Too Hot, Or Too Cold - Your Choice.....

This is the tale of two cities. Both of them are nice most of the year. But in one of them, you can suffer in the extreme cold, and the other extreme heat.

Tough to enjoy the lake in the winter.

I have lived in Northeast Ohio my whole life. Most of the time it's very pleasant. In late winter / early spring you can get tired of the gray days. But most of the year it's nice. I can even tolerate some of the winter. But recently we have had extreme arctic weather. It has not been above the freezing point since Christmas Eve.

Most of the time we have suffered through single digit temperatures. When the wind blows you get below zero wind chills. Most things just don't work well in those temperatures. There are three cars in my household. Last night, mine was the one that stayed out in the driveway. So this morning my doors were frozen shut. Things like that can put a crimp in your plans.

As far as clothes, forget style. Most people dress in puffy coats that make them look like walking Goodyear blimps. I hate wearing socks. In the summer, the only place I wear socks is to work. But they are my best friends in this weather.

 Instead of fighting the weather, most people just give up and stay home. Schools are closed. Travel is difficult. I stayed home most of the week. But that can lead to another problem. Inside is where the germs are. I got sick and was miserable for much of the week. But that is what people put up with in this part of the country every winter. In another part of the country, winter is beautiful, but summer is ridiculous.

Welcome to Phoenix.

The wife and I visited Phoenix, Arizona last September. This was not July or August, but the normal daytime temperature was well into triple digits. Being tourists, we realized some things fairly quickly. In the daytime - nobody is out. Everybody stays indoors. When the natives do go outdoors, they are pretty well covered up. You might get skin cancer in about 2 months otherwise.

You've heard about the "dry heat?" Well, it's very true. So is your oven. Water is sucked out of your body before you get a chance to sweat. Don't go anywhere without a bottle of water. And look around for where you can get your next bottle. Public drinking water is no help as it tastes terrible. We hiked around a bit, and tried to stay hydrated. But when we were done I was wiped out.

Businesses try to adapt. Restaurants install "misters" to keep their customers cool. The baseball stadium has a roof. The downtown freeway seemed to have a tunnel for no apparent reason other than to get out of the sun.

If you lived there, I don't think you could enjoy weather like that. At least until the sun goes down and the temperatures dip into the 90's.

So what would you choose? I've lived here all my life and know what to expect. I've only visited Phoenix. I think I'm ready to try Phoenix. Just keep the bottled water handy.

This stuff doesn't grow here.