Has Moving to a Warm and Sunny Climate Made You Happier?

[biophase]

I raise you a -6C...

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It was 29° F this morning. By the time we started pickleball it was 35°.

I had 3 layers, but was in a long sleeve shirt by the second game. The difference with some cold places is that it is still sunny and dry and you can still do everything outdoors.

I feel like in these areas even though the temp is cold, the sun rays are still stronger and heat you up quick. People were in shorts and tshirts by 11am.

 

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[JordanK]

It was 29° F this morning. By the time we started pickleball it was 35°.

I had 3 layers, but was in a long sleeve shirt by the second game. The difference with some cold places is that it is still sunny and dry and you can still do everything outdoors.

I feel like in these areas even though the temp is cold, the sun rays are still stronger and heat you up quick. People were in shorts and tshirts by 11am.

View attachment 53469

I love sunny cold places.

Ireland is damp rainy cold. It makes it a miserable experience but having grown up in it its like a superpower in that anywhere else I end up on the planet feels better hahah

 

[Eurojanek]

I like my winters in Poland
View attachment 20240104_150702.mp4

 

[Paul David]

I dread the weekends during this time of year.

Woke up yesterday around 7.30am as usual, could hear the rain and wind outside and I honestly couldn't think of anything to do so I lay there and spent some time looking at shit on my phone and snoozing on and off until I could take no more.

Got up, got in my car and drove 30 mins to a seaside place (it was windy and rainy still) did a lap of the town and drove back home. That killed an hour of my time.

Came home had some lunch and as the rain had stopped I went for my usual daily walk (10k steps). Wasn't particularly enjoyable as it was still windy. That killed another hour and half of my day.

Pretty much did nothing for the rest of the day, got some crips and chocolate to cheer myself up then had a quick look at skyline webcams and seen a beach full of people in Spain so turned it off as it wasn't helping my mood.

All you do this time of year is wish your life away waiting for better weather, there's literally nothing to do unless you're eating or drinking (and I'm doing dry January so drinking is out of the question).

Bored, Bored, F*cking bored.

 

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[MTF]

I dread the weekends during this time of year.

Woke up yesterday around 7.30am as usual, could hear the rain and wind outside and I honestly couldn't think of anything to do so I lay there and spent some time looking at shit on my phone and snoozing on and off until I could take no more.

Got up, got in my car and drove 30 mins to a seaside place (it was windy and rainy still) did a lap of the town and drove back home. That killed an hour of my time.

Came home had some lunch and as the rain had stopped I went for my usual daily walk (10k steps). Wasn't particularly enjoyable as it was still windy. That killed another hour and half of my day.

Pretty much did nothing for the rest of the day, got some crips and chocolate to cheer myself up then had a quick look at skyline webcams and seen a beach full of people in Spain so turned it off as it wasn't helping my mood.

All you do this time of year is wish your life away waiting for better weather, there's literally nothing to do unless you're eating or drinking (and I'm doing dry January so drinking is out of the question).

Bored, Bored, F*cking bored.

This is classic SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) and I have the same thing.

I can be active, go on daily walks as you do, and fill my days with productive stuff and things that relax me. I also use a SAD lamp every morning. Still, each day feels a little like a dream, like not real life but hibernation. I tend to eat emotionally, stupidly trying to fill my emptiness with food, end up gaining weight and hating myself even more.

I'm also waiting for better weather, or actually planning where to travel next so I can fast forward to spring/summer in Europe as I absolutely love this period of time here with super long days and everything nice and green.

There's simply no way for some people to feel good during the winter. You can do everything right, take all the supplements you want, be active, etc. and you'll still be at most at 50% of what you are in the summer.

 

[Paul David]

This is classic SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) and I have the same thing.

I can be active, go on daily walks as you do, and fill my days with productive stuff and things that relax me. I also use a SAD lamp every morning. Still, each day feels a little like a dream, like not real life but hibernation. I tend to eat emotionally, stupidly trying to fill my emptiness with food, end up gaining weight and hating myself even more.

I'm also waiting for better weather, or actually planning where to travel next so I can fast forward to spring/summer in Europe as I absolutely love this period of time here with super long days and everything nice and green.

There's simply no way for some people to feel good during the winter. You can do everything right, take all the supplements you want, be active, etc. and you'll still be at most at 50% of what you are in the summer.

Correct. I'm enjoying not having anxiety which I tend to get with alcohol and been taking daily supplements of Tumeric, Magnesium, Ashwagandha, vitamin D, Vitamin C.

I only eat between 12pm and 6pm daily and I'm sleeping a lot better and lots most of bloat and weight I gained over Christmas.

However most days when I first wake up I'm annoyed that I'm awake. Not that I don't want to ever wake up but just the fact I was enjoying being asleep and now I have to deal with a day of cold and darkness and not really much to look forward to.

I'm going to Tenerife as usual in Easter but that seems a long time away, and its only for 10 days, after around 7 days of being there then the dread of coming back begins and then 3 days later the cycle starts all over again.

 

[Paul David]

Honestly wake up every morning and hate every day.

Can't wait for our two week summer in July.

Weather is absolutely depressing.

 

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[UK_Mike]

Honestly wake up every morning and hate every day.

Can't wait for our two week summer in July.

Weather is absolutely depressing.

Yes, but on the bright side it's lighter earlier in the morning, and later in the evening. It won't be long, I'm just starting to see that it's heading towards better weather. Rain is irritating, I was going to an event this weekend but it's been cancelled because of flooding.

 

[WJK]

Honestly wake up every morning and hate every day.

Can't wait for our two week summer in July.

Weather is absolutely depressing.

Our weather here in Alaska is also dismal. I can't wait for spring and more daylight hours.

 

[sojeer]

Just moved from Ireland to Malaga, Spain. Jeez, such a different feeling. This is life! Love Ireland like my mother but I can’t spend too much time with her
UK & Ireland have difficult climate to deal with, especially when you’re coming from continental Europe like me. Humidity, very unpredictable weather. Staying in the home most of the time because it is miserable outside… this is not fun for me. This is not life…
In Spain I try to spent most of the time outside. In Ireland I could barely do 5k steps. In Spain I do at least 15k daily.

 

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[MarkLavagne]

For me it was another confirmation the grass is greener elsewhere and you enjoy change rather than same thing, however great it may seem.

Grown up north of europe and hated cold while embraced hot summers. Hated is not a figure of speech - it really made me depressed.

Moved to Singapore 10 years ago. First couple of years were great - it's endless summer, something I always wanted to be in! Fantastic!

As novelty washed off, I started missing... cold weather. Living for several countries now, one being tropical dream destination and another one having 4 seasons, I can't wait to escape the tropical dream to experience cold weather. This winter I went Hokkaido for a while and could not be happier anywhere else.

The bottomline? Hard to tell. Perhaps weather is not the cause of our grievances. Perhaps we actually enjoy change and not being in stale environment.

 

[biophase]

Moved to Singapore 10 years ago. First couple of years were great - it's endless summer, something I always wanted to be in! Fantastic!

As novelty washed off, I started missing... cold weather.

I think this just shows that we need variety. We get tired of the same thing eventually. Just move somewhere and then move again in 3-4 years, and then move again.

 

[Paul David]

Just moved from Ireland to Malaga, Spain. Jeez, such a different feeling. This is life! Love Ireland like my mother but I can’t spend too much time with her
UK & Ireland have difficult climate to deal with, especially when you’re coming from continental Europe like me. Humidity, very unpredictable weather. Staying in the home most of the time because it is miserable outside… this is not fun for me. This is not life…
In Spain I try to spent most of the time outside. In Ireland I could barely do 5k steps. In Spain I do at least 15k daily.

Yes and lucky that because you're Irish you can move to Spain without any restrictions. Not like me because of the idiots who voted for Brexit.

 

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[David Fitz]

Just moved from Ireland to Malaga, Spain. Jeez, such a different feeling. This is life! Love Ireland like my mother but I can’t spend too much time with her
UK & Ireland have difficult climate to deal with, especially when you’re coming from continental Europe like me. Humidity, very unpredictable weather. Staying in the home most of the time because it is miserable outside… this is not fun for me. This is not life…
In Spain I try to spent most of the time outside. In Ireland I could barely do 5k steps. In Spain I do at least 15k daily.

How are you finding Spain? Me and my girlfriend are moving there in a few weeks. We liked Malaga when we were there, such a clean city. We're going to check out Alicante this time.

 

[David Fitz]

Honestly wake up every morning and hate every day.

Can't wait for our two week summer in July.

Weather is absolutely depressing.

And to make it worse you have all those broke carpet cleaners bouncing their payments haha

In all seriousness, sounds like you need to move. This is how I felt living in Ireland.

 

[Paul David]

And to make it worse you have all those broke carpet cleaners bouncing their payments haha

In all seriousness, sounds like you need to move. This is how I felt living in Ireland.

Yes exactly mate that's certainly not helping!

It wouldn't be fair on kids at moment aged 14 and 16 this year to move, if anything it will be when they've left school now.

Even the cost of living here is ridiculous as you know. It costs us £280 a month on school dinners for two kids.

 

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[Morethan1]

I have the same thing (SAD). I tried an experiment this year and spent a month in a warmer climate, away from the cold Canadian winter.

I've felt the same positive things echoed by others. Feels like there's life here. Mood is the same as the summer months, feel more energy, happiness is way up.

 

[sojeer]

How are you finding Spain? Me and my girlfriend are moving there in a few weeks. We liked Malaga when we were there, such a clean city. We're going to check out Alicante this time.

Been nomading before, now settling base here, I’m quite surprised how things are moving quite smoothly e.g. with finding a flat (did it in one day), banking, thing that a lot of Spaniards in Malaga speaks English, transportation and infrastructure. I’m finding Malaga much more interesting than Alicante, more to do etc (more Valencia, Barcelona level). However still like Alicante too. It’s less expensive, smaller city but still have its own charm

 

[MJ DeMarco]

The best solution is to have enough money and mobility to domicile whenever and wherever you want.

Variety is the spice of life.

Go where you are empowered.

Not empowered any longer? Move. Kinda reflects what happened to me after 22 years in Arizona.

 

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[Paul David]

The best solution is to have enough money and mobility to domicile whenever and wherever you want.

Variety is the spice of life.

Go where you are empowered.

Not empowered any longer? Move. Kinda reflects what happened to me after 22 years in Arizona.

Correct. Although in US you guys are spoilt for choice as you can move to a new state with completely different weather and still be in the same country speaking the same language.

To move out of the England to somewhere warm requires a complete change of country and language and there's all sorts of restrictions in place because of Brexit. Although you can get digital nomad visas in some countries.

 

[JordanK]

Correct. Although in US you guys are spoilt for choice as you can move to a new state with completely different weather and still be in the same country speaking the same language.

To move out of the England to somewhere warm requires a complete change of country and language and there's all sorts of restrictions in place because of Brexit. Although you can get digital nomad visas in some countries.

Any Irish or Northern Irish born ancestry? Might have already asked you earlier as its my defacto answer to all british people now! We’re giving away hundreds of thousands of passports to British at the moment.

 

[Paul David]

Any Irish or Northern Irish born ancestry? Might have already asked you earlier as its my defacto answer to all british people now! We’re giving away hundreds of thousands of passports to British at the moment.

haha not that I'm aware of unfortunately!

 

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[David Fitz]

Correct. Although in US you guys are spoilt for choice as you can move to a new state with completely different weather and still be in the same country speaking the same language.

To move out of the England to somewhere warm requires a complete change of country and language and there's all sorts of restrictions in place because of Brexit. Although you can get digital nomad visas in some countries.

Yeah that's a negative with Europe. I wanted to bring my van over from Ireland but because it was a different side drive I'm not allowed bring it over so had to sell it. It's also more difficult to get insured and get a car in a different country plus learning a new language and being labelled as a foreigner

 

[JordanK]

haha not that I'm aware of unfortunately!

Might be worth a bit of investigation! For either yourself or maybe your wifes side of the family. An irish government survery indicated that 20-25% of English citizens are actually technically eligable for Irish citizenship under our rules. So the odds are quite good!

 

[David Fitz]

The best solution is to have enough money and mobility to domicile whenever and wherever you want.

Variety is the spice of life.

Go where you are empowered.

Not empowered any longer? Move. Kinda reflects what happened to me after 22 years in Arizona.

That part in your book was ringing in my mind for years. I finally made the change.

 

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[Plushy]

I moved somewhere cold. I'm most productive in the cold
I once lived somewhere where winter was like, 2 months from December to January, and the rest was basically summer (70F+)
Now, "winter" (cold weather) is from November to February. It feels like I gained extra months to be productive.
I was surprised at how focused and diligent I've been, when normally by February I get into a "slump" so to me it's like I gained an extra 2 months of the year where I'm most productive.

 

[ZackerySprague]

Yes.

 

[MTF]

I've been in Poland for over two months now (due to some medical-related stuff of my girlfriend) and my mental state is shit now. I thought that occupying myself with lots of stuff would help. It helped in the beginning but I think I was just initially fueled by the energy from 2023 (I spent the entire year in great weather).

Now, I'm so tired that I'm close to collapsing mentally and my health is also way worse.

Almost every day is the same F*cking shade of gray. There have been 2-3-week periods without any sunshine whatsoever. I can't be even 25% as active as in the summer because it's too miserable for long walks, let alone runs or cycling. Swimming (a huge mental booster for me) is not possible at all since I hate swimming in swimming pools.

I try to fill the void with food which has led to weight gain (I'm fighting to reverse this now but it's extremely hard with this weather). I get frequent digestive issues because of that. My skin looks worse (probably due to indoor heating, dry air and shit air quality). My injuries are nagging me, further making me feel unhealthy.

Mentally I'm a wreck, too. All the most effective stress management tools are not available to me. In the summer (or in warm climates) I get a huge stress reduction from freediving, surfing, swimming or simply being out in the sun.

The periods of time in my life when I felt the healthiest were always in the summer or abroad when I lived for at least a few weeks in a place with excellent weather and water activities.

This is my second honest attempt to see if I can feel good in the winter in Poland (two years ago I did an entire year in Poland, focused on training MMA which I since stopped doing due to the fear of injuries) and I just can't manage that. My mind and body take a huge beating that later requires a few months to recover from (only to happen again if I don't leave in the fall).

Thankfully it's almost March, I'm going to train freediving for two weeks in one of the deepest swimming pools in the world (which happens to be in Poland) and the forecast is finally showing some nicer weather coming soon.

It also helps to know that technically I can leave whenever I want. I just choose not to due to my girlfriend.

 

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[Paul David]

I've been in Poland for over two months now (due to some medical-related stuff of my girlfriend) and my mental state is shit now. I thought that occupying myself with lots of stuff would help. It helped in the beginning but I think I was just initially fueled by the energy from 2023 (I spent the entire year in great weather).

Now, I'm so tired that I'm close to collapsing mentally and my health is also way worse.

Almost every day is the same F*cking shade of gray. There have been 2-3-week periods without any sunshine whatsoever. I can't be even 25% as active as in the summer because it's too miserable for long walks, let alone runs or cycling. Swimming (a huge mental booster for me) is not possible at all since I hate swimming in swimming pools.

I try to fill the void with food which has led to weight gain (I'm fighting to reverse this now but it's extremely hard with this weather). I get frequent digestive issues because of that. My skin looks worse (probably due to indoor heating, dry air and shit air quality). My injuries are nagging me, further making me feel unhealthy.

Mentally I'm a wreck, too. All the most effective stress management tools are not available to me. In the summer (or in warm climates) I get a huge stress reduction from freediving, surfing, swimming or simply being out in the sun.

The periods of time in my life when I felt the healthiest were always in the summer or abroad when I lived for at least a few weeks in a place with excellent weather and water activities.

This is my second honest attempt to see if I can feel good in the winter in Poland (two years ago I did an entire year in Poland, focused on training MMA which I since stopped doing due to the fear of injuries) and I just can't manage that. My mind and body take a huge beating that later requires a few months to recover from (only to happen again if I don't leave in the fall).

Thankfully it's almost March, I'm going to train freediving for two weeks in one of the deepest swimming pools in the world (which happens to be in Poland) and the forecast is finally showing some nicer weather coming soon.

It also helps to know that technically I can leave whenever I want. I just choose not to due to my girlfriend.

I feel exactly the same. Just looked at the weather app and it’s 2 degrees.

If I didn’t have kids I’d stay in bed all day today. There’s absolutely nothing positive I can think to do today here.

 

[wanttogofaster]

To move out of the England to somewhere warm requires a complete change of country and language and there's all sorts of restrictions in place because of Brexit. Although you can get digital nomad visas in some countries.

How about the British Virgin Islands in the Caribbean? Any other overseas British territories?