Hacker News Reader

Comment by Padding | Hacker News Reader

I'm curious why the weather argument comes up so often. Aren't we, as "software people", under a roof and in front of a screen most of the time anyways?

Then again, I'm "deep inside" Europe, so I have no idea how bad the weather over there really is.

View on HN

The weather in the Bay Area is essentially perfect. The scenery is beautiful, and you can see the ocean, the desert, magnificent forests and the mountains all in the same day. It doesn't get too hot, it doesn't get too cold, it rains only for a few months out of the year, and it never gets very humid. Living in the Bay Area makes you spoiled and lazy because it is too comfortable. As the piece [1] by Mary Schmich (and again by Baz Luhrmann) says, "Live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft."

[1] http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/columnists/chi-schmich-su...

It's strange. I grew up in the Bay Area (Santa Cruz and South San Jose) and am weather-neutral. I've had stints in Sweden, Portland and Arizona (all pretty extreme) and none of the climates really affected my life too much. Most of my friends are the same way. Anecdotal, but maybe the weather effect is more pronounced on transplants who don't take it for granted?

The reason I chose to move back has more to do with the sheer amount of stuff to do. And the good food :)

I wish I had your weather neutrality. I grew up in the bay (Los Gatos, Santa Clara, Tri-Valley) and spent a couple years in Portland, OR. I liked the city a lot and tried to get used to the weather but just couldn't. The rain wasn't the problem, the constant darkness was. I like the rain and loved how green everything was up there, but even when it wasn't raining, it was dark. Came back to CA and will put up with its faults in exchange for the climate and activities.

For your definition of perfect, at least. I love rain and humidity. I miss the 60+ inches a year in South Florida.

Plus, your ocean is too damn cold. :P

I don't know about that .. Humidity is the one thing that isn't fun :x

Yeah, my wife hates it, at least when it comes with high temperatures. She thinks Seattle's weather is great, though.

Even if you are indoors most of the day, the weather outside can make a huge difference on your mood.

It also encourages getting up and taking walks every now and then, which has various benefits (both mental and physical).

I lived in Seattle for six years. The environment is gorgeous. Lots of trails for hiking, ton of greenery... the thing is though, the weather made me not want to go out. And that can be horribly depressing.

Yeah, we're in front of a screen... when we're at work. The Bay Area has a big culture of outdoor sports, though, including for tech workers. Lots of bikers, lots of hikers, lots of lots of plain old hanging out in public parks.

And many of those "indoor" work spaces try as hard as possible to have natural light.

> Aren't we, as "software people", under a roof and in front of a screen most of the time anyways?

I would hope not, if we want to stay healthy.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com