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I have lived in both climates, and Seattle's winters are far, far better than Chicago's (and that of the entire upper Midwest). For one thing it's not as cold, and for another the landscape stays green- that is so much better than the dead brown looking landscape back in the Midwest throughout the winter, and of course is better than dealing with snow and ice. I spent most of my life back there, have only lived in Seattle for 3 years but I am thankful every day throughout the winters that I am here instead of back there. That dead brown landscape on a winter day- even if it is sunny- is more depressing than the clouds or drizzle we deal with here.
And I have lived in more temperate climates with rainy winters and I MUCH prefer the snowy and colder kind to those winters, not to mention the summers are much better because you can actually swim outside without getting hypothermia. You can actually do outdoor activities in your own backyard if there's snow and ice, but never if there's cold wet rain. 70's and sunny IS BEAUTIFUL weather, and the Midwest has that for Spring and Fall....not just summer. 4 seasons is where it's at for me. Cloudy days, with or without rain, are what bring me down mood-wise. Not necessarily how lush the environment is, but for that matter, if it were NEVER lush and green, it'd brinig me down too. That's my biggest beef with the desert SW.....it's brown most of the year. Even Denver and Colorado is very very brown. Sunny, yes, but also very brown and dry. For me (and I keep saying that because almost everybody else is posting like their feelings or viewpoints are facts and not perception), I dislike the following in descending order (most dislike first):
I feel like Seattlites never have one negative thing to say about their city. Even the notoriously bad aspects about it (i.e. rain and clouds) never seem to be a problem for residents, whereas you couldn't go a day without hearing somebody complaining about the cold in the North. Why is that? You could argue that cold weather is just that much more averse than rainy/cloudy weather, but my feeling is that isn't the only reason this tends to happen. Maybe this needs its own thread....
I feel like Seattlites never have one negative thing to say about their city. Even the notoriously bad aspects about it (i.e. rain and clouds) never seem to be a problem for residents, whereas you couldn't go a day without hearing somebody complaining about the cold in the North. Why is that? You could argue that cold weather is just that much more averse than rainy/cloudy weather, but my feeling is that isn't the only reason this tends to happen. Maybe this needs its own thread....
Rain and clouds are not bad aspects about Seattle, at least for me. Especially if you moved from a city that was colder in the winters and hot and extremely humid in the summer. For me there was really nothing to complain about in that aspect. It was an absolute blessing. And come on. Hypothermia while swimming in Seattle? We had a ball.
Rain and clouds are not bad aspects about Seattle, at least for me. Especially if you moved from a city that was colder in the winters and hot and extremely humid in the summer. For me there was really nothing to complain about in that aspect. It was an absolute blessing. And come on. Hypothermia while swimming in Seattle? We had a ball.
C'mon nothing.....70 degrees average high would mean the water's temp is easily below 70. Couple that with a daily high lower than 85 and there's no way in hell I'm going into the water! It's got to be 85 or higher for me to go into a lake/pool anyways, and probably hotter if the water is cold (below 70 is COLD water)! I'm surprised I don't see more wet suits!! What was the temp the day you took those pics? How about the water?
I'm glad you had fun though, but I feel like you're missing the point: on an average summer day in Seattle swimming outside would be difficult, at best.
Rain and clouds are not bad aspects about Seattle, at least for me. Especially if you moved from a city that was colder in the winters and hot and extremely humid in the summer. For me there was really nothing to complain about in that aspect. It was an absolute blessing. And come on. Hypothermia while swimming in Seattle? We had a ball.
My thoughts exactly. I think the people who really think that Seattle weather (especially the winter weather) are those who move here from warmer climates- such as California, Arizona, Florida, etc. They think the wet, cloudy weather is just unbearable, having no idea how much worse many other parts of the country are at that time of the year. For many like me who moved here from the Midwest, we know that winter is just terrible "back home", and so though not as perfect as Southern California or Arizona winter weather, what we have in Seattle in the winter is really not bad, in fact a huge improvement over what we had back home, so we don't feel we have much to complain about. Add to it the lush green landscape even in the winter, and it really is beautiful.
As far as summers go, I can't stand heat, so I spent much of the summer back home couped up in the air conditioned indoors much of the time since it's always so hot and humid back there, so the summer weather with 70-80 degrees here is just perfect in comparison to what I'm used to. Basically for both summer and winter were unbearable to do much outside back in the Midwest due to either extreme cold or too much heat/humidity, so with the all around "mild" climate here it is just a perfect fit. I have a hunch that many transplants from many other areas look at it this way as well and that's why they don't have too many complaints when these topics come up.
C'mon nothing.....70 degrees average high would mean the water's temp is easily below 70. Couple that with a daily high lower than 85 and there's no way in hell I'm going into the water! It's got to be 85 or higher for me to go into a lake/pool anyways, and probably hotter if the water is cold (below 70 is COLD water)! I'm surprised I don't see more wet suits!! What was the temp the day you took those pics? How about the water?
I'm glad you had fun though, but I feel like you're missing the point: on an average summer day in Seattle swimming outside would be difficult, at best.
What point am I missing? Summers are glorious in Seattle and I haven't seen any North American city with better summer weather. Going to any of the Seattle area beaches is a summertime favorite.
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