Anonymous wrote:We left last year and live in northern New England. It is a relief. It is such a relief.

Where? You must enjoy snow. A lot.

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Yep! Twice! In my early 40s I moved to FL to get away from the horrible winter weather, I stayed 6 years. Then I moved back to NoVa to help care for my mother. Mid 60s I moved to FL again to retire. That was almost three years ago and I love it here. A lot of the reason is the weather. I don't mind hot summers (I've always had a pool or close access to one) but I can't stand the winter up there.


Yeah if I leave it will be because of the cold weather. Summers here don’t bother me, but I also grew up in a warmer climate.


Same, I don't even think the summers are very hot. Maybe a few really hot days but otherwise it's fine. The humidity and constant thunderstorms do bother me.

Waiting for constant thunderstorms this year. We hardly had any this summer. So dry.

I do not feel this way about this area and the heat/humidity, but I DO feel this way about cod, gray, Midwestern/Lake Effect regions where I have previously lived. I would literally turn down about $1 million to live there again. It was such a challenge to my mental health and sense of self. I honestly do not think I could ever do it again. So I would say, just be brave and stand up for what is or is not working for you.

We left last year and live in northern New England. It is a relief. It is such a relief.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Where is "up north" to you? The heat, humidity, and mosquitos are going to be bad all along the east coast. You would need to move west to avoid that. And if you go north, you're looking at awful winters too.

Cover yourself in DEET. It works.

Plenty of places are 10-15 degrees cooler and less humid. Upstate NY, VT, etc. Even Boston / suburbs. Fewer mosquitoes too IMO.

I have lived in all three of those places and the humidity and mosquitos still exist plus winter (meaning not just cold but also less sunlight) starts early and ends late. DMV has crappy summers but the rest of the year is worth it

It’s not a binary thing. Sure, there are some mosquitos and some humidity up there, but they’re not as intense or relentless. (Also lived in upstate NY & ME)

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yep! Twice! In my early 40s I moved to FL to get away from the horrible winter weather, I stayed 6 years. Then I moved back to NoVa to help care for my mother. Mid 60s I moved to FL again to retire. That was almost three years ago and I love it here. A lot of the reason is the weather. I don't mind hot summers (I've always had a pool or close access to one) but I can't stand the winter up there.

Yeah if I leave it will be because of the cold weather. Summers here don’t bother me, but I also grew up in a warmer climate.

Same, I don't even think the summers are very hot. Maybe a few really hot days but otherwise it's fine. The humidity and constant thunderstorms do bother me.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Where is "up north" to you? The heat, humidity, and mosquitos are going to be bad all along the east coast. You would need to move west to avoid that. And if you go north, you're looking at awful winters too.

Cover yourself in DEET. It works.

Plenty of places are 10-15 degrees cooler and less humid. Upstate NY, VT, etc. Even Boston / suburbs. Fewer mosquitoes too IMO.

+1

Summers are actually pleasant if you head far enough north.

My husband has always wanted to do this (move to Vermont specifically, although we met and lived in Southern New England for our first few years together). We haven't for two reasons.

First, we've made a lot of decisions around both of us wanting to have careers, and there just aren't a lot of jobs in our fields up there. A few years ago maybe we could have moved and lived on one salary, but now given housing prices and the fact that neither of us are in fields where you get to double your income when you job hop, it's impossible.

Second, after a couple moves, I'm just putting my foot down on not wanting to move somewhere 8 hours away from both of our families and 3-4+ hours from even some of our friends. I'm not starting over with social networks and support systems and our kids' schools because we don't like the weather here. If my job allowed more remote work, I'd consider a second house in upstate NY near my parents where they are cheap, but moving a family has its costs.

Anonymous wrote:Yep! Twice! In my early 40s I moved to FL to get away from the horrible winter weather, I stayed 6 years. Then I moved back to NoVa to help care for my mother. Mid 60s I moved to FL again to retire. That was almost three years ago and I love it here. A lot of the reason is the weather. I don't mind hot summers (I've always had a pool or close access to one) but I can't stand the winter up there.

Yeah if I leave it will be because of the cold weather. Summers here don’t bother me, but I also grew up in a warmer climate.

OP, I've been wanting to move for a long time for exactly the reasons you describe. I'm allergic to bug spray, too. I love doing things outdoors, so being cooped up all summer really sucks. I grew up in a northern state that didn't have this kind of humidity or the mosquitoes, and I'd love to go back. Unfortunately, DH won't consider it.

For those suggesting the mosquitoes are everywhere, it's just not true. Here we have mosquitoes to where I can't take out the trash without getting 10-15 bites - even in the middle of the day! In the north, we had mosquitoes only at night, only if you weren't moving a lot, and only in the hottest part of the summer.

Anonymous wrote:OP, can you move somewhere North for 3 months, just for the summer? That's how I grew up. DMV's has good weather the rest of the year.

That's what we do - we live/work on Cape Cod all summer. It's much cooler, although can still be humid. Usually there is enough breeze to make even the humid days feel comfortable. It can be buggy around dusk but again the breeze helps with bugs.

OP, can you move somewhere North for 3 months, just for the summer? That's how I grew up. DMV's has good weather the rest of the year.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Where is "up north" to you? The heat, humidity, and mosquitos are going to be bad all along the east coast. You would need to move west to avoid that. And if you go north, you're looking at awful winters too.

Cover yourself in DEET. It works.

Plenty of places are 10-15 degrees cooler and less humid. Upstate NY, VT, etc. Even Boston / suburbs. Fewer mosquitoes too IMO.

I have lived in all three of those places and the humidity and mosquitos still exist plus winter (meaning not just cold but also less sunlight) starts early and ends late. DMV has crappy summers but the rest of the year is worth it

Anonymous wrote:Yep! Twice! In my early 40s I moved to FL to get away from the horrible winter weather, I stayed 6 years. Then I moved back to NoVa to help care for my mother. Mid 60s I moved to FL again to retire. That was almost three years ago and I love it here. A lot of the reason is the weather. I don't mind hot summers (I've always had a pool or close access to one) but I can't stand the winter up there.

I also moved to Florida to get away from DC winters. The GRAY. I couldn't take it. Summers in FL are no picnic but - as OP is saying - summers in DC are awful, too. Almost 9 years in, we're happy with our decision, esp since we're having an unusually cool Sept here so far.

Weather is such a big part of life. I wish, earlier in life, I'd taken it more into consideration when making decisions about where to live.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Where is "up north" to you? The heat, humidity, and mosquitos are going to be bad all along the east coast. You would need to move west to avoid that. And if you go north, you're looking at awful winters too.

Cover yourself in DEET. It works.

Plenty of places are 10-15 degrees cooler and less humid. Upstate NY, VT, etc. Even Boston / suburbs. Fewer mosquitoes too IMO.

I grew up in this area and can't stand the humidity in the summers. My kids hate it too but love the pool so that works for us. Also, I LOVE mid-Sep through Dec. in this area. To me, that is the best part of living in this area. Springs are also nice. I sometimes fantasize about living in VT or upstate NY but reality is there are very few jobs there and the winters are dark and endless. People I know who live up there dream of moving south to escape the long dark winters. Summers are very short. I guess the grass is always greener.