Where Is the World’s Best Weather? (2020) • Hacker News Board

Re: Where Is the World’s Best Weather? (2020)

#51

Post by fumar » Thu, Jul 29, 2021, 10:28 PM UTC

onion2k wrote: post #26

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.

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.

Re: Where Is the World’s Best Weather? (2020)

#52

Post by throw0101a » Thu, Jul 29, 2021, 10:31 PM UTC

> 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

Re: Where Is the World’s Best Weather? (2020)

#53

Post by throw0101a » Thu, Jul 29, 2021, 10:33 PM UTC

PaulDavisThe1st wrote: post #49

AtomicOrbital wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

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-t…

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

Re: Where Is the World’s Best Weather? (2020)

#54

Post by ghaff » Thu, Jul 29, 2021, 10:33 PM UTC

kbenson wrote: post #50

ghaff wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 m…

> 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…

Central Valley (for me) is definitely less comfortable than western mountains, coastal mountains, and coast.

Re: Where Is the World’s Best Weather? (2020)

#55

Post by lifty » Thu, Jul 29, 2021, 10:42 PM UTC

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.

Re: Where Is the World’s Best Weather? (2020)

#56

Post by malshe » Thu, Jul 29, 2021, 10:44 PM UTC

exac wrote: post #4

So the only 5 cities that score 11 are: San Paulo, Brazil Mzuzu, Malawi Durban, South Africa East London, South Africa San Diego, USA

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.

Re: Where Is the World’s Best Weather? (2020)

#57

Post by davidw » Thu, Jul 29, 2021, 10:45 PM UTC

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.

Re: Where Is the World’s Best Weather? (2020)

#58

Post by s5300 » Thu, Jul 29, 2021, 10:49 PM UTC

panzagl wrote: post #42

s5300 wrote: post #19

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.

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.

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.

Re: Where Is the World’s Best Weather? (2020)

#59

Post by bradknowles » Thu, Jul 29, 2021, 11:08 PM UTC

Here are some more good questions:

What is the World’s Best Weather?

When is the World’s Best Weather?

Why is the World’s Best Weather?

Re: Where Is the World’s Best Weather? (2020)

#60

Post by PaulDavisThe1st » Thu, Jul 29, 2021, 11:15 PM UTC

throw0101a wrote: post #53

PaulDavisThe1st wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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-t…

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

Indeed, but millions of humans have lived for millenia in places where grass does not grow easily. It's a different culture in so many important ways from the one found in areas with plentiful water, and has evolved over thousands of years to deal with "the world as it is".