[expatCA]

Originally Posted by floridarebel

When reading temp data in FL going back to the early part of the 20th century, high temps have stayed pretty much the same but it's low temps that have risen. Low temps have gradually risen from low to mid 70s to upper 70s. Rainfall has actually risen as well. Land clear cutting and the building of concrete has likely prevented temps at night from falling as low as they would other wise.

Hoorayyyyyy, I hate cold.

[Corrie22]

Originally Posted by floridarebel

When reading temp data in FL going back to the early part of the 20th century, high temps have stayed pretty much the same but it's low temps that have risen. Low temps have gradually risen from low to mid 70s to upper 70s. Rainfall has actually risen as well. Land clear cutting and the building of concrete has likely prevented temps at night from falling as low as they would other wise.

That's how they trick people with averages....and you're 100% right...has Florida's average temp increased...absolutely....but almost all of it is at night

Florida's population in 1900 was about 500,000....now it's about 22 million....44 times more people

...houses, roads, parking lots, airports, buildings, engines, AC's, etc are the cause of warmer night time temps

[wolf39us]

Originally Posted by Dan2019

From a person who lived in New England for 35+ years, and moved to the greater Tampa area 2 years ago..

Many people have mentioned that summers up "North" are just as bad as summers in FL. This simply is not the case. I have experienced 1-2 week "heat waves" in NE in August, where temperatures were in the mid-high 90's. Yes the heat was there, but the difference is that the sun in FL is MUCH stronger. The UV index is off the charts, and the sun up North just does not compare. You will get a sun burn through the clouds in FL. Take that 1-2 week "heat wave" in NE, and make it last 5 months. That is a FL summer. The heat and humidity do not let up in the morning or evenings. April and November are a bit more comfortable, but still feel like feel a Northern summer, after-noon. December through March is very nice, but still mix in some 80 degree days here and there. So far, the beautiful weather Dec-March has not been worth the seemingly endless summer in FL.

After 2 years in FL, I am not sure that the trade-off of freezing winters for scorching summers has been worth it. In both cases, you will be indoors with the windows closed, escaping the extreme weather for at least half of the year. The one plus in FL is that there are a lot more sunny days compared to NE, and of course no snow.

If you are considering a move to FL, and are looking at average monthly temperatures, take the average listed temperature and add 10-15 degrees to account for the heat index. If 90 is listed as the average temp in July, keep in mind that the real feel will generally be more like 105, due to the humidity.

FL is really nice during the winter, and NE is really nice during the summer. I do however believe that there are much better areas weather-wise on the East Coast. If I can convince my wife, we will be moving to NC. We moved here to escape the winters of NE, and have family in SW FL. I just cannot imagine dealing with the summers here long term.

I am also from New England and I moved to Tampa back in 2009 (returned to CT in 2015). Exactly as described here is my experience.

For me, I could only be comfortable outside between December and March. The rest of the year was scorching hot. I lived there almost 6 years. There was no "getting adjusted" for me. There was only complaining less about the hellish-like weather.

I'm back, and I'm loving the temperatures of New England.

Surprisingly enough, my wife also enjoys CT's temps! (She's from Honduras)

[double6's]

that's why being a snowbird is the best possible solution..

[beach43ofus]

We are not snowbirds, we are "heat birds"!

We wanted Florida residency to escape State income taxes. That means we we needed to live in Florida for at least 6 months and 1 day of each year. Check.

We've had multiple homes before, and no longer wanted that cost, stress, & hassle. We wanted to simplify things. We sold our 2 places in Georgia (Atlanta & weekender in the North GA Mountains), and bought a new place in Southern Sarasota County. Check.

We wanted to stay away from any place where it snowed, or iced too, so we moved to Florida. Check.

We are in year 2 as Florida residents. Year 1, we spent 100% of our time in Florida. September (2018) was the hottest month on record in Sarasota. We decided in year 2, we'd go North for at least 1 month....September. I'm composing this posting entry from Hilton Head Island SC, where it has averaged 10-15 degrees cooler (feels like). We rented a condo for the month for $2,200. We've got 5 more days here, then we drive back to Sarasota. October's quite nice in FLA.

Next year, we'll likely stetch out our "heat escape" to 2 months. Destination unknown. Probably August & September. We'll drive again, and it will likely be another affluent coastal hamlet. Maybe Mount Pleasant, SC outside Charleston, or Wrightsville Beach next to Wilmington, NC. Any other ideas would be welcomed.

We can easily withstand Florida's heat for most of Florida's Summers from May-September coming from "Hotlanta", Georgia. However, spending the ENTIRE Summer in Florida probably won't happen again. We'll be "heat bird" renters from now on because it's a lower cost and lower time-consuming alternative to owning anything up North.

[TBMorgan]

Today isn't very hot here in FL ---but the rest of the country is having issues w/ heat.....sometimes it pays to be in FL during these months.