Climate and life....
Wifey B: It's always an interesting subject. Some people are glad being largely confined to their homes for months of the year. Others fine with bundling and driving. There's a reason Mall of the Americas was built to give Minnesotans a place to spend days in winter.
We lived in NC and were happy there. We both worked and accepted only getting on the water an average of three days in January, while most boaters didn't get out at all. Life was good.
Then we took our first real out of town vacation and flew into Fort Lauderdale, then Disneyworld and Tampa-St Pete and back to Fort Lauderdale and while on the trip decided to retire and move to Fort Lauderdale. Now, I can't imagine not being able to boat year round. I can't imagine not being able to step outside wearing summer clothes 95% of the time. I can't imagine not being able to swim year round.
NC was easy at the time, but would be so tough returning to and it's not even cold compared to the places discussed. The outdoors is the difference.
I'd say to anyone that finding locations where you are comfortable being active outdoors is the key. We moved in 2012 and I feel as young as I did then. I'm easily active. So few days I can't enjoy outdoors. Where we've really seen it is in our neighbors from NC who we talked into moving with us. They are now 66 and 64 years old and in every way they are younger than they were when they moved at 57 and 55. They do not boat. They love to garden though and thanks to them we have the most beautiful, even if small, yard. They even manage the one small little triangle of land the HOA owns. They walk daily and know all the neighborhood, all the people we really don't know. They drink their morning coffee outside on the patio. Now, other things in their lives have changed, but just seeing the couple today and thinking of the one we knew 9 years ago is stunning. It's like being opened to the outdoors opens your life up in every way. When we and others are home, they might spend their evening on the patio sipping coffee and just enjoying all the laughter and fun the rest of us are having in the pool.
In NC in the winter, their driving was to work or to stores where they needed something. Here it may be to an open market or craft show or to a flower and garden show or even a nursery they like. It's mostly outdoor pleasure, not indoors.
We've traveled a lot by boat. I loved Alaska but it was summer. Loved Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Norway, but it was summer. Had I always lived in any of those places, I'd be happy, but today I'd be miserable. Seasonal Affective Disorder is real. People who move to new areas are most prone to experience it. There are three causes. Circadian rhythm, Serotonin levels, and Melatonin levels. You may have experienced it living in wintry areas but just accepted and not realized the impact.
I joke about bikini weather and my desire for shedding clothes, but I do know I feel freer not having to wear layers and layers of clothing, not wearing heavy coats and caps and scarves. It's like when a man removes his tie and unbuttons his shirt or a woman removes her bra when she gets home from work. My hubby may hate bundling up more than I do and he put words to it, calling it "restrictive" and even almost "claustrophobic" as you just don't have the same freedom of movement. You can't go running across the yard wearing winter boots.
Now warm and humid isn't right for everyone either although South Florida not nearly as hot as some think. You need to find what works for you and if you're fortunate enough to be able to seasonally change then do so. I'm fully convinced that it will lengthen your life to be in climates that allow you to enjoy the outdoors. However, I know 100% it will increase the quality of your life.
