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What’s good weather worth?

Auckland is my hometown. It has a few things going for it – work opportunities, friends and family, ethnic cuisines, and everything from beaches to parks to bush. And as our biggest city, we take amenities like libraries, concerts and the like for granted. Sure, there’s not a lot that’s affordable to do, but if an international band is touring, if they make a stop in New Zealand, you know what city they’ll be playing in. That kind of thing.

But on so many quality of life factors, it fails hard.

Public transport? Dire.

Cost of living? Astronomical.

Housing market? Out of control.

English: Auckland Harbour Bridge. The harbour ...

Auckland Harbour Bridge. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

And you can add the weather to that list. After basking under the South Island’s glorious spring skies last month, Auckland has been spectacularly depressing. I’m not quite my mother, who religiously watches the weather forecast every night and practically plans the next day around it; and I don’t think I have SAD, but the weather does have a major effect on my moods. And that effect is generally one of disgust and frustration.

(That said, moaning about the weather here does pale in comparison to what the US east coast is facing right now with Hurricane Sandy. At least we’re relatively sheltered here from most kinds of natural disasters.)

Steel skies. Constant rain. It’s impossible to get out and enjoy our parks, beaches and bush – and if we’re cheated out of a second summer in a row, I’m predicting VERY BAD THINGS on a national scale. This blazing weekend just gone was the best, in memory, for about the past year. Here’s hoping it’s a taste of what’s to come.

On the other hand, one could live somewhere beautiful and warm and sunny in regional New Zealand. But unless you could work remotely and make decent money doing so, all you could realistically aspire to would be working at the local supermarket. Or bakery.  Or something along those lines.

What’s important to you in choosing a place to live? Does weather matter?

18 thoughts on “What’s good weather worth?

  • Reply Mrs. M October 29, 2012 at 12:49

    We chose to move to our particular area because of the fact that it is on a rural fringe, yet close to a town with a lot of great amenities that is really going ahead. We also wanted to be within realistic commuting distance of my husband’s job, which is location dependent. I agree with you though, the weather is just cruddy!

  • Reply plantingourpennies October 29, 2012 at 14:45

    Weather is a big factor for us – we like to spend so much time outside that sunshine and fairly predictable weather is a “must’ for us. My sister’s even pickier than I am weather-wise and refuses to live anywhere it gets remotely cold.

  • Reply Yakezie (@Yakezie) October 29, 2012 at 15:17

    To me, good weather is worth a lot, and sounds like to you. San Francisco weather averages 68 degrees and is just the way I like it. Unfortunately, very expensive!

    But, there are a lot of high paying jobs here as well.

    Sam

  • Reply Laura @ Move To Portugal October 29, 2012 at 18:35

    Weather is a big thing for me (I get SAD), and is one of the main reasons we want an escape to the sunshine. To get the weather though we lose higher paying jobs. It’s our favourite discussion point!

  • Reply nursefrugal October 29, 2012 at 19:27

    Weather definitely matters! I think it can have a direct correlation with mood and demeanor! Love that I live relatively close to the beach and the weather is usually no cooler then 50 😉

  • Reply MFB October 29, 2012 at 20:28

    weather is always part of where you want to get settled. I think Maldives has one of the best weather any can ask for, but other reasons like job opportunities are very scarce and most jobs are low paying jobs that one can barely live.

  • Reply sense October 30, 2012 at 01:45

    Amen to this post! Two words: San Diego. Go there. 🙂 Moving here from there was (and still is) torture. I’ve never known such perfect weather in my life. you could plan anything outside, months in advance, and know it would be sunny and warm. We had solar panels and our electric bills were close to nothing.

    If I could change anything about Aucks, it would be that (well, that first! and then lots of other things).

    p.s. a visiting colleague in climate change told me today that it is supposed to be REALLY HOT and VERY SUNNY here all summer. As in drought conditions. I swoon over drought conditions! (beach wise, not food wise…sorry farmers!)! I’m crossing my fingers that he is correct!!

  • Reply Michelle October 30, 2012 at 02:40

    If I were to move, then the place would be all about the weather and scenery. Maybe near the beach or an area with great hiking spots.

  • Reply Country Girl October 30, 2012 at 04:53

    Bein’ farm raised, weather is definitely an important factor. I like living where we have four distinct seasons, but it doesn’t get too crazy hot too often. I love that we can get big winds and big storms here too, but maybe that’s just because I’m a meteorology nerd.

  • Reply femmefrugality October 30, 2012 at 07:55

    Weather is so important. For me it’s not a deciding factor in moving somewhere, but it can definitely help me decide to move the heck out! Vitamin D is so important to our happiness levels, and the sun is a great place to get it.

    Hoping it’s not as bad as predicted here this week. We don’t usually face this kind of thing this far North. So maybe that’s why it’s such a big deal. I’m hoping. I think I’m far enough west that it’ll do some property damage, but hopefully nothing more. I have mad crazy concerns for my friends on the coast, though.

  • Reply Budget & the Beach October 30, 2012 at 09:27

    Auckland sounds like the pacific northwest here in the US. I used to live in Seattle. The weather there was an upgrade from Detroit, even though it rained a lot or was gray outside. But then I moved to LA (and the westside of LA-which is even nicer). I gotta say nice weather rocks. But with it comes the cost too.The cost of it being very crowded and just the cost of living is very hard. Is it worth it? Hmmm, the jury is out. If I made just a “decent” living I could enjoy it a lot more. And also we have the possibility of course of earthquakes. But I don’t think I could ever go back to rigid cold winters and blazing hot, humid summers of the east coast, south, and midwest. I’m pretty sure I’d stick to somewhere on the west coast.

    • Reply eemusings October 31, 2012 at 12:53

      Yup, I think so. It rains ALL. THE. DAMN. TIME. And the weather quite literally changes within minutes, multiple times a day. Four seasons in a day they say.

  • Reply The Asian Pear October 30, 2012 at 14:22

    Funny, I once thought about moving to an entire different continent… And not ONCE did I even consider weather to be part of the equation.

    I thought about how I’d miss my family and friends. I thought about language problems and if that’d hurt my chances of finding a job. I thought about giving up my current job. I thought about how my retirement funds would be impacted. I thought about culture shock. I thought about adapting from urban vs rural life. I thought about racial barriers and systemic racism. I thought about how immigration would impact my nationality identity and ethnic identity… But never weather.

    To me it was just never an issue. Although the place I was considering was much colder than where I am.

  • Reply mochiandmacarons October 30, 2012 at 17:32

    It’s why I wanted to move to the US and to Australia — to escape the horrible winters.

    But weather does not trump financial/freelancing independence, as in my ability to work and make a good living doing so, and overall, Canada is the best place for that.

  • Reply cantaloupe October 31, 2012 at 00:47

    I’ve contemplated living longterm in Abu Dhabi specifically because of the weather. (But also because of the ease of finding a job.) It’s sunny 99% of the days, and then 1% of the days there’s a sandstorm. The heat in the summer is ridiculous, but being a teacher I could easily avoid that by travelling. And everyone is so accustomed to it here that nothing is non-air conditioned and if you plan your life enough, you really don’t ever have to venture into said sauna summers….

    But then I remember that I miss living in a place where there are a majority with the same culture as me. And then I wonder if I’m a xenophobe… possibly.

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