Do you think bad weather is a good reason for moving?

I would love to leave the south for cooler climates but I have too much family here so heat stroke it is.

I think absolutely yes. I'd give up a lot to move to Finland or some shit just because the weather there sounds like haven to me. I live in the Middle East and it's not as much the heat that kills me (it's "only" a factor for about a third of a year and it sucks too of course) its the goddamn dust storms, I'm so sensitive to these things. I still have no idea why some people like living in deserts under a scorching Sun, with all the sand and dust in the air, it's dreadful, not to mention the nature is super boring without proper fields, forests and rivers and stuff.

It's a great reason. Especially with climate change.

I met someone the other day that said they moved from Portland to Cincinnati because of their climate change concerns.

Over the next 50 years, we're going to see MILLIONS of people in the U.S. moving for the same reasons.

You're talking about your local climate, not weather, which can change any day

I moved from a town where it was hard to breathe because of the nearby toxic factories. During the winter, we'd have acid rain.

I now live in the Pacific Northwest. Housing is crazy expensive. Everyone wants to live here.

But my quality of living improved dramatically. No more being sick for 2-3 weeks a year. I owned a car that required yearly repairs because of how f'd up the roads were. I sold that because public transportation is so good. I go on hikes. Food diversity is better. Everyone is pleasant to talk to. A crazy homeless man apologized for yelling too much and a nice old lady walked him to get a sandwich. The biggest drama in my neighborhood is someone's tomatoes growing too wild and is encroaching into another neighbor's vegetables. I work remotely, and my wife found a job here, and we are paid significantly higher than before to compensate for the expenses.

Even though I'm paying a shitton for a small place that would have been a mansion in my old hick town, my quality of living skyrocketed.

It's definitely worth it. And if you're too concerned about the cost of living, try living here for a year. Don't be sticker shocked.

Move sooner than later, before folks catch on that it isn't getting colder

I'm going to move next year, and the weather definitely is one of the reasons (not the main reason though). At least half of the year the temperature here is above 30°c, 60%+ humidity and basically no wind. I somewhat got used to it after a decade here, but I'm sure I'll spend more time outside when I move away.

When I was little, we had a saying, "go to Heaven for the climate, go to Hell for the people."

Yes, especially if it's likely to worsen over the years due to worsening climate change.

Do you think bad weather is a good reason for moving?

I'm probably not your target demographic (I live in a campervan) but I move regularly to follow mild weather.

I live in Florida and want out for a multitude of reasons, the heat and weather being one of the main ones. You can’t enjoy anything outdoors when the humidity is so bad you’re instantly sweating when you walk outside and everything you own has condensation on it. I don’t know why people stay here. I don’t mind heat but this is a hellscape.

I’ve spent a lot of summers here and this has easily been the worst of them all. It’s much hotter than previous.

Weather is a way better reason to move than family or job are to stay.

Any reason that's important to you to warrant the costs and downsides of moving is a reason that's obviously good enough.

Yes, but I'm in a pretty good spot now so it is in theory, not reality.

I think with global warming starting to have worse and worse effects that we will see more and more climate refugees moving around. A couple of my neighbors are planning to move to FL, which seems crazy to me.

You'd better take weather into consideration. Places like Florida are about to become uninsurable.

If you feel that the weather is affecting your day-to-day life for the worse, absolutely. You are not obligated to stay for family or for a job. Prioritise your health, you can always visit relatives.

I grew up in a region with extreme hot and extreme cold. After living many years in a milder climate, I think my family are all nuts for staying. Not the climate asshole for wanting to enjoy the outdoors.

Yes. It's actually the main factor in why I'd like to move from where I am currently. It's unbearably hot, and every time a hurricane forms, it's basically pointing towards my house. I'm going somewhere further north.

Sure, why not? Everyone has their own reasons for moving and climate contributes to an area's quality of life.

When I moved from Southern California to the Pacific Northwest, the benign climate here was a factor. Didn't want to live somewhere where it was blazing hot every day for months, where it was a steam bath all summer or where I had to shovel snow every winter.

A bad neighbor is a good reason for moving, I don't see why bad weather wouldn't be.

Weather wasn't the only reason I moved from New Jersey to California, but it was one of the top three. Seasonal depression is a real thing and I definitely had it.

if the weather is making you unhappy on a regular basis, I don’t see why that isn’t a valid reason to make moving away a goal.

With the ongoing climate catastrophe, it’s probably prudent to take such factors into account.

Yes! Especially now that climate change is starting to have a serious impact. If it family truely loves me, they'll come visit.

I moved to get supposed better and warmer weather. Can't tell you how much I despise summers now. The heat is relentless and I'll be escaping back to "bad" weather whenever possible.

Only if it's really bad.

Honestly as the climate gets worse, I think this will be a lot more common.

I’d say generally no because for most people it’s a relatively small factor in what makes them happy. But if for you it’s a big thing, it could be worth considering.

Just be sure to be clear eyed about what will or won’t make you happy. I think a lot of dissatisfied people find excuses to pin their feelings on that may not be the real cause of their problem. You don’t want to move across the world only to realize weather wasn’t the problem all along. Also, if you’ve never moved long distances before, I’ve noticed many people underestimate the benefits of the connections they have with family, friends, and community. I know I did, and it can take a long time to rebuild those things.

I did, and I really haven't regretted it for a second.

I think the weather where I live now is not bad enough to move as the only reason, but if I was looking to relocate anyways I would for sure take it into account. I do not well in heat, especially humid heat, but cold doesn't bother me that much. So somewhere north would be great.

I moved from one corner of the mainland US to the opposite for 3 reasons:

1. My toxic family was densely located in/around my hometown.
2. I hated the weather.
3. I lived in a relatively rural area and wanted to live in a city.

I could have accomplished 1 and 3 without moving thousands of miles away. I chose to move where did mostly because of the weather.

Yes, but I'm biased as I've considered leaving the UK just because I can't stand the weather for about 1/2 of the year. The grey and wet really gets to me

I hated the heat in my home country, so I asked my employer to relocate me. Unfortunately they moved me to a place where the summers are even worse. lol. But at least the rest of the year is cooler than back home where it’s hot all year round.

I absolutely would. If it were a realistic option I'd mine my family to somewhere like Scotland, Iceland, Norway or Canada to get away from the unpleasantly hot summers we have here (relatively speaking - most people would probably not find it that hot.)

On the other hand, I'm pretty sure my wife would happily move to the Mediterranean for more heat...

Move. I moved to a country for work. It was miserable, and in turn, so was I. Moved back to Australia. Heaven.

However, I'm finding the humidity is too much for me here, so have my eye on New Zealand.

Yes, with the caveat that the combination of weather and local adaptations is more important than weather alone. For example, the heat is worse in Florida than it is in New York City, but in Florida you can drive everywhere in an air-conditioned car and experience the heat for only a minute or two each day while in NYC you'll probably have to either walk or wait for mass transit long enough to become miserable even though the weather isn't as hot.

It seems that unless you can live somewhere with perfect weather like parts of the west coast of the US, you're probably best off looking for the most car-friendly place to live and avoiding the weather entirely.

Absolutely could be. I've thought about moving just to get away from the winter ice where I live; I'm a delivery driver so it becomes a major occupational hazard.

It would depend on how much I liked my job, friends, and family and how much I hated the weather.

Yeah, it's pretty normal and will become more normal as agricultural strain becomes worse in equatorial regions. I suspect it will depend on the immigration context of more livable countries, in which case you might have more community moving with you and you can struggle together in your new home.

As someone who lives in a sunny place, and knows how much it impacts my general well-being when it's not sunny, I would absolutely move for the weather. If I lived somewhere known for being grey and rainy, I could guarantee I'd have depression. I need to live in a sunny place to function.

Yes. Totally a factor. I couldn't live in places with snow. A holiday maybe, but not a life

It depends really. If I lived somewhere where natural disasters were a common occurrence then I probably would. Luckily I live in the UK which, while not great in other ways, has a temperate climate. That said, if the south gets too much warmer then I am tempted to move to Scotland. I don't cope well in temperatures above 19 Celsius. It would be one of several reasons though, not the overriding factor.

Unless you live in an extreme snow, flood, fire or tornado prone region, I'd probably think you're crazy if that was your only reason to move. But if weather is just one of many reasons, like job, lifestyle, housing, travel... I get it.

I'd move to the south of my country just to escape the summer heat.

Yes. That was one of the reasons for my move.

Depends a lot of the severity of the bad weather. I wouldn't live in antartica or cities that are constantly being hit by earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, etc. That would be a big reason for me to leave everything behind.

But if its just like a mild weather that I am not too happy about, then I wouldn't want to lose friends and or family because of that.

100%

If I really, really hated it, yes.

Was for me. On the flip side of the coin, if you find yourself always complaining about the weather to people who enjoy that weather, they don't want to hear you complain anymore either. Go find somewhere you'll enjoy living.

I'm British, and I've had friends move to Australia and warmer parts of America in recent years. The first thing they comment on is how the move has improved their mood. Waking up to consistent sunshine and good weather puts them in good spirits, and inversely coming back to the UK and dealing with the rain and gloomy weather is a bit of a downer.

If I had the money, possibly.

Also, if I had the money to pull up stakes and move all my shit somewhere else I'd probably have the money to bulldoze my current house and build some combination earth ship/survival bunker/hobbit home that could make living with the weather manageable.