adapting to hot or cold climates

[emily_in_nc]

Definitely. I thought I could handle the heat and humidity here in Belize since I came from North Carolina, and our summers were hot and humid. But it's different here. Closer to the equator, so the sun is hotter even if the temperature is not as hot as it sometimes gets in NC. And it goes on and on for most of the year. We are currently getting a little break during the winter, where the highs tend to be in the low 80s instead of upper 80s, and it makes a HUGE difference in how hot it feels, though it is still humid most of the time. In November, we had three weeks of lower humidity that felt like a desert after being used to the sweltering humidity to me. But I loved it, other than the dry skin and lips!

It gets tiresome sweating all the time, literally dripping with sweat when we're in town doing our shopping. I thought I'd adapt better, but after close to 1.5 years here, I still have as tough a time with it as I did at first. To the point that I can't even bring myself to run on the beach any more, it just drains me.

Locals do move slower, lph. They ride their bikes and walk slowly, while we whiz by. They tell us we're going to get a speeding ticket, a not-so-subtle way of telling us to slow down and take it easy. But we just can't bring ourselves to "saunter". Just another sign that this is not "our place".

I miss four seasons, and I miss cool (not freezing cold) weather. Did not think I would, but I do. The grass is always greener on the other side!

[lph]

It gets tiresome sweating all the time, literally dripping with sweat when we're in town doing our shopping. I thought I'd adapt better, but after close to 1.5 years here, I still have as tough a time with it as I did at first. To the point that I can't even bring myself to run on the beach any more, it just drains me.

Yup, that was another thing. We were in Thailand at the time to rock climb (the climbing there is awesome!, absolutely spectacular), and I quickly realized I just had to get used to climbing soaked with sweat all the time, even in the shade. At home I'd get all nervous and chalk up if I had even slightly damp hands, but in Thailand I just had to suck it up and keep climbing. Our chalkbags were pretty useless. (Heh, especially after I fell off this one route overhanging the water, and ended up with a chalkbag full of sea-water.)

[Crankin]

You adapt to the climate you are in.
I grew up here in the Boston area until age 16. I remember the winters as colder and snowier than what I live with now. I always played outside, went swimming in freezing water when it was 60 degrees and generally disliked heat. We only had 2 bedroom AC units. We also spent almost the whole summer at the beach.
Moved to Florida (Miami) where no one went outside for most of the year and it was so humid, you had to leave your closet doors open, even with central AC, so they wouldn't stick. I hated the hot sun, being further south and got a very bad sunburn during my first month there, March. I missed the seasons.
I moved to Phoenix at age 20 or so, where from November to March, it was nice, cool (30s-50s) at night and goes up to about 65-70 in the day. It also rained a bit during these months. However, I was working or in school, and never really got to enjoy the weather. I spent my time in a gym! I liked being able to drive to a 4 season climate, unlike Florida. I hated the summers. From April through October it would be 100-112 degrees and in Phoenix, it does not get below 100 at night from mid May to mid September. I learned to live inside, much worse than anything in a colder climate. When people say "it's a dry heat," yeah, stick your head in the oven at 450 degrees! That's what it feels like. You can dress right for the climate I live in now, (wool), but you cannot be comfortable or be safe exercising outside when it is 110. I had no trouble acclimating back to 4 seasons after 23 years of almost endless summer. I enjoy the constant change and the seasons. I love the fall and I took up a couple of snow sports to be "in" the winter.
Now, I understand that the winters here are not as harsh as what some of you describe. We do get below zero weather, but usually not for more than 3 days at a time. I've done plenty of x country skiing at temps of -5 F. I still don't like exercising outdoors in the heat, but I've improved my tolerance in recent years.

[emily_in_nc]

Yup, that was another thing. We were in Thailand at the time to rock climb (the climbing there is awesome!, absolutely spectacular), and I quickly realized I just had to get used to climbing soaked with sweat all the time, even in the shade. At home I'd get all nervous and chalk up if I had even slightly damp hands, but in Thailand I just had to suck it up and keep climbing. Our chalkbags were pretty useless. (Heh, especially after I fell off this one route overhanging the water, and ended up with a chalkbag full of sea-water.)

That sounds just like hiking in the jungle in Belize during the summer. The scenery and birds were absolutely spectacular, but you do have to be able to tolerate basically being soaked to the skin in sweat the entire time, through your underclothes, dripping off your face. It's not like cycling where you can create a breeze in hot weather because you're moving fast. My DH loved it, but I was dying. It was just so very uncomfortable. But we were traveling "off season" when lodging rates were low, so that is what we had to deal with. Not a fan.

[Norse]

That sounds just like hiking in the jungle in Belize during the summer. The scenery and birds were absolutely spectacular, but you do have to be able to tolerate basically being soaked to the skin in sweat the entire time, through your underclothes, dripping off your face. It's not like cycling where you can create a breeze in hot weather because you're moving fast. My DH loved it, but I was dying. It was just so very uncomfortable. But we were traveling "off season" when lodging rates were low, so that is what we had to deal with. Not a fan.

Sounds like the Amazon rainforest. I can handle climate changes if they come gradually - like going from a cold winter to a hot, humid summer like we get here. But if it's all at once and involves heat and humidity, I am doomed. Abrupt changes to extreme cold I can handle, heat, not so much. DP and I spent less than a week in the rainforest a few years ago (Ecuador), where our clothing was never dry, there was certainly no a/c, and by day 3 I had completely lost my appetite. I'll take Minnesota over Florida any day.

[Atlas]

I will take the cold over heat any day. As others have pointed out you can dress for being out in the cold, but there is only so much you can do with heat. This is part of why we're moving to Montana. Last summer here was so excruciatingly humid and hot that we resolved to not go through another one. I lose any motivation once the temp passes 85F.