Quote:
Originally Posted by debzaranti
We moved here from suburban Chicago 4 years ago. I swear to you, it can get hotter up there. Chicago can have 100 degree days in the summer...in the 4 years we've been here, there has not been a single 100 degree day (air temp). It's just that it's hot here for a longer period of time than it is up north.
Humidity seemed so much worse in Chicago than it does here. Up north it was oppressive. I have asthma and oftentimes when I'd walk outside up north during their high heat/humidity time, it would feel like an elephant was sitting on my chest when I tried to breathe. Never have that sensation here. You can get the heat blast feeling, but not the elephant on the chest feeling (air heavy w/humidity). FL humidity is different somehow. The breezes we get by being on a pennisula help, I think.
If you like being outdoors, my best advice to you is just suck it up for the first summer and spend as much time outside as possible (be sure to stay hydrated...and that means at least 16 oz. water each hour you are out and sweating). You can stay in the shade, don't need to be out in the sun. You will sweat like you've never sweat before! HOWEVER, the next summer will be ever so much easier for you. Your "northern body thermostat" needs to be re-set for our sub-tropical climate. Best way to do that is to expose yourself to the heat instead of avoiding it.
My husband makes fun of me, but now, when the temps get below 80 I start getting "cold"!! LOL! In the summer, we keep our A/C set on 82 w/ceiling fans on, but sometimes the fans have to go off cause I get chilled.
During our FL "winters" we keep our furnace set to 74 and still bundle up in the house!!! Up north we had our winter thermostat set at 62 for nights and 68 days. People like to tell you your blood "thins" after you live here for a while...and while that may not be physiologically accurate, the truth is your body does change. It becomes much more efficient at throwing OFF heat and much less efficient at holding it in.
You will always sweat during the Fl summers, you have to...but you'll get used to it. Your shower will become your new best friend...as will the neighborhood pools! ENJOY!!!  |
You are 100% correct, it is all what you become accustomed to over time. My wife and I lived in central America (Panama) for many years and when we first got there we used to laugh at our Panamanian employees when they showed up to work in down jackets, sweaters, and woolen hats when the temps dipped into the mid-70s. I teased them relentlessly (in a good natured manner, of course) about their sensitivity to "cold" weather. In my mind they were all wimps. I actually gave them a lot of my old winter clothes.
Fast forward a couple of years and I noticed that I started to get cold everytime the thermometer dropped into the 70s. My employees got a big kick out of this and even offered to sell me back some of my winter clothes. They enjoyed teasing me for being such a "wimp." Karma is a beach!
Take it from a native Floridian, you'll eventually get used to it and you'll definitely appreciate our relatively mild winters.