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> I live in the upper midwest and, like many other places, don't get much light in the winter.

Not to one-up here, but the UK gets around 60 hours on sunshine across the whole of November, compared to Minnesota at about 115.

Europe north of the Mediterranean is gloomy beyond basically anywhere populated in North America.

For sure. I'm in Wisconsin, and when I see maps about where Europe would be overlayed compared to the US in terms of latitude, it's a shock. I feel like we get such little light in the winter months, but turns out I live middle of France, while you in the UK is much further north.

I lived in northern Germany (55°N) a few years after living most of my life at 42°N in the US. The lack of natural light in the winter was brutal.

Endless summer nights are a nice flipside though.

Poland here, same thing. Summers are great, but winters are basically 3-months long country-wide depressions.

It's made even worse by the fact we use the same timezone in Poland that Spain uses. So it's bright in the winter at 7, but it gets dark at 15:00 :/ If you work 8-16 as most people do - you get up in the dark, commute in the dawn, work while the sun is in the sky, and comute back in the dark...

I would much prefer if we moved 1 or 2 hours east timezone-wise. I'm fine with comuting in the dark one-way, but please give me at least 1 hour of sunlight after work...

Some theorize that the absolute misery of Northwestern Europe during winter is what led to the scientific revolution, industrialization, etc.

Not because the people were brilliant. Simply because they were forced inside and had lots of time to think.

This seems like an opportune moment to remind/notify any fellow UK dark-dwellers that the NHS recommends taking vitamin D supplements here in the winter.

Tbf we've had a particularly sunny Autumn/Winter so far.

I relocated to Redmond, WA for a few years to work at MSFT. Let me tell you, every winter there felt like a sadistic game show called "How Miserable Can You Get?" And boy, did I win!

Thankfully, the good ol' USA is a massive country, so I hit the eject button and moved to FL.

3154 hours of sun in FL compared to 2170 hours of sun in WA. Huuuuuuge difference in mental and physical aptitude. I feel more energetic. More focus, more workouts, more horny, less self loathing.

https://www.currentresults.com/Weather/US/average-annual-sun...

Florida is a great place to live if you're white, straight, and cis, but otherwise it's a shithole.

Florida seems like it’s terrible if you’re white. The weather is actively hostile towards you. People must spend a fortune on sunscreen. The vision of blue eyed people is relatively worse in bright light.

What about Miami? I would not think a black/brown gay or trans person would feel uncomfortable there?

Or is it like the state politics? Like someone who loved Portland might hate eastern Oregon, but the state of Oregon as a majority is more progressive so it’s ok?

Personally I care far more about local politics/culture than state or national politics/culture and would rather be in a state opposed to my way of life, while in a city that isn’t, than vice versa. Though ideally both, but can’t always have it all.

> I would not think a black/brown gay or trans person would feel uncomfortable there?

I can tell you've never had to deal with the Miami-Dade Police Department

Definitely have not. Are police in Seattle, or SF better then?

That’s painting with a pretty broad stroke…

I lived in that godforsaken state for fifteen years of my life (most of that time spent trying to get out) - both in Central Florida and what they call the Treasure Coast. Spent a lot of time in Miami as well.

Everywhere was a shithole with backwards, ignorant people spouting their hateful bullshit, and none of my gay/lesbian/trans friends ever felt really safe (the only places where they felt more comfortable were Miami so long as the police weren't involved and Key West during tourist season).

I barely felt safe there as a bisexual man, and avoided an attempted gay bashing because I was concealed carrying a gun and made it clear that I _would_ use it. The only way I felt safe from homophobes at night was if I was carrying.

The sooner the Atlantic Ocean reclaims Florida the better.

I can't believe Florida gets nearly 1000 hours more of sunlight a year, a fun TIL from HN!

I'm in the PNW and the gray gloomy weather is a delight for me. I love mushroom foraging, love being surrounded by trees, the beautiful waterfalls, the wet hikes, the moss everywhere, the berry picking, everything! I used to live in a VERY sunny state, I found it depressing. Sun irritates me. I never realized how uncomfortable it made me until I moved to a rainy cloud region and felt at home for the first time. Really shows there's something for everyone!

I miss the mountains. The backdrop is gorgeous. I lived in Vancouver,BC for a few years and my god it is cheffs-kiss beautiful in summer.

The hikes are serendipitous.

Post pandemic, housing got bat shit crazy though.

When I was at UW in the dorms I felt bad for the students who came from southeast US, they’d start school like end of September, and then leave beginning of June and go back home and essentially only get the worst of western Washington weather, and miss out on what is absolutely amazing weather and sunshine in the summer months.

If we only experienced western Washington for those months hardly anyone would stay, but those summer months are so incredible it makes it worth enduring the dreary gray for a good amount of people.

> compared to 2170 hours of sun in WA

Compared to 1403 hours here in London :(

Didn't realize London is worse than Seattle.

London is further north than Calgary.

I don't have SAD(at least to a degree I notice), but I do occasionally daydream of having something like this artificial sunlight in my windowless office at work. If only I had more space. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6bqBsHSwPgw

I bought two of these bulbs. Trying them out! Thanks for you putting out your thought process and solution.

What are the pros and cons of those lamps vs those sold as "grow lamps" and those sold as "UFO" high bay lights?

Is there any >=100W (actual, not equivalent) sunlight-like bulb available that is dimmable and programmable via ZigBee or other means?

The glow lamp I have is ~4x4 inch square panel, and it can get decently bright where I can feel some energy in my eyes and a difference in mood. That's what I've used for the past couple years. The thing I found with it is that it's almost like an orb, where there's energy glowing from it, but the rest of the area is still dark.

With the corn bulbs, it blasts energy and more light all over, which makes a much bigger difference in vibe. I can't comment on the lux difference (I'm actually getting a lux meter today so I can get a better number in comparison), but with more light all over the room, I can feel much more energy overall.

LED light panels are the other thing I think you mention, and I haven't tested with those. I picked corn bulbs to try first. Compared to the marketed mood lamps, the bigger panels would also light the whole room for a better vibe.

I don't think there are dimmable LED type higher power bulbs or panels. On or off for them. I'm planning to get more lights, and then maybe see if there's a way to create shades to put over them to change the color and amount depending on day.

For now, I'm keeping the lamps powered until ~6pm, and then back to the old light I had before to get ready for sleep.

No, I meant gRow lamps that are marketed to help to grow plants indoor, and thus presumably have a light spectrum that is natural (although they also include UV light, so it's not clear if they are safe).

Oh! Good question. Not sure, but having lights that come closer and closer to legit sun shine throughout the day would seem like the ideal end goal. If the grow lights already are tuned for that, then they could definitely good ones to try.