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My husband and I are leaving the miserable Phoenix summers and moving to either Boise or Tampa.
Based on your other CD posts, it doesn't sound like you're limited to these towns. While Boise has grown, it's a lot smaller than Phoenix. So first, you need to decide if you need a large metro area (2+ million), with its sports/arts/concerts/events, or if you can live somewhere smaller (1 million or fewer). Boise is an awesome town with a metro around 1mil, and certainly isn't a 'dead' town, but isn't going to offer a big-metro experience either. It's not 'frigid' cold', but there are winters, and you'll need a jacket for 8-9 months. If you don't like cold, this may not be for you.
It appears you are considering lots of Florida cities in your evaluation. Jacksonville is somewhat unique, being away from the panhandle, and would offer you less heat and humidity, as well as relatively more moderate temperatures. It's also a decent medium-size large city. Tampa and everywhere south has a solid 6 months of heat and humidity - I'm talking a dew point of 80 daily. If you don't like humidity, Florida is not your place, unless you look at the Panhandle or Jacksonville.
Without knowing much more, I'd think somewhere like Albuquerque would be a good fit weather-wise. Dry, not as hot as Phoenix, not too cold.
Last edited by MattMN; 01-25-2024 at 06:03 PM..
Reason: grammer fix
It's not 'frigid' cold', but there are winters, and you'll need a jacket for 8-9 months. If you don't like cold, this may not be for you.
You generally don't need a jacket 8-9 months. This has to be the most persistent misunderstanding about Boise. People think Idaho and assume it's similar to other northern latitudes. It's not. Climate in the intermountain west is dominated more by topography and elevation than latitude. Boise is relatively low (under 3000'), and the Rockies to the northeast hold back cold air masses from central Canada.
June, July and August are hot. Shorts and t-shirt weather.
May, September, and October are generally very mild. Mostly pants weather. Maybe a light fleece some days.
November, March and April are unpredictable. It may be sunny and warm, but can also get cold and snow. A jacket is sometimes needed, but often a long-sleeve wool shirt or fleece or sweeter is sufficient.
December, January and February are when we get cold enough to consistently need a jacket. Though not always. Today was sunny, no wind, and almost 50F.
Of course, weather is weather, so there are exceptions. A couple years ago we had snow in early May. And this winter has overall been warmer than average.
And some of this depends on a person's tolerance for cold. I have friends from Florida here where the wife is pretty bundled up Oct-April.
But for most people, a jacket is only needed around 4-5 months.
You generally don't need a jacket 8-9 months. This has to be the most persistent misunderstanding about Boise. People think Idaho and assume it's similar to other northern latitudes. It's not. Climate in the intermountain west is dominated more by topography and elevation than latitude. Boise is relatively low (under 3000'), and the Rockies to the northeast hold back cold air masses from central Canada.
June, July and August are hot. Shorts and t-shirt weather.
May, September, and October are generally very mild. Mostly pants weather. Maybe a light fleece some days.
November, March and April are unpredictable. It may be sunny and warm, but can also get cold and snow. A jacket is sometimes needed, but often a long-sleeve wool shirt or fleece or sweeter is sufficient.
December, January and February are when we get cold enough to consistently need a jacket. Though not always. Today was sunny, no wind, and almost 50F.
Of course, weather is weather, so there are exceptions. A couple years ago we had snow in early May. And this winter has overall been warmer than average.
And some of this depends on a person's tolerance for cold. I have friends from Florida here where the wife is pretty bundled up Oct-April.
But for most people, a jacket is only needed around 4-5 months.
I agree with all of this ^
That's what my research came up with when I was still looking into the area before deciding on Boundary County instead.
May, September, and October ... Maybe a light fleece some days.
November, March and April are unpredictable ... often a long-sleeve wool shirt or fleece or sweeter is sufficient.
December, January and February are when we get cold enough to consistently need a jacket.
But for most people, a jacket is only needed around 4-5 months.
I didn't mean to imply one needs to wear a winter parka for 9 months. By "jacket", I meant it's not tshirt weather but for 3 months. To me, "a jacket" could be a light windbreaker or a fleece or a medium-weight variety, etc. People often have a variety of jacket types for the weather.
And yes, depends on the person. At 60 degrees, some may still think that's tshirt weather, while others may need both a sweatshirt and a light jacket.
I didn't mean to imply one needs to wear a winter parka for 9 months. By "jacket", I meant it's not tshirt weather but for 3 months. To me, "a jacket" could be a light windbreaker or a fleece or a medium-weight variety, etc. People often have a variety of jacket types for the weather.
And yes, depends on the person. At 60 degrees, some may still think that's tshirt weather, while others may need both a sweatshirt and a light jacket.
Thanks for the clarification. Even with this definition you're looking at maybe 5-6 months without a "jacket" in Boise, roughly May-Oct. Depends, of course, on what happens in the shoulder seasons. Sometimes we have warmer than normal spring/fall, sometimes colder.
I should also mention that, by this definition, a jacket is needed for about the same number of months in much of Coastal California, which isn't regarded as having an unfavorable climate.
OP, something to consider: For temperature and humidity, Flagstaff, AZ is very similar to Boise. Not quite identical, but close. Average winter nights in Flagstaff are colder than Boise, and daytime winter highs are a bit higher. And Flagstaff gets more sunshine and a lot more snow (like 5x). You and your husband could spend a few days in Flagstaff this winter, preferably partly cloudy days, to get a feel for it and see if it's something you want to deal with for ~3 months/year.
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