[HN Gopher] Where Is the World's Best Weather? (2020)
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       Where Is the World's Best Weather? (2020)
        
       Author : Kaibeezy
       Score  : 48 points
       Date   : 2021-07-29 19:51 UTC (3 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (leisurepurpose.wordpress.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (leisurepurpose.wordpress.com)
        
       | s5300 wrote:
       | San Diego and some of Tijuana are just about unbeatable IMO. Any
       | other weather that isn't perfectly sunny is only a short drive
       | away if you so feel the need... the only thing I've ever missed
       | from the MidWest is a few good thunderstorms a year, but even
       | those don't seem to happen as much as it at least seemed to when
       | I was much younger.
        
         | panzagl wrote:
         | San Diego is fine if you can live near the water, but go inland
         | where people can afford to live and it's basically desert.
        
           | s5300 wrote:
           | This somewhat rings true, just like the microclimate that
           | Santa Monica and such has vs the greater LA region.
           | 
           | I have ran into more than a few highly intelligent/quite
           | successful people living near the water in SD who decided
           | long ago that they were _completely_ content with the fact
           | they were going to be renting essentially for life. Perhaps
           | once they get to be exceptionally old they 'll have a change
           | of heart, but for decades or longer and likely many more,
           | they've simply found the climate to be worth throwing a
           | sizeable amount of their income into a non-equity black hole
           | paying off somebody more fortunates mortgages.
           | 
           | Personally, I'm a bit jealous of their ability to have that
           | mindset and be perfectly happy people.
        
       | yesenadam wrote:
       | Weather is complicated. e.g. Taree (NSW, Australia) gets a 10 in
       | the list of 129 cities with nearly perfect weather. But in summer
       | it's often very hot and humid. Way too hot. (Source: I did 11
       | years of school there!) But just 30 minutes drive down the road
       | is Forster-Tuncurry, between ocean and lake, with a sea breeze,
       | never too hot or humid, which I'd say does have perfect weather.
       | They're both fairly small country towns, though, not cities.
       | 
       | I'm in Sydney now. I have friends in many countries, who live
       | with typhoons, earthquakes, volcanoes, floods, violence...and not
       | having any of that here makes me feel fortunate and it almost
       | justifies the crazy high rent.
        
       | tw600040 wrote:
       | Cancun!
        
       | lifty wrote:
       | I'm surprised that Tenerife didn't come up. It's a Spanish island
       | of the coast of Africa which gets great weather and a narrow
       | temperature band all year round. Half of the island is quite
       | green and lush because it gets a decent amount of rain, while the
       | other half is more dry. I suspect Madeira is similar but even
       | more green.
        
       | ardit33 wrote:
       | Most of European Coastal Mediterranean, (Spain, Italy, France,
       | Greece, Albania, southern part of Croatia), including Portugal,
       | San Diego, and anything close to the ocean in California (as long
       | as it is not in the fog belt like San Francisco),
       | 
       | South Africa, and perhaps some parts of Australia and Latin
       | America.
       | 
       | Basically, anywhere where it is sunny 'Mild Mediterranean'
       | weather, that it is not too hot (North Africa is too hot for my
       | taste).
       | 
       | Top Cities in Europe: Barcelona, Valencia, in Spain, Livornia,
       | Rimini, Pisa, in Italy (Rome can get too hot), Marsseille, Nice
       | in France, Durres, Vlora in Albania, (actually most of Albania
       | has great weather), Dubrovnik in Croatia, Corfu, Patras, Selaniki
       | in Greece), Lisbon and Porto in Portugal, etc...
       | 
       | This is the sunshine map of Europe. Light Orange areas are
       | probably the best areas weather wise. If it is the bright Orange,
       | then Coastal areas are still great, but inland might get too hot.
       | Eg. Madrid, and Rome get too hot in the summer, but cities like
       | Barcelona, or Niece in France are more moderate as they are
       | coastal:
       | 
       | https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f8/Europe_s...
        
         | AtomicOrbital wrote:
         | Folks need to appreciate lush vibrant green vegetation where
         | frequent rain is encouraged ... perhaps motivated by lifelong
         | hiking every few days ... so for me Mediterranean climate is
         | way too dry and barren
        
           | PaulDavisThe1st wrote:
           | Wallace Stegner:
           | 
           | "Dutton describes a process of westernization of the
           | perceptions that has had to happen before the West is
           | beautiful to us. You have to get over the color green; you
           | have to quit associating beauty with gardens and lawns; you
           | have to get used to an inhuman scale; you have to understand
           | geological time."
           | 
           | Much longer and more explanatory quote here:
           | 
           | https://bensonian.wordpress.com/2012/03/14/you-have-to-
           | get-o...
        
             | throw0101a wrote:
             | I'm not against what he's saying, but green vegetation
             | generally means a good source of water, which is handy to
             | have:
             | 
             | * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_security
        
         | throw0101a wrote:
         | > _Basically, anywhere where it is sunny 'Mild Mediterranean'
         | weather, that it is not too hot (North Africa is too hot for my
         | taste)._
         | 
         | I wouldn't object to living in that climate type (Csa, Csb),
         | but I'd be worried about rainfall:
         | 
         | * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mediterranean_climate
         | 
         | Personally I'd lean more towards Oceanic:
         | 
         | * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oceanic_climate
         | 
         | Still mild, with some seasonality. I do understand why some
         | people wouldn't want all the cloudiness.
        
         | andrepd wrote:
         | +1 for that sweet Csa climate :)
        
         | systemvoltage wrote:
         | Speak for yourself. I love rainy weather too. Seattle/Portland
         | would be great. I lived in Oxford, UK and found the seasons
         | absolutely beautiful.
         | 
         | It's a matter of taste, really.
        
         | balfirevic wrote:
         | > southern part of Croatia
         | 
         | That's where I live. Summers get much too hot to be called
         | mild, but it's the winters that are annoying as hell. Everyone
         | pretends that the cold doesn't exist, so insulation is terrible
         | and so is heating unless you want to pay through the nose for
         | electricity every month.
         | 
         | Seriously, winters were much better when I lived in the
         | capital, which is continental and colder but has actual
         | amenities to counter that.
         | 
         | I did have an opportunity to spend a month in Los Angeles on
         | two occasions (in winter and fall) and the weather was
         | fantastic.
        
       | 11thEarlOfMar wrote:
       | It's really important to keep in mind that climate can change
       | dramatically in only short distances. From last week, at the same
       | time it was 100F in Sacramento, CA, it was 60F in Inverness, CA.
       | Same latitude, same elevation. The two are about 100 miles apart,
       | a short distance when searching the globe.
       | 
       | I cite Inverness, CA because it has the best weather for my
       | tastes: 20F annual temperature range with average high just under
       | 70F. Always breezy out of the West, with clean ocean air coming
       | off the Pacific. 257 days of sun, 42 inches of rain, less than 1%
       | 'muggy' humidity.
       | 
       | Most places within 10 miles of the Northern California Pacific
       | coast have these attributes.
       | 
       | https://weatherspark.com/y/609/Average-Weather-in-Inverness-...
        
       | onion2k wrote:
       | I don't think I could define what "the best weather" means. I
       | like a sunny day as much as anyone, but I like snow too, and a
       | huge thunderstorm, and even a bit of rain, and mist, and
       | everything else. I'd miss a lot of that if I lived somewhere that
       | had the "best" weather.
        
         | sjs7007 wrote:
         | Basically you want seasons instead of monotony.
        
           | kbenson wrote:
           | This is touched on, and you can get a lot of those things by
           | living in an area with different climes in close proximity,
           | for example a coastal region that rises into mountains not
           | too far away.
           | 
           | So the question is, if you want snow some times, do you want
           | to _live_ in the snow, or have _access to_ the snow, and how
           | close is close enough? The bay area has Tahoe, which you can
           | reach in about 4 hours, for access to snow. If you want to
           | actually live in the snow for at least part of the year, the
           | SF Bay Area won 't cut it then.
        
         | fumar wrote:
         | I thought the same for 30 years. Then I moved to Southern
         | California. I don't miss the any of those things. My allergies
         | are gone. My exercise routine is consistent and my outdoor
         | hobbies increased. Beach, mountains, flatland, desert, gardens,
         | etc are all within 1 or 2 hours from me.
        
       | davidw wrote:
       | It's on one of the lists, but the weather here looks pretty good
       | to me https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antofagasta
       | 
       | Never too hot or cold, and it never rains. Of course nothing much
       | grows there.
        
       | data4lyfe wrote:
       | Best optimization of weather conditions has to be seasonal.
       | Seattle and Portland may be horrible 8 months out of the year but
       | the summer months are quite perfect.
       | 
       | What I want to know are which cities are great seasonal cities in
       | which I could potentially buy a condo for the high seasons, and
       | then leave in the non-high seasons for a potential rental at a
       | still competitive price.
       | 
       | For example: SF sucks in the summer, but maybe the tourists don't
       | know that.
        
         | runarberg wrote:
         | The excessive summer sun is actually a bug not a feature,
         | especially if you factor in the diminished air quality with
         | increased forest fires. Last summer everybody I know chaired
         | when the rains finally came and cleared the air from all the
         | particulates.
         | 
         | Actually IMO the PNW would have a pretty sweet overall weather
         | if only it would rain just a little more in the summer (say
         | once a week / every two weeks).
        
         | ojbyrne wrote:
         | SF has microclimates and for my preferences the southeastern
         | part of the city (the Mission, Potrero Hill, Dogpatch) have
         | perfect summers. Highs of 65-75, and then at night the fog
         | comes and cools things down for perfect sleep temperatures. On
         | the western side of the city it's just fog all day.
         | 
         | Plus it's always an impressive sight to see the fog come over
         | the hills every day.
        
         | kbenson wrote:
         | > For example: SF sucks in the summer, but maybe the tourists
         | don't know that.
         | 
         | Actual SF, or surrounding areas? I would think SF is fairly
         | nice in the summer with the ocean breeze. Sonoma county gets
         | pretty warm in the summer as well, but SF proper always felt
         | cooler to me. I can imagine San Jose being just as bad or worse
         | though.
        
           | ghaff wrote:
           | You do have the probably apocryphal Mark Twain "The coldest
           | winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco." And you
           | can really get the cold, grey city vibe. But, honestly for
           | the most part, it's hard to find a lot of fault (for me) in
           | SF climate most of the year. And I've spent a lot of time
           | there even if I've never lived there.
           | 
           | ADDED: And I wouldn't think most people would think anything
           | in NoCal generally (or most of CA even more generally)
           | "sucked" in the summer
        
             | kbenson wrote:
             | > I wouldn't think most people would think anything in
             | NoCal generally (or most of CA even more generally)
             | "sucked" in the summer
             | 
             | Eh, week or longer periods of temperatures in the high 90's
             | and low 100's when you're not at the coast isn't always
             | pleasant, I could see how some people think it sucks,
             | depending on how much you're required to be outside. It
             | gets hotter the farther north and more inland you go for a
             | while, and the more inland (even if not by much).
             | 
             | In the end a lot is just what you're used to, I think.
        
               | ghaff wrote:
               | Central Valley (for me) is definitely less comfortable
               | than western mountains, coastal mountains, and coast.
        
         | nprecup wrote:
         | Summer in the PNW is no good - it's sunny every day for months
         | straight! It's terrible!
        
           | Arrath wrote:
           | I'll take those 8 months of drizzle, take the sun away
           | thanks!
        
             | Afton wrote:
             | Right?! 80 degrees and sunburns? No thanks, I'll take my 52
             | and overcast thank you very much. You think I live here by
             | accident?
             | 
             | I wonder what the internet provider is in Forks,WA...
        
       | kazinator wrote:
       | I saw a documentary on Japanese TV on this topic. Or, actually,
       | it might have been this reality TV show:
       | 
       | https://www.asahi.co.jp/konnatokoroni/
       | 
       | whose concept is that Japanese celebrities travel to various
       | places in the world, often remote, to pay a surprise visit to
       | some Japanese person living there.
       | 
       | Anyway, in this particular episode, a certain gentleman was
       | visited who lives in some high altitude mountainous location in
       | Vietnam, I think.
       | 
       | He chose to live there largely due to the ideal climate.
       | 
       | The idea is that one important characteristic of a "good" climate
       | is that there are no swings in temperature: no seasons. OK, that
       | constrains us to the tropics. (Or else, as a strawman argument,
       | perhaps to the Arctic or Antarctica.) But it's hot and humid in
       | the tropics, with rain. The solution: _a high altitude location
       | in the mountains_ at a tropical latitude: low lat, high alt. A
       | high altitude location in the tropics still has no seasons, but
       | is cooler and with less rain.
       | 
       | The gentleman said that he could go outside year round wearing
       | the same light clothing. He also pointed out that the advantage
       | is not just comfort; he was able able to grow vegetables all year
       | round, without regard for seasons.
        
         | throw0101a wrote:
         | Given the variety of climates in Japan itself quite a few types
         | could be experienced domestically:
         | 
         | * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography_of_Japan#Climate
        
         | finiteseries wrote:
         | The vast majority of tropical Mexico & Central America's cities
         | seem to be settled in this manner as well, it's lovely.
         | 
         | I wonder if it's a lack of rivers, islands, and ports that led
         | to this vs Southeast Asia's cities mostly being at sea level.
         | Although Colombia has rivers & ports, and still is mostly
         | settled in the mountains. Odd.
        
       | klyrs wrote:
       | Wow, that dreariness index plot is a total mess. I'm not even
       | colorblind, and I had way too much trouble distinguishing the
       | best from worst...
        
         | giarc wrote:
         | Is there some reason they go orange to blue then back to red?
        
           | vinni2 wrote:
           | Someone messed up the color legend while plotting. It takes a
           | bit of work to adjust it manually.
        
       | mannykannot wrote:
       | I got a chuckle out of seeing the U.K. Overseas Territories
       | ranked 3rd. in the countries list, as it is comprised of fourteen
       | territories spread from the Isle of Man to the British Antarctic
       | Territory via the Caribbean and Mediterranean seas and the Indian
       | ocean.
       | 
       | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Overseas_Territories
        
         | gumby wrote:
         | Well, when you consider the _average_ ...
        
       | shoto_io wrote:
       | WeatherSpark is my favorite platform for this question. Lots of
       | data and look-a-like places. Highly recommended.
       | 
       | https://www.weatherspark.com/
        
         | seansmccullough wrote:
         | WeatherSpark is great, probably my favorite weather website.
        
         | whalesalad wrote:
         | Remarkable how different the experience is on that website when
         | you are not using an ad blocker.
        
         | samhh wrote:
         | Something this doesn't tell you is that summers in London for
         | example are awful because our homes have historically been
         | designed to trap heat.
        
           | snypher wrote:
           | Why -would- it tell you? If you live inside a refrigerator it
           | would never be hot.
        
       | thefourthchime wrote:
       | Little surprised Redwood, CA isn't there. Their slogan is
       | "Climate best by government test"
        
         | data4lyfe wrote:
         | Redwood City*
        
         | gpsx wrote:
         | Redwood City and other mid Bay Area mid-peninsula cities have
         | very nice weather. They have the same effect that makes San
         | Diego so nice, the interface between warm sun and cool ocean.
         | If the criteria was slightly different, biased cooler, Redwood
         | city might be on the list.
        
       | ghaff wrote:
       | So much of it is subjective. But assuming you throw out having
       | seasons--especially snowy seasons--and desire for year-round
       | humid or dry heat--the answer probably comes down to some
       | variation of a Mediterranean climate with assorted perturbations.
       | Though that doesn't really match up with the results.
        
       | christkv wrote:
       | I would wager on the Canary Islands never to hot or cold and lots
       | of good weather
        
       | kbenson wrote:
       | Is it me, or have quite a large percentage of links bit rotted
       | for an article a bit over a year old? I haven't clocked on a
       | bunch, just 4-5, but the only one that actually worked was to
       | Wikipedia.
        
       | xtracto wrote:
       | Is it me or is Mexico missing from his country ranking? (
       | https://leisurepurpose.files.wordpress.com/2017/06/countrycl... )
       | I was very curious to see where my country fell in that list.
        
       | exac wrote:
       | So the only 5 cities that score 11 are:
       | 
       | San Paulo, Brazil
       | 
       | Mzuzu, Malawi
       | 
       | Durban, South Africa
       | 
       | East London, South Africa
       | 
       | San Diego, USA
        
         | screye wrote:
         | The irony of naming the place with the World's best weather
         | after London.
        
         | malshe wrote:
         | I am so glad to see San Diego on this list. I am generally not
         | fussy about the weather but I love San Diego weather.
        
       | jdblair wrote:
       | Redwood City: Climate Best by Government Test
       | 
       | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redwood_City,_California#Sloga...
        
       | arbi_man wrote:
       | big takeaway from this post - Brazil as a tech hub is next.
       | Amazing weather, infrastructure in Sao Paulo, tech talent, cheap
       | currency, and a huge domestic TAM. As we get into more manmade
       | climate change, Sao Paulo will pull people south of MIA and even
       | NYC given the time unity and the increase in living standards for
       | every given USD.
        
       | throw0101a wrote:
       | > _Therefore, I decided that the best weather was the weather
       | that would most encourage a person to go outdoors and stay
       | outdoors. For that purpose, key weather elements would be
       | sunshine, warmth, and dryness -- calling to mind the Dreary
       | Weather Index offered by Brian Brettschneider:_
       | 
       | I think this is a bad measure of encouragement to go outdoors, as
       | it gives (e.g.) large swaths of New Mexico and Arizona a good
       | (i.e., low) score: there's no way I'm going outside when it's
       | >40C.
       | 
       | Certainly _not all_ of places in Arizona get so hot that
       | airplanes can 't fly of course:
       | 
       | * https://www.wired.com/story/phoenix-flights-canceled-heat/
       | 
       | So hopefully the min and max temperature was taken into account
       | in this article's calculations, as it does not seem to be in the
       | "Dreary Weather Index". I am reminded of the episode of the
       | cartoon _King of the Hill_ where they visit Phoenix:
       | 
       | * https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PYt0SDnrBE
        
       | happytoexplain wrote:
       | This is incredibly dense, and I hope to read it. My first
       | impression is that people like much warmer temperatures than I do
       | (Orlando Florida!?).
        
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       (page generated 2021-07-29 23:02 UTC)