I’d live in perpetual winter if I could. You can dress for the cold, but at some point the heat and humidity make it impossible to be comfortable outside regardless of your outfit.
Winter is hell for me.
I live in Sweden, and the winters are just the worst.
Everything sort of comes to a stop, people feel miserable, it’s constantly dark and you sort of go into an emotional hibernation of sorts.
Also dressing for the cold is not exactly easy either, you would have to go around with a balaclava to not get that biting cold that just cuts through all clothing and hurts your face.
But yeah, cold in itself would be manageable to a certain degree if it was bright until like 7 PM the winter around. Cold is annoying and difficult, and dark is annoying and difficult, but together it’s almost handicapping to me, even though I don’t feel like I have SAD or anything like that.
It doesn’t help that it seems as though our climate has changed so we either have
A) Summer from June to August, and then a fucking eternal autumn (but the sad part of autumn without any leaves and constant grey skies and wet brown leaves on the ground) from September to January, and then winter from January to April, spring from late April to June.
B) Summer from June to August, autumn in late september to October, then winter and snow from November to fucking May, and then we have spring for 2 weeks and then we head directly into summer.
It depends on where in Sweden you live of course, but I always loved the moment the first snow was on the ground. It immediately makes the entire surroundings feel less glum, even during the short days of winter.
Agree on the impact of climate change though. The seasons used to be reliable like clockwork, and that hasn’t really been the case for the last decade and a half or so.
But there’s a point where the cold is outright physically painful. And unless you’re wearing a full face mask, you’re pretty much always going to have some part of yourself exposed.
You also have to weigh the discomfort of being hot against the discomfort of wearing a ton of heavy clothing, and even all the time wasted pulling on and taking off coats, hats, & etc. every time you to outside.
There isn’t a place on Earth that gets cold enough that you can’t put on enough clothing to make it surviveable for a few hours.
The human body is endothermic. It regulates it’s own temperature by burning energy to create heat, but it doesn’t have a mechanism to cool itself in a humid environment.
At high humidity, 95 degrees can be lethal to a hydrated, healthy adult.
Last summer we 45 consecutive days over 100 degrees in a very humid climate.
Yeah I’d go even further. I’ve been in -25° in full goose down and warmers, it was pretty rough but with protection doable. I’ve been in 113° drinking water with cold rag on my neck and I could feel my internal organs straining to keep me alive.
The first I was able to withstand for a few hours, the second was max only 15 minutes. I’d take the -20°, it’s not even close.
I’d imagine arctic temps is where the scales start to switch, like -60° where your skin starts to flay and your blood can’t pump after a few minutes of exposure. But those temps only exist in a handful of desolate places, 110°+ is starting to show where humans live.
I used to think as you do, but in the heat a moist cooling towel worn about the neck, especially when paired with a wide brimmed hat, can be a great comfort.
Once the humidity gets high enough this doesn’t really work anymore, at least, in my personal experience. Wet clothes stay wet, but your still sweating.
Come to Maine if you live in the US. You’ll get your fill of winter really quick. A lot of people leave after their first winter here because it’s too much and far too expensive to have to burn kerosine for 6 months.
I live in Canada today, and used to live in Sweden. I’m perfectly fine with winter and heating the house, dressing for it, etc. I’ll compromise my stance by saying early spring is nice, but man do I hate summer heat and humidity. And don’t get me started on mosquitoes and other summer bugs.
Good luck friend! I’ll give you a fair warning rent is insane here and unless you bring a remote wage you’ll likely be traveling an hour or more for work. The best jobs are in southern maine but within 30 miles of where I live you’re looking at paying at least 1800 a month for a one bedroom. If you can afford to live in the city you probably won’t have to deal with all of the snow removal.
I’d live in perpetual winter if I could. You can dress for the cold, but at some point the heat and humidity make it impossible to be comfortable outside regardless of your outfit.
Winter is hell for me. I live in Sweden, and the winters are just the worst. Everything sort of comes to a stop, people feel miserable, it’s constantly dark and you sort of go into an emotional hibernation of sorts. Also dressing for the cold is not exactly easy either, you would have to go around with a balaclava to not get that biting cold that just cuts through all clothing and hurts your face.
But yeah, cold in itself would be manageable to a certain degree if it was bright until like 7 PM the winter around. Cold is annoying and difficult, and dark is annoying and difficult, but together it’s almost handicapping to me, even though I don’t feel like I have SAD or anything like that.
It doesn’t help that it seems as though our climate has changed so we either have A) Summer from June to August, and then a fucking eternal autumn (but the sad part of autumn without any leaves and constant grey skies and wet brown leaves on the ground) from September to January, and then winter from January to April, spring from late April to June.
B) Summer from June to August, autumn in late september to October, then winter and snow from November to fucking May, and then we have spring for 2 weeks and then we head directly into summer.
Yeah idk. Winter is not for me.
It depends on where in Sweden you live of course, but I always loved the moment the first snow was on the ground. It immediately makes the entire surroundings feel less glum, even during the short days of winter.
Agree on the impact of climate change though. The seasons used to be reliable like clockwork, and that hasn’t really been the case for the last decade and a half or so.
Being hot and sweaty is uncomfortable, granted.
But there’s a point where the cold is outright physically painful. And unless you’re wearing a full face mask, you’re pretty much always going to have some part of yourself exposed.
You also have to weigh the discomfort of being hot against the discomfort of wearing a ton of heavy clothing, and even all the time wasted pulling on and taking off coats, hats, & etc. every time you to outside.
For me, summer wins every time.
I’ve been outside bundled up in 0°. It was unpleasant.
I’ve been outside in as little as I could legally get away with in 110°.
No contest: I’ll take the cold.
I also prefer the cold myself, but you know it gets much colder than 0°F in lots of places right?
There isn’t a place on Earth that gets cold enough that you can’t put on enough clothing to make it surviveable for a few hours.
The human body is endothermic. It regulates it’s own temperature by burning energy to create heat, but it doesn’t have a mechanism to cool itself in a humid environment.
At high humidity, 95 degrees can be lethal to a hydrated, healthy adult.
Last summer we 45 consecutive days over 100 degrees in a very humid climate.
Yeah I’d go even further. I’ve been in -25° in full goose down and warmers, it was pretty rough but with protection doable. I’ve been in 113° drinking water with cold rag on my neck and I could feel my internal organs straining to keep me alive.
The first I was able to withstand for a few hours, the second was max only 15 minutes. I’d take the -20°, it’s not even close.
I’d imagine arctic temps is where the scales start to switch, like -60° where your skin starts to flay and your blood can’t pump after a few minutes of exposure. But those temps only exist in a handful of desolate places, 110°+ is starting to show where humans live.
Pull off your skin
I used to think as you do, but in the heat a moist cooling towel worn about the neck, especially when paired with a wide brimmed hat, can be a great comfort.
Once the humidity gets high enough this doesn’t really work anymore, at least, in my personal experience. Wet clothes stay wet, but your still sweating.
At that point simple tricks don’t work so well and you just have to start spending energy to move heat around
yesterday it was 31° outside and 100% humidity. My bath towel is still wet after hanging at night.
Come to Maine if you live in the US. You’ll get your fill of winter really quick. A lot of people leave after their first winter here because it’s too much and far too expensive to have to burn kerosine for 6 months.
I live in Canada today, and used to live in Sweden. I’m perfectly fine with winter and heating the house, dressing for it, etc. I’ll compromise my stance by saying early spring is nice, but man do I hate summer heat and humidity. And don’t get me started on mosquitoes and other summer bugs.
I can agree with that. I can’t stand the black flies in the summer and theres no ticks in winter.
Winter for six months? Fuck it, I’m there :)
Good luck friend! I’ll give you a fair warning rent is insane here and unless you bring a remote wage you’ll likely be traveling an hour or more for work. The best jobs are in southern maine but within 30 miles of where I live you’re looking at paying at least 1800 a month for a one bedroom. If you can afford to live in the city you probably won’t have to deal with all of the snow removal.