I grew up with 90 degree summers, and frankly, I find the heat to be amazing. Anything under 50 is downright unpleasant. I curse every moment of being outside when it's near or below freezing.
I realize this is only a personal anecdote, but I bet there are people out there just like me (and on all parts of the spectrum).
Plus I can run way faster when it is 20 out vs 100. Snow running rocks. Sun running is awful.
For me, living in the Northeast US, this is a sore point. Even more important than the cold temps or snow on the ground.
There are some alleviating actions one can take, like full spectrum lights, vitamins D etc., but they can never come close to the real deal. If sunnier places with dry, comfortable year around weather were a real and practical option, I'd move overnight, but am unable to move just yet due to family + affordability reasons.
Have lived in Phoenix since 2003.
I curse at the Daystar about half the year
I enjoy running in the baking heat, soaking in the sun. My lungs don't get seared from the biting cold, and I can breathe. The feeling of evaporating sweat is glorious and invigorating; the shirt is optional.
I appreciate your personal opinion and experience, though. :)
We may have come from Africa, but it was during the ice age that we really got going as a species. Rapid climate change forced us to develop improved tools and technology to survive. This eventually led to farming, agriculture, cities and modern civilization.
Without the cold, we'd probably have been quite happy staying in the trees.
If you need the booze, you need the bees, if you need the bees, you need to stay for the summer. If you want a year round supply you need storage, if you have storage that is not transportable, you have settled.
If you cultivate plants, you can up the numbers and found city states- but for that you allready have to be half way settled. Else that nomadic sheep guy from across the fence will drive his cattle through your fields.
I wish there were more tech in places where it got cold in the winter, where you see fireflies and thundersnow* and deciduous trees. I like seasons. I like cold. I really miss the northeast.
* Yes, Buffalo has that
20F with dry air and no wind is GORGEOUS. You can easily spend the day outside and, if you keep moving, wear only a long sleeve tee-shirt and long pants. (People who live here know enough to keep a sweatshirt or coat nearby for sundown.) Some of my most memorable outdoor experiences come in this type of weather where we'll be active by day and sit by a backyard fire at night.
The larger issues in the Northeast are the lack of sunlight and municipalities often don't handle the clean up of snow and ice well. My experience is that northern New England knows how to handle clean up, but southern New England is a deathtrap for walking and driving due to untreated ice and snow piled to the sides of already narrow roads.
A few years ago I travelled to Anaheim for a conference in Winter/early Spring. For the heck of it I took a short vacation in LA after the conference. For 3 days I walked around Silver Lake, Los Feliz, and Echo Park. My energy levels soared. I can understand why people like living in that climate. I'd love to experience living in it sometime.