Not So Humid Places in the South and the East Coast?

Huston55 said:
I've lived in multiple spots in the VA/DC/MD corridor, FL, NC, TN, KY, AL & Cali (NorCal & SoCal); plus lots of flyover spots in between. I agree with the general characterization of weather in the posts above. The one 'surprising' exception I've experienced is what ShokWave describes above. Beachfront weather on the northern half of the FL east coast is very nice. There's usually an easterly breeze, it's less humid than even 500 yds inland and, together that makes it seems 8-10 degrees cooler and much less humid. Plus, if you're balcony is direct oceanfront and 6th floor or higher, no bugs!
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We too have lived all over the east coast, including Florida, and I agree with this. In our experience with coastal Florida on hot afternoons the ground heats up, the air above the ground rises, and that creates a nice breeze blowing in off the ocean/gulf, which mitigates the heat and humidity. Not sure if the cooling effect extends much beyond a few hundred yards inland. I think you can get a feel for the width of this tolerable zone by the drop in real estate prices as you get too far from the water. And the increase in bug density.

As for getting used to the humidity, I never did. Well, at least 12 years in Virginia was not long enough.
 
A good tool is weather-and-climate.com, where they have annual and monthly humidity ings for specific locations.

You will not find anywhere in the east or south with super low humidity, but differences especially combined with temperature differences do vary quite a bit.

I think this is more useful than anecdotes.

;)
 
We're in Western NY. 20% of the world's fresh water from the Great Lakes. We whine about the occasional blizzard.

Summers occasionally get humid & hot, Spring can be rainy. It snows in Winter and the leaves are beautiful in Fall.

Homes are affordable.

Taxes, taxes, taxes........

Tornadoes are rare, earthquakes are minimal, hurricanes- we get the leftovers.

My father lives in San Diego, within 5 miles of the coast. It's almost always 72F, but it rains in January.

Nothing is perfect.
 
You need to move west young man. West of the 100th Meridian which will put you in West Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, or points further west

Cantner_100thMeridianMap.jpg


I would suggest places like Las Cruces, Santa Fe, or Albuquerque NM, front range cities along the Rockies like Colorado Springs or Fort Collins, and various other towns in the intermountain west like Boise, Salt Lake City, Flagstaff, Tucson, etc. depending on how hot or cold you want it.
 
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I would prefer to live in a climate where winters are mild and dry, and summers are warm and breezy, and where I don't have to uproot myself twice a year. The coast of CA and OR have pockets like this. Hawaii. Tahiti. New Zealand.
 
wildsun said:
I would prefer to live in a climate where winters are mild and dry, and summers are warm and breezy, and where I don't have to uproot myself twice a year. The coast of CA and OR have pockets like this. Hawaii. Tahiti. New Zealand.
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Despite my handle, I'm a 5th generation Oregonian. I have family living on the Oregon Coast as we speak and I'll be driving out tomorrow afternoon to visit my daughter who is working there this summer at a surf shop.

Mild and dry winters combined with warm and breezy summers does not describe any location on the Oregon Coast. Not even close.

You will have to head south of San Francisco to find that sort of climate.
 
texasdiver said:
You need to move west young man. West of the 100th Meridian which will put you in West Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, or points further west

Cantner_100thMeridianMap.jpg


I would suggest places like Las Cruces, Santa Fe, or Albuquerque NM, front range cities along the Rockies like Colorado Springs or Fort Collins, and various other towns in the intermountain west like Boise, Salt Lake City, Flagstaff, Tucson, etc. depending on how hot or cold you want it.
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Brownsville, TX would fit the bill, it seems, if one wants to be east and by the water.
 
texasdiver said:
Despite my handle, I'm a 5th generation Oregonian. I have family living on the Oregon Coast as we speak and I'll be driving out tomorrow afternoon to visit my daughter who is working there this summer at a surf shop.

Mild and dry winters combined with warm and breezy summers does not describe any location on the Oregon Coast. Not even close.

You will have to head south of San Francisco to find that sort of climate.
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Mild winters: we don't get hit every year with frozen rain, ice and dirty slush storms, with humidity that you feel bone deep. I grew up on the coast of CT.

Dry winters: its all relative. but I live in Portland where its gray and dizzley for much of the winter, and am often surprised by the clear & sunny skies that often visit pockets of the Oregon coast. My most frequent coastal location is in an area known as the Three Capes Scenic route. They get 80 to 100 inches of rain about 10 miles inland from there, but on the coast it can be beautiful. 60 degrees & sunny in January. Pockets.

Warm & Breezy Summers: its all relative, but 60-75 degree temps and no significant rain for 3 months of the summer in a gorgeous location is pretty dang nice.

But I wouldn't argue if you said that Hawaii or Tahiti would be even better.:dance:
 
I am a large person, 265 lbs, 6 ft tall. Moved from San Jose area to central FL about 7 years. Ago. I play golf 3 to 4 times a week year round, always walking, never an electric cart. I need to drink plenty of water and use an umbrella for shade in July-Sep, but I manage. I do take a swim after to cool off, but the bottom line is if an obese, 60 something guy can walk 7+ miles in midday sun, lugging around 30 lbs of equipment without getting exhausted, then you can acclimate. It takes a few weeks of consistent activity in the heat, but you will adjust. That being said, summers here are not as nice as California, but Winters are great.
 
I have lived in Florida for the past 59 years (the first 4 in Orlando and then 55 in NE Fl at the beach). It is humid most of the time. Mold and mildew is a chronic problem and there is a need for a dehumidifier. Air conditioners are as much to clear out some of the humidity in the house as they are for cooling. Winter is not so bad but for 6 months from June to November is hurricane season and you can count on lots of rain and high humidity. During the summer I get up at sunrise and finish all my exercise and outdoor chores in the morning before 11am. By then I look like I have been swimming in my clothes.
Do you get used to the humidity? Maybe, but so far I have not. I just tolerate it. The only place I have found that is worse is the Chitwan National Park (jungle) in Nepal during the summer.


Cheers!
 
We had delightful weather here yesterday, which was a break from the hot & humid kind that is typical for us this time of the year. I pulled up the history for yesterday and it was 72 degrees with a dew point of 48. The relative humidity was 41%. I walked 9 holes of golf and barely broke a sweat. I would move somewhere with that kind of weather for most of the year. But, as has been pointed out, so would (has?) everybody else!

To the OP's question, I was going to suggest the Keys, but after reading some of the responses in the thread, and looking up the humidity for Key West, it seems I was wrong in thinking that you can escape Florida's humid zone by going as far south as you can. It's not cheap to live there anymore either.
 
vafoodie said:
Western North Carolina. Absolutely gorgeous in the summer. 0 humidity.
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Thank you! Can you be a bit more specific when you say Western North Carolina, in particular west of what? Charlotte? Rayleigh? What elevation

Also, can one keep on going west and still have the low humidity? West of North Carolina is Tennessee which is a much more friendly tax state.
 
38Chevy454 said:
As ShokWaverider said, you do get used to it. Still not fun to be outside working in the humidity though. Even mornings where temps are lower the relative humidity is actually higher so the air is real thick. Dewpoint is the real indicator of humidity. Anything mid-60s and higher is in uncomfortable range, mid-70s is like tropical humidity.

.
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I beg to differ. I have lived in NC for 30 years and still have not gotten used to the humid Summer/Autumns . I certainly believe that SOME people can get used to it, but not everyone. For me, the saving grace is that our muggy season is "only from May-September/October, whereas in FL, it is basically yearround.
 
bltkmt said:
Really? What are some cities or towns to look at?
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Ashville, NC to some extent, but Boone, NC (Blowing Rock, Banner Elk, West Jefferson, etc), definitely!
 
euro said:
I beg to differ. I have lived in NC for 30 years and still have not gotten used to the humid Summer/Autumns . I certainly believe that SOME people can get used to it, but not everyone. For me, the saving grace is that our muggy season is "only from May-September/October, whereas in FL, it is basically yearround.
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Just not true that it is high humidity in Florida all year round.
Humidity is high for around 4-5 months.
 
euro said:
Ashville, NC to some extent, but Boone, NC (Blowing Rock, Banner Elk, West Jefferson, etc), definitely!
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I think these places have lower temps, but not necessarily lower humidity.

And wet, lots of rain days, and a good bit of snow.
 
Montecfo said:
I think these places have lower temps, but not necessarily lower humidity.

And wet, lots of rain days, and a good bit of snow.
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Humidity is the reason the Smokey Mountains are “Smokey”
 
Dtail said:
Just not true that it is high humidity in Florida all year round.
Humidity is high for around 4-5 months.
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Well, I must admit that I have never lived in Florida, so my observations are not foolproof. However, back in my professional days, I HAVE, visited the Miami area on many occasions during Autumn, Winter and Spring, and I always found it sticky and warm/hot. Even during December or January visits. May have just been coincidence.
 
euro said:
Ashville, NC to some extent, but Boone, NC (Blowing Rock, Banner Elk, West Jefferson, etc), definitely!
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I spend my summers in the Banner Elk, NC area and the summer weather is delightful--I am heading there July 1 and I can't wait. There are some rainy days and I am sure some humidity in Banner Elk but it is cool and comfortable. In my opinion to be comfortable in the summer in NC you need to be at 4000-5000 elevation. Definitely not Charlotte (too hot and humid in the summer). I think Asheville can also be too hot and humid in the summer (it is less than 3000 feet altitude). My summer house is at the top of Sugar Mountain outside Banner Elk and is at 5000 feet. I don't need AC, not even a fan. Most summer days I wear a sweater. (Now the winter there is another story--cold and snowy but I spend my winters in Chapel Hill, NC, at lower altitudes, fairly warm in the winter and hardly any snow).
 
euro said:
Ashville, NC to some extent, but Boone, NC (Blowing Rock, Banner Elk, West Jefferson, etc), definitely!
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The Boone area is considered a "deciduous rainforest". Some Summers it rains so much that we've had mold growing on our interior woodwork and leather goods. The temperature is generally much cooler than other places in the South so the humidity isn't so uncomfortable, but it normally can't be considered "low".

I don't remember how much rain we normally get, but one recent Winter our snow total was 120" (10 feet).
 
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