Here it is getting to the end of the year and our temps are finally cooling down to the point its not 80+ at 6am and 98/100+ at 5:00. I can go cruising with the windows down and not sweat at a stop light. Its nice in the pits at the track. Really, its the best time of the year to be a car guy in Florida. I feel bad for you guys up north. Its getting time to pack your toys away and start dealing with the cold and snow. I'm sure it truly sucks. I grew up in Michigan but migrated south in the mid 80's. My first winter here was better than my best summer up there and I had no A/C in the chitty little 50$ a week trailer I called home. So each time I jump into one of the Buicks and roll the windows down or retract the top on the Wildcat or unload the race car at the track in December I will be thinking about you guys.. Just thought ya'd wanna know!
We'll be fine Briz. We feel bad for you too, you'll never know the joy of taking your car out on a crisp, 35 degree morning with 20 percent humidity. That cold dense air adds 50+ horsepower. Just thought you'd wanna know
Well,in central Pa,we do get snow,colder weather and stuck inside for awhile,but we don't get the humidity like down south,hurricanes and tornadoes like you southerners. We get some effects but not usually terrible. Now that I am retired,I don't have to drive out into the snow to plow snow like I did for years,I can just pull the blinds down and ignore it... I like the south,but I'd miss the fall and snow to ever meander there to live..
Up here, winter is when we update or repair our cars to get ready for the cruising season. I Florida, you need to work on your cars when it's 95* with 95% humidity so you can drive them at 80* with 80% humidity. I prefer north!
Down here in South Florida I am on the opposite schedule of you northerners. Put the wife's MGB away in the spring, break it back out as winter approaches.
In my younger years, I aways had the dream of moving south as I loved the heat back then, however I NEVER liked the cold....... still don't. I never took the initiative to make the move, so here I am "stuck" up North. Now that I'm older and retired, I'm very glad I never made that move. Like said before, winter is our build time and building stuff is what I really enjoy. Sure we get some snow, but now I plow it with my enclosed and heated UTV with the stereo cranked! Besides, I get a break from it several times in the winter months by visiting Florida or Arizona! I usually get at least 2 winter getaways to warmer weather each year. When my wife retires in a few years we'll become snowbirds and travel south for the snow season. In short, I LOVE Spring, Summer and Fall in Wisconsin! Winter not so much, but after all these years I've learned how to deal with it!!
There have been plenty of winters in NY where we don't get snow until December or January. Then it is just a matter of dealing with January/February. By March, it starts getting warmer. I can usually get the GS out once a month even when we have snow. It usually warms up and rains washing it all away, and that is when I take an hour cruise. Been able to do that every winter. It's not so bad. I would never want to live in Florida. I don't like the heat and humidity.
I don't mind winter as it kills off mosquitos, wasps, and every other pesky bug. No such thing as hurricanes, but the occasional tornado does roll through. I just missed getting close to the only confirmed Canadian F5 one about 15 years ago. We do get major storms and blizzards, but we know how to deal with those.....buy more beer and liquor. Sold my last GS in 2015 and have nothing to tinker with. My body has had enough of that anyway. Local cruising season is pretty much over until next spring. I can handle heat for the most part, but not the humidity.
What I miss about New England is primarily October. The month can go either way - I remember pumping gas in the snow on one October 19, but usually it has warm days and cool nights, the leaves can be beautiful colors, and those damn Mosquitoes are pretty much gone. Great weather for cruising, and most folks don't mind a windbreaker or light jacket in an open car. What stinks is snow, salt, serious cold, heating bills, and above all, dark. Massachusetts has something like a nine-hour swing in the length of day from June to December; you get up in the dark, work during the only natural light, and go home in the dark. Some people deal with it quite well. I am not one of them. Here in SW Florida the length of day changes only by about four hours. We have real daylight all year 'round.
I live in the middle of the east coast, Virginia. I get some of both, snow and hot weather. I will say, with all this weird weather going on, we get less snow and more hot temperatures and humidity, which I don't like. Having a little extra weight on me only makes it worse. I guess you Yankees know this joke, it's very old. There are two kinds of Yankees, the that goes South to visit and enjoy the warm weather (the snow birds) and the second type of Yankee goes South and stays, that's what Southerns call, a damn Yankee. . Just couldn't help myself . PS, Just got fantastic news from the shop. With the addition of the Griffin aluminum radiator to the cooling system, my 70 GS 455 is now a cool running car. I can't wait to start cruising. VET (Go Navy)
Here in Southern Alberta (We are about an hour north of the border), we get snow and cold weather, of course, but we are also in a milder climate with numerous Chinooks every winter. I usually only have to put my car away for a few days or up to a week or so, then a Chinooks rolls in, snow disappears overnights and voila, driving again.
I am in south Georgia/north Florida, I pretty much stop driving my cars in June and start driving them again in September. However I can drive them in hot weather if I want to sweat a little. I would not drive them in the snow so I like my situation better. I think we make adjustments to our life styles and make the best of wherever we live.
Our winters here in Ohio have been getting milder and milder, it’s not too bad, 40 degrees, and the occasional cold snap. I don’t care for the depressing cloudy weather tho.
Wife and I were considering a rev snowbird option. Once I finally retire go north for the summer and back south for the winter months. Could keep a car at both houses and comfortably drive year round. Personally I really dont mind the heat.
Exactly what my oldest Brother did. Home in Ft. Myers and another in the hills of Boone, NC. Love the Gulf side of S. Florida and some of the Keys but always happy to get Home. I'll take 4 seasons over just 1.
That is living the dream. I plan on being retired in a year or two at the most. Summers relaxing and fishing at the cabin in Northern Mn. ( I am gonna need a cabin car) Winters in Sunny Florida. Cliff
I AM a reverse snowbird. It is the perfect life! I have a house in the mountains of southwest Virginia very close to the Blue Ridge Parkway. The summers up there are flat out awesome. I bust out laughing listening to the neighbors complaining about the heat and humidity. LMAO!!! They don’t know heat and humidity! This summer I made it until the end of September. It was finally getting too cold for me in the morning. Waking up and going outside with my coffee, and it was in the low 40’s. No way Jose. If it gets that cold in South Florida in January we are freezing! I do not like cold!
I never packed mine away in WA state, plenty of dry days and mild temperatures throughout the winter to take monthly cruises and keep things working.
I enjoy living in Florida, although it is getting a bit more crowded than I would like. We just bought a cabin on a small lake in New Hampshire, lots of work to do, but will enjoy being a reverse snow bird.
