Mean Streak makeover underway at Cedar Point, no announcement yet

Presumably family/friends and jobs are the most common reasons for living somewhere with weather that is less than ideal for the given person. But presumably you are not miserable for 3-4 months of the year. I know several people (already begun to talk about it) who are pretty much miserable in the winter in northeast Ohio. They hibernate for 3-4 months. You can hear the dread in their voices. Those are the people I do not understand. Travel/communication have never been easier. Doesn't seem worth being miserable to me.

What Brett said, and I didn't realize it until moving to Seattle, but it helped my mother as well when she moved to Florida (and she's also had issues with clinical depression). The science around sun and mood is pretty well established at this point, so I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. Alaska is beautiful, but I'm not sure I could handle winter and the short days.

And Gonch, I still think that living in coastal Florida is different than Central Florida. The swamp-ass period is definitely shorter and not as extreme inland.

I have considered moving south to the warmer climate as 1) There would be better employment opportunities and 2) With my back problems, the cold climate affects me in a negative way.

Not sure if I ever will make that move.

This lists Seattle as having more depressing winters than Cleveland. Though both are in top 10.

https://smartasset.com/insights/cities-least-depressing-winters

I have never had issues with winter. Fall is probably favorite season. Winter is next favorite.

I firmly believe in light therapy, and I totally get clinical depression. I worked outside- rain, snow, or shine, for 12 years. I got used to the cold I guess, but grey days for weeks on end about did me in. And then if we had that occasional sunny stretch the sun would be so low in the sky it was blinding and difficult to see to drive. Always something for Ohioans to complain about, right?

But I'll never leave here. I love Ohio for many reasons, and it's hard for me to put my finger on it. My family's all but gone, so that's not it. I live in an awesome city and I'd hate to lose that. And I've decided after all my travels that I'm in a great place to enjoy my hobby, however seasonal it may be.
They say your favorite season often coincides with your birthday. I was born in October, and I do have to say that I like the fall. My partner is a great gardener, and he hates the fall, which he believes is the harbinger of death. But he was born in March.
And every time I feel that Ohio weather is too terrible to bear, I think about what it must be like to live someplace more north like Minneapolis or Chicago. They have hot summers but their outdoor season is even shorter than ours then it's back to a brutal winter.

We've talked about a winter home in Florida someday, so look for us. We'll be those guys. In our shorts.

That survey doesn't take into account duration of clouds, which was my point. The days are fairly short in the winter, yes, but the duration and frequency of sun I can tell you is astronomically higher than it is in Cleveland. It also barely rains at all in the summer, to the extent that you need irrigation for your lawn the way you need it in Florida. You will never go a week without seeing the sun the way you do in Cleveland, and Seattle is called the "emerald city" because it's green year-round. Northeast Ohio appears dead half the year.

Does this look like a depressing day in February to you? It's pretty typical where I lived.

Jeff said:

And Gonch, I still think that living in coastal Florida is different than Central Florida. The swamp-ass period is definitely shorter and not as extreme inland.

Maybe.

I feel the same about Ohio. Down this way seems like it's very different than the NE region.

While I do feel couped up once January is in full swing and I've had to buy a light box because some years I've been ready to sleep at 6pm I don't think moving south would help me. This summer I spent a fair amount of time hiding inside from the heat so any winter advantage I would have in a place like Florida would be off set by how miserable I would be in the summer. And that thing Ohio Stater said about 3-4 months, I think I get bored of each season as it nears it's end, even the "nice" ones, and need the change. Like right now however bummed I may be that Cedar Point is closing for the season Monday I'm enjoying the cooler weather and for the first few weeks I actually like snow. It normally over stays its welcome but a certain amount of it is nice. Especially on school days because there's snow days and I just love that I still get snow days as an adult.

Jeff said:

That survey doesn't take into account duration of clouds, which was my point. The days are fairly short in the winter, yes, but the duration and frequency of sun I can tell you is astronomically higher than it is in Cleveland.

It seems like they did take the duration into account.

"Even when the sun is up, it’s probably behind clouds: according to the NOAA, Seattle has clear skies just 28% of the time from November to February, the lowest rate of any city in the U.S."

What does "clear sky" mean? Again, I saw sun most days, even if it's brief. Narrowing it to four months is also selective. Trust me, I didn't imagine feeling better living there.

Most people tend to adapt (at least to some degree) to the various seasons. Most of the people I know who live in Minnesota are very active during their winters. Some Northeast Ohio schools close if the forecasted high is less than 20. Using that metric, schools in Minnesota would be closed much of December through March. From what I understand, schools in Minnesota rarely close in the winter due to weather.

The data and methodology in the article I linked indicates that they used two metrics. Not clear if the first one takes into account duration of clouds (percent of possible sunshine). But the second metric (solar radiation collected by solar arrays around the country) would factor in the duration of clouds.

Depressing is in the eyes of the beholder. I see mountains in February with next to no snow on them, and I see depressing. Zero snow on the ground in February I see as depressing. People in short sleeve shirts and shorts outside in February and I see temps no where near low enough for snow and I see depressing. I see a soccer goal and I see depressing (though that has nothing to do with the weather more a dislike of soccer).

Best winter I remember over the past 10 years or so had snow in our backyard the Friday after Thanksgiving until at least the end of March (probably an exaggeration in that there likely were days with no snow but its how I remember it). Skiing, sledding and hiking were fantastic that winter. Had a lot of fun with the kids and the dog in the backyard in the snow.

Isn't some of the "always green" nature of Seattle because there are a lot of evergreens which unlike deciduous trees do not lose their leaves for months of the year? Picture you posted has trees with no leaves. Remove the mountains in the background and in terms of being green, doesn't look much different than much of northeast Ohio (particularly the west side which typically gets little snow) does in February.

There can be a whole host of reasons why people feel better living in different locations that have nothing to do with weather.

Yes, evergreens are fairly dominant in the landscape in the Pacific Northwest. But just "remove the mountains?" Come on, man, that's part of the difference, along with the blue sky.

I do not believe that depressing is simply in the eye of the beholder, because science. SAD is apparently 7 times more likely in Alaska than Florida.

The winters suck, but I still love PA. My dream for decades has been to own two homes, one here and one somewhere in Florida. I could enjoy cool summers in PA, and Warm winters in FL.

My depression nearly triples in the winter while living in PA. Plus, as a traveling nurse (home health care), driving sucks the big one in all that ice and snow. We have talked about moving to Florida quite frequently, but I've lived in PA since I was five. My family and friends are all here, and it's the same for my husband. We are still on the fence about it. However, my husband has a good point:

"I'd rather be sick of the snow and cold than of the heat and sun."

Point about removing the mountains was in response to your statement that Seattle is green year round and NE Ohio appears dead half the year. Mountains aren't part of that. If you want to site them for something else that is fine but it wasn't my point in commenting on the pic you posted. So c'mon man. Some of the most spectacular scenery anywhere (including mountains) is in Alaska but they have high incidences of SAD as you note.

When you talk about SAD, you are talking clinical depression. When one talks about something being "depressing" its typically not in that clinical sense. And even in Alaska, 90% of people (according to your link) do not have SAD. So for the vast majority of people, what determines what any given person finds depressing if its not the eyes of the beholder?

SatanicCoaster said:

I am one of the people that live in Chicago and hate the cold weather. I love Florida weather. My wife and I are planning to move to Orlando within the next 2 years barring any major setbacks with our job transfers.

I will miss the fall leaves but that is about it. I can take humidity and heat any day over freezing weather. The worst feeling to me is walking outside when it is 10-20 degrees I feel like I am going to die!!

Thats the reason I dont move to Chicago. I LOVE the arts, the museums, the culture, the people, and most especially the food. But I know that come December - March, Ill be crying to get outta there. So I guess Ill have to settle for Houston where its gonna be in the 80s for at least the next 10 days =). But please do me a favor before you move.....Have one last pizza from Lou Malnatis for me and one last hotdog from Portillos! ;)

Oh for sure! I will miss the food. I have traveled many places and to me Chicago is tops in that department for sure. Portillos did open in Tampa so that is a short drive to the beach and some beef. Lol

Whatever you say, GoBucks. I lived in Seattle and Cleveland. I know what I experienced. Cleveland is a hundred times more depressing.

America's rust belt is depressing in any season!!

I am not questioning you were more miserable in Cleveland than in Seattle. Just your explanation for it. And only reason for that is because its inconsistent with what I understand of the relative weather of the two areas and what I have been told by the 15-20 people I know who have lived in both cities. In at least a couple of those situations, I would guess that the work/family situations were a lot better in Cleveland than in Seattle and those likely colored their view of the two cities. Variances in weather from year to year may also play a role. If your only experience with a Cleveland winter was last year, you may well have a view that Cleveland winters are pretty tame. Opposite would be true if you were here for a long/cold/snowy winter.

I understand that natural light is very important to certain people's well being/mental state. Its just that if Cleveland is a problem for someone in terms of natural light in the winter, I have never understood Seattle to be a solution. Looking online yesterday, I found data to support that in addition to the link I posted. Most seemed to indicate both cities were about the same in terms of sunlight during the winter months. Some had Cleveland being a little better and others had Seattle. But nothing I saw indicated either has astronomically higher sunlight frequency or duration in the winter.