Even at midnight the air is warm. I walked outside with a cotton turtleneck and an unzipped hoodie and felt fine. I love warm nights. And days. Basically, 65+ degree weather and I are really, really GOOD friends. Another reason why I am doomed to never move out of my expensive-as-heck town.
For people who are living in warm areas (namely California), how much do you think the weather is worth? How much do warm nights add to your quality of life? How much are you willing to pay for the privilege of wearing shorts and flip-flops in February? Some things in life has to be about more than the money, or else no one in their right mind would pay $600,000 for a 1920 2-bedroom house (it’s true, my parents are looking), when they can get a mansion in some other parts of the country.
My dream is to retire in San Diego, in one-story, 2-bedroom cottage with a library, a pebble’s throw from the beach, where the climate is a constant, perfect 70 degrees. I will have a kitchen nook where I can eat breakfast (totally healthy Californian fare which will enable me to live to 158… 
), a guest room for my friends to come visit, and a library with built-in bookshelves. And a bay window with an ocean view. Better start saving, right?
At least it’s cheaper than buying in Manhattan.
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I was just thinking about this (if by “just” I actually mean “constantly”). I would pay for more than the warm weather; I would also pay for the proximity to my family and friends, since I grew up here.
I look at places like North Carolina and I’m envious of the (relatively) low cost of living, but I wouldn’t seriously consider leaving everyone I love. Now if I weren’t from California, I don’t think the prices would be worth it. Warm weather is nice, but so is owning your home, and having enough extra space and cash to be comfortable, not being stuck in traffic all the time…
Everyone I talk to who moves to SF says the weather is the biggest factor in their move. How can you beat a year round seasonless weather? It’s chilly and barely warm all year round but I like it that way. You pay for what you get though. While SF is very expensive, you get wonderful weather, fog and consistent weather patterns.
You’d have to pay me a lot of money to live where it’s humid, muggy or stormy such as Florida, Atlanta and NY. The humidity is a nightmare.
Argh. Agreed. I just came back from a visit to the Northern end of the East Coast–3 ft of snow and rising. Two days later, I’m back in SoCal and it’s 88 degrees.
I grew up in hot, grossly humid/freezing Virginia–and today I have no idea how I could stand it. I was JUST driving around today thinking, I LOVE this city (San Diego)…the weather was a HUGE part of my decision to move to sunny SD. You never need more than a light jacket in the winter, it’s never humid in the summer, and it never ‘surprise’ precipitates, therefore you can count on planning a picnic with no rain-out backup plans.
But yes, housing prices are what will ultimately drive me away from here and back East, at least financially speaking.
Apparently my wife is already living your dream!!!
I’ve been trying to tell her that we should move some where cheaper where the mortgage on a 4 bedroom house overlooking a lake is the same as our 2 bedroom condo in the suburbs!
I actually own 2 rentals like that near salt lake city. The rent I get from them is actually lower than what I pay as rent in san diego!
If you want to be warm, you could always try Texas. In Port Aransas, where I am now, it was in the mid to high 80s on Wednesday. (Of course, now it’s in like the 50s, which is really really cold to me since I grew up with summer 10 months out of the year.) (I feel that I should add that I grew up here in Texas and am in fact going to school in Austin – I love the fact that I was going to class in shorts in mid-November.)
Of course, if you live on the Gulf Coast, there’s always the possibility of hurricanes, which is why I want to live on the Pacific side of Mexico, preferably with Baja between me and the main ocean.
I’m from Washington State (ew, rain!) and I am now in San Diego – just graduated from 4 years of college here & landed a job in the area, and of course I can’t be more thrilled to stay in the lovely weather that my body has grown -very- accustomed to!