In the past several weeks, we saw record low temperatures across the country. In certain places it has gotten so cold that it isn’t even safe to breathe too deeply outside because of the risk of frostbite. As a native of Long Island, New York, I am thankful to be further down the coast at this time of year because even though it might still get cold in Georgia, it isn’t nearly as cold as it is back home.
I do have to admit, as much as I love Atlanta and the beautiful weather we are currently experiencing, I am sick of seasons altogether. If I had the choice, I would never see a day below 65 degrees for the rest of my life. I’m aware that this isn’t a particularly unique stance, however, I made my decision after traveling to Texas this past summer. When I landed in Austin in July it never went below 100 degrees and it was perfect. While the locals were relatively sick of the relentless heat, I felt like I was finally coming home for the first time in my life.
This is why I want to move somewhere in the southwest and never leave. I want to find a spot in the United States that literally never gets cold. I’m a creature of habit and I have a routine I need to stick to otherwise my anxiety eats me alive. I don’t even enjoy holidays anymore for this reason. I hate how they throw off the daily rhythm, and I spend a lot of time and energy trying to keep on track.
Weather plays a big part in the ability to maintain my schedule. If it’s snowing out, it isn’t as easy to walk to the store and buy groceries. So, to combat this, my plan is to eventually move somewhere where there are no seasons whatsoever. Not only is the temperature important to the maintenance of my routine, but the amount of sunlight also plays a big role in my mood.
As a child, I used to not care whether or not the sun came out. As a teenager, I would stay up all night and wake up as the sun was going down. If that were to happen now, it would send me into a massive shame spiral I would have a hard time climbing out of. The more I bring up my feelings about the weather to other people, and my desire to never be anywhere that is even remotely cold again, I discover that the people who have experienced unbearable heat for most of their lives feel the opposite.
People who grow up in the south would like to move to New York, while I almost never want to return. I suppose it is essentially relative to what people are used to. However, this doesn’t really change the fact that I think that southerners who wish to move up north don’t truly understand what they are getting themselves into.
After living in the north for a majority of my life, I have come down south and lived here throughout some brutal summers and adjusted just fine. I’m not so sure that the opposite would be true for someone from Texas living in New York during the winter. As romantic as Manhattan might be, the adjustment period from hot to cold isn’t as easy as going from the cold to the heat.
Hopefully, the weather we are seeing right now in Atlanta stays this way for the rest of February, bleeds seamlessly into the spring and my mere mention of the weather doesn’t somehow jinx us and bring a cold front into existence.
