow would only be a few hours to the north in winter if I needed it. 

 

[JMcCaughey42]

1 hour ago, Parsley said:

I'm definitely eyeing the Gulf coast of Florida, between Tampa and Naples. Older I get the more I need sun and consistent warmth. I'd miss snow but would have no trouble traveling a few weeks a year to a snowy destination to get my fix. 

I'd also consider the southwest like Scottsdale, AZ. In that case, snow would only be a few hours to the north in winter if I needed it. 

 

Scottsdale is nice but summers are absolutely brutal

[CameronCat]

I have to say I agree 100% with ChesCoWx's position. I love it here and wouldn't trade for more constant climes. A long time ago, when I worked at a large local company, we were talking about this over lunch. One gent who had lived all over the US remarked, "I like it here -- there's not a lot that can kill you!" He wasn't wrong; the mid-Atlantic region is wonderfully free of constant tornadoes, frequent hurricanes, wildfires and other similar threats. 
       Still, as I age, I've become way-less tolerant of cold weather and frankly, have joined the NoSnow coalition. (I know we'll have it but I don't have to like it!) Adversity builds resilience I guess.  Regardless, the seasonal variations (and beauty) here give me great enjoyment and peace. Mountains and shore points are both close enough for escapist sojourns as the need arises.  

As side note, another gent I worked with at the same company was finally able to retire a few years ago and immediately decamped for coastal southern North Carolina because he absolutely HATED cold and snow. They bought a new-build house about 30 miles from the NC shore. In the eight (?) years he's been there, his house has been flooded by epic rains once, severely damaged by trees through the roof in a hurricane, then flooded again later by frozen pipes after the electric went out for days in a winter storm. Although he has Philadelphia-level snow driving skills, he and his wife won't drive when it snows due to the incompetence of the locals. Thus, even the lightest snow holds them prisoner in their own home. 

[Gaia]

I like 4 seasons. I'm not a huge snow fan like most people here, but I like having the option. Most of my working life has required attendance no matter the weather. A Nor'easter with 30 inches of snow isn't an excuse. I think that has colored my feelings toward snow. If snow meant me and my kids could stay home, stay safe, and make snowmen then I'd like it much better. I swear Summer dewpoints have been worse in the last few years. We always had heatwave, but I don't remember consistent dews above 70° each summer. 

 

All that said, I still prefer a solid 4 seasons. I also like that the mountains and the shore are just over an hour each way.