OT: For Our Ex-Cuse Folks

[CuseOnly]

I have lived in North Syracuse (through high school), Fredonia (college), Ithaca (grad school), Atlanta, San Francisco area (35 miles E, inland), and now Atlanta again. Done 3-4 month assignments in Newport News and Charlotte. Nothing beats central NY.

Syracuse has 4 distinct seasons. Spring is like a little Autumn, with multicolored leaves in subdued hues. Summer is hot and steamy and hazy. Autumn is cool and clear, while the world shuts down. Winter is Hoth from The Empire Strikes Back. Nothing is constant, nothing is static. Life always has you on a perceptible cycle. You appreciate each season for what opportunities it affords you.

Having lived in California for more than a decade, and having explored it and traveled it from top to bottom, I can dispel a myth. California does not have good weather - it does not have weather, in general. If stultification and ennui are your goals, by all means, have at it. Nothing is harder to endure than an endless succession of fair days.

"Okay, well, check this out. First of all, you're throwing too many big words at me. Okay, now because I don't understand them, I'm gonna take them as disrespect."

What movie?

 

[texascpa]

Guys complaining about the cold. smh. Even if it's cold you can jump on the snowmobiles, go skiing, make a snowman or snow fortress with your kids, have a snowball fight, etc.

Come down here in Houston where it gets 105 with 100% humidity in the summer. Can't do a damn thing outside for three months.

 

[sufandu]

Early spring? How about late spring? I've seen many, many Mays that I'd love to forget. The problem with upstate weather is not winter (as long as you're OK with snow, which I am), summer or fall (both of which are perfect), but it's that spring that is brutal. March and April are generally dark and brutal, May can be nice but can be awful and even June is no guarantee. I was up there last year in June and we were wearing pants and sweatshirts while it was spitting rain. Ugh. That's rough. The rest of the year is really very manageable if not excellent.

Eh, I've seen spring go either way. I've seen 5 ft of snow in less than 24 hours in march and I've seen 80 degree days. I usually didn't think April and May were generally that bad. At least by then, the never ending frigid temps are over even if the sky can sometimes stay gray. Some years are cool and crappy, but other years the sun comes out, dries everything up, and it can be really nice. I remember weather being great when I ran track my senior year in high school.

 

[sufandu]

Guys complaining about the cold. smh. Even if it's cold you can jump on the snowmobiles, go skiing, make a snowman or snow fortress with your kids, have a snowball fight, etc.

Come down here in Houston where it gets 105 with 100% humidity in the summer. Can't do a damn thing outside for three months.

When I lived in CNY I was asked why I didn't do all of those activities you mentioned. I told the guy I didn't want to go out in the cold to do them (loved that stuff as a kid, grew to hate it as an adult). He told me snowmobiles had heated hand grips and seats now. I responded that my living was also heated and I could sit around in shorts and a t-shirt.

Living in the south now I've been outside in 100 degree temps and high humidity. Tennessee doesn't see the constant heat that Texas does, but after working in a factory during the hot and humid days of summer, heat doesn't bother me as long as I can wear shorts and sandals. I suppose it's all about preference and what you get acclimated to.

 

[texascpa]

When I lived in CNY I was asked why I didn't do all of those activities you mentioned. I told the guy I didn't want to go out in the cold to do them (loved that stuff as a kid, grew to hate it as an adult). He told me snowmobiles had heated hand grips and seats now. I responded that my living was also heated and I could sit around in shorts and a t-shirt.

Living in the south now I've been outside in 100 degree temps and high humidity. Tennessee doesn't see the constant heat that Texas does, but after working in a factory during the hot and humid days of summer, heat doesn't bother me as long as I can wear shorts and sandals. I suppose it's all about preference and what you get acclimated to.

Been here in Houston for almost 20 years. Still not used to the heat or huge cockroaches. lol. Oh, and I refuse to wear sandals. I honestly miss the snow or just the change in seasons. It was 32 degrees this morning, though. Coldest all year.

 

[sufandu]

Been here in Houston for almost 20 years. Still not used to the heat or huge cockroaches. lol. Oh, and I refuse to wear sandals. I honestly miss the snow or just the change in seasons. It was 32 degrees this morning, though. Coldest all year.

I think the factory work forced me to acclimate to heat. Having to wear work pants and heavy work boots in a hot humid environment with little air movement made it a lot easier for me to deal with heat anytime I got to be outside and wear comfortable clothes. There were days I'd drink 128 ounces of water during an 8 hour shift and never have to use the bathroom because I was sweating so much. I'd wipe my forehead with the sleeve of my shirt enough that by the end of the day I had white patches from all of the salt.

I don't know that I'd ever acclimate to huge cockroaches. lol

 

[CuseLegacy]

Been here in Houston for almost 20 years. Still not used to the heat or huge cockroaches. lol. Oh, and I refuse to wear sandals. I honestly miss the snow or just the change in seasons. It was 32 degrees this morning, though. Coldest all year.

 

[tep624]

You know what's weird -- I live in DC and do sales regionally. I actually have just gotten used to the traffic, which supposedly overtook LA for worst in the nation last year (not that there's any real way of measuring that). It's brutal but if you just understand that it's going to be brutal, you can deal with it. The bigger issue to me is cost of living, which you point out. Living in a house that is fine but far from great for $500K and then debating whether or not to pay for private/parochial schools is crazy.

Basically, if you want to live and work where it's nice, you're going to pay. And if you don't want to pay, then you're commuting a half hour or more each day one way through some of the worst traffic in the country. When I was commuting, I actually was more stressed when I arrived at the office than when I would leave, lol!

 

[NashvilleOrange]

One thing that I like better about the Upstate NY winters is the snow coverage. It's much more visually appealing having snow covered trees than the bare, dead look that covers the South during the winter. I do prefer the fall and spring in the South though.