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

[KingOfTheCheapos]

So I visited the south to scout retirement areas: i) Florida Atlantic side, ii) Savannah Georgia, iii) Montgomery AL and iv) New Orleans/Mobile.

Coming from Northern CA there is a lot to like:

a) Access to *warm* oceans
b) Much cheaper cost of living in terms of homes etc.
c) Lower taxes
d) More compact so easy to drive to a new city

But the humidity, it killed me and its only early June! Not only did it zap me of energy but it was relentless from 9am to 7pm.

Are there any places in the South which have all the benefits listed above but which are known to be much less humid?
How far up the east coast do you need to go to get less humid or do you have to go inland?

 

[finnski1]

So I visited the south to scout retirement areas: i) Florida Atlantic side, ii) Savannah Georgia, iii) Montgomery AL and iv) New Orleans/Mobile.

Coming from Northern CA there is a lot to like:

a) Access to *warm* oceans
b) Much cheaper cost of living in terms of homes etc.
c) Lower taxes
d) More compact so easy to drive to a new city

But the humidity, it killed me and its only early June! Not only did it zap me of energy but it was relentless from 9am to 7pm.

Are there any places in the South which are known to be much less humid?
How far up the east coast do you need to go to get less humid or do you have to go inland?

Coastal Maine That's what the traditional aristocratic set used to do. Summer in Bar Harbor. Winter if FL or similar.

 

[Al in Ohio]

You have to go inland to higher elevations to avoid the humidity. Blue Ridge Mountain range etc.

 

[audreyh1]

There are not low humidity locations in the south especially along the coast! You have to go west to escape humidity.

Maybe higher altitude will help some - again not much altitude is available in the south.

 

[KingOfTheCheapos]

Coastal Maine That's what the traditional aristocratic set used to do. Summer in Bar Harbor. Winter if FL or similar.

Surely my sign-on gives you the answer of retiring in Bar Harbor

 

[stepford]

I think you're basically talking about Hawaii. Still a bit wet, but not oppressively humid like the SE. Nice warm oceans.

There are also parts of the west coast of the USA that are still semi-affordable, but the oceans are cold and you trade the humidity of the east for frequent fog. Pick your poison. (FWIW, I don't mind wearing a wetsuit when I go in the ocean, so the latter is the poison I pick)

 

[finnski1]

Surely my sign-on gives you the answer of retiring in Bar Harbor

Yes I know. Was just being silly. I wouldn't do it either

 

[ShokWaveRider]

You do get used to it. We did, does not phase us anymore. and we came from Cali.

 

[38Chevy454]

There is nothing on south and east of USA that will have lower humidity. Even here in midwest Cincinnati the summer humidity can get pretty high. But we also get some occasional breaks when the weather blows cooler dry air from the north. All you need to do is compare the amount of green and trees east vs west. Drive I-40 starting in CA (Barstow is where I-40 starts) and beginning in OK you get more green than what you have seen west of there. Anything east of OK is green and that's because of the higher rain and subsequent humidity. Takes moisture to make all that green.



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.


Winter the humidity level drops in the south and east. Even fall starts to lower the humidity and can be very nice days. But late spring and summer it is going to have humidity.

 

[KingOfTheCheapos]

You do get used to it. We did, does not phase us anymore. and we came from Cali.

Do you get used to it or do you learn to be accommodating? I asked some locals and they said from June to August they just stay inside! To me that's not getting used to it.

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.


Winter the humidity level drops in the south and east. Even fall starts to lower the humidity and can be very nice days. But late spring and summer it is going to have humidity.

Thanks. In your opinion when is the humidity "still not fund to be outside"? Most people I talked to had the Jun/Jul/Aug time frame as the humidity being unpleasant.

 

[Sunset]

OP - You could do like a friend of mine did, from June to Sept he went North to Canada to spend the Summer on a lakeside cabin.
Or you could travel West to visit all your old friends in California during the Summers.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

Do you get used to it or do you learn to be accommodating? I asked some locals and they said from June to August they just stay inside! To me that's not getting used to it.

No not really you really do get used to it. You wear a lot less clothes for a start. Depends what you mean by outside. We live walking distance to the beach and once you are at the beach there are no humidity issues in general. Again, being near the beach there is always a breeze of some sort, except on rare occasions.

Thanks. In your opinion when is the humidity "still not fun to be outside"? Most people I talked to had the Jun/Jul/Aug time frame as the humidity being unpleasant.

Now it also depends where your rear pool, patio, Yard faces. You could not pay me to own a home with the rear facing West no matter what the view. You simply cannot sit outside in the the summer at all. Our friends (across the road) come over our house to get some relief. We face East, with a Lake View. Across the road they have an Intracoastal view, but can only view it from inside.

When the Sun goes over the yardarm the rear becomes quite tolerable. In the morning it is pleasant as we get the sunrises. OK we do not get the sunsets, but can see them if we go out front.

Also it depends where you live. North East Florida is better IMHO for all year living than the South. That is my opinion as we visited all parts before we purchased. The South is better for snow birding, although we certainly get our fair share of them.

YMMV.

 

[Dash man]

I spent much of the first half of my life in CA, but ended up on the east coast. You get used to the humidity. I hate going out west now because of the dryness.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

You do get used to it. We did, does not phase us anymore. and we came from Cali.

I disagree. I have been a southerner pretty much my entire life and still hate the humidity. Even smack dab in the middle of the country we have it pretty bad at times and I loathe when the dewpoint gets above 70. I will say that if you live in an area that has higher winds, it makes it more bearable as the air isn't nearly as stagnant.

Dewpoint is the real indicator of humidity. Anything mid-60s and higher is in uncomfortable range, mid-70s is like tropical humidity.

Preach!!! I get so tired of seeing "relative humidity" being reported and being the indicator of "how humid" it is...NO!!! It's all about the dewpoint! -OK...off my soapbox now.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

I disagree. I have been a southerner pretty much my entire life and still hate the humidity. Even smack dab in the middle of the country we have it pretty bad at times and I loathe when the dewpoint gets above 70.

I agree with you about living inland too. Unbearable. The Coasts close to the beach are a little different. Like anywhere there can be very bad days. But you get those in any state. Personally I would much rather be hot than cold. Again it is personal preference. And as for snow, I do not miss that at all.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

I agree with you about living inland too. Unbearable. The Coasts close to the beach are a little different. Like anywhere there can be very bad days. But you get those in any state. Personally I would much rather be hot than cold. Again it is personal preference. And as for snow, I do not miss that at all.

Yeah, I amended my post to note that if there is a wind (such as near the water) then it's much more bearable. When you in a place like Atlanta or Little Rock where a 20 mile an hour wind is considered "strong winds" then it is stagnant and down right nasty. And yes, I prefer the heat over snow ANYDAY.

I recall a trip to Isla Mujeres, MX a few years ago. The house we usually rent is on the east side of the island (on the water) and there is almost ALWAYS an eastern trade wind. Well, not ALWAYS!!! The last couple of days, there was a hurricane or TS a little north in the gulf and the resultant winds were coming from the south (instead of the east) and resulted in NO crossflow breeze on the property and it was absolutely miserable!!! The difference was really amazing.

 

[Nick12]

Less humid and near the ocean? You will be out of luck from NC to FL. I would suggest look way inland.

 

[38Chevy454]

Do you get used to it or do you learn to be accommodating? I asked some locals and they said from June to August they just stay inside! To me that's not getting used to it.



Thanks. In your opinion when is the humidity "still not fund to be outside"? Most people I talked to had the Jun/Jul/Aug time frame as the humidity being unpleasant.

I would say that in the south for most part the humidity is high June through August, and can be high in May or Sept. By Oct it is getting lower and temps are also on the decrease. April is still acceptable, although the spring rains can make for seemingly high humidity as you are coming out of drier winter weather so the increase is more noticed.


As several posts suggested, a breeze makes it much better as the air does not seem so stagnant and heavy. Air you can wear is not any fun.

 

[RAE]

Do you get used to it or do you learn to be accommodating? I asked some locals and they said from June to August they just stay inside! To me that's not getting used to it..

Yeah, we have a house in Florida (which we use during the winter months only). I asked some of the locals the same question, before we bought the house. The answers were mixed. Some say they never got used to it, and just stay inside except for a few hours in the morning. Others claim they do get used to it, but I really don't know how active they are outside during the majority of the day. I know that I would be very uncomfortable there in the summer months, so we head back north around April or so. I have never been able to tolerate humidity very well. Snowbirding is the way to go for us.

 

[Aerides]

S. Fla.

You get used to it, by acclimatizing and adapting, but it takes decades. And even then, no you do not simply go for a run at 1pm in July.

 

[FlaGator]

If you're looking for more manageable/tolerable humidity, I would avoid anything inland, especially a place like New Orleans, Montgomery, Orlando, even Tallahassee (60 miles from the Gulf) is more uncomfortable. The breeze of the bay makes Mobile more tolerable, but that goes away quickly as you move inland.

Get as close to the Gulf/Atlantic as you can where there is a more consistent breeze.

 

[GreenEggs]

The NC "High Country", around Blowing Rock, Boone, Linville, & Banner Elk are usually really nice, especially if you're in the woods. Beech Mtn. is the highest town in the East & it never gets hot in the Summer. Many of the homes up there don't even have A/C.

 

[Gumby]

Yes I know. Was just being silly. I wouldn't do it either

I would. If money were no object, I'd have a home on the Maine mid-coast and another in the Florida Keys. I would change station in April and October.

 

[harllee]

The NC "High Country", around Blowing Rock, Boone, Linville, & Banner Elk are usually really nice, especially if you're in the woods. Beech Mtn. is the highest town in the East & it never gets hot in the Summer. Many of the homes up there don't even have A/C.

Agree. I spend my summers in the Banner Elk area of the NC mountains at 5000 feet elevation. We have no AC. No humidity, highs normal in the 70s, a great place. Now in the winter you get snow there so I spend the winter in Chapel Hill, NC in the middle of the state where there is little snow. The best of the weather--NC mountains in the summer and the middle of the NC (or the NC or SC coast) in the winter.

 

[Deej]

Heck, I've lived in SE PA all my life and I'm still not used to the humidity. And, the older we get, the more intolerable it becomes.