The perfect climate

My wife and I are in Spain at the moment near Cartagena. The weather seems to me to be ideal. Maximum daytime temperature about 25, minimum about 20. So no a/c, no heating. I know it’s not always like that here and you probably need a bit of heating, and definitely a lot of a/c. I was wondering if any of you have ever lived in a place with what you considered had an ideal year round climate.
The only place I have come across that seemed like it might suit was Mexico City which didn’t appear to have very high or low temperatures. I have been there but not lived there.

We lived in Southern California, SoCal to the locals That was pretty much perfect but of course there’s no such place really- I missed the changing seasons found in the UK.

Yes. The Turks and Caicos Islands - as long as you like temperatures slightly on the warm side. :slight_smile:

Definitely no need for heating, though some of the restaurants do put those patio heaters out for winter evenings, and we locals could be seen wearing long trousers and pullovers while the tourists were in t-shirts and shorts! At the other end of the scale it can get a bit hot and sticky in July-August, but there are remedies for that.

What made it bearable despite what some might consider to be high-ish temperatures was that there is almost always a sea breeze to take the edge off things. And for sleeping at night in summer you could have air-con just for the bedroom if necessary.

My house however was built on the side of a small hill and up on stilts, so that it always caught the breeze. Only the sliding doors out on to the deck had glass in them - all the other windows just had insect mesh and louvred shutters. So by opening and closing shutters on different sides of the house you could control the flow of cooling air, or shut it out if necessary in the winter.

I loved the climate and would happily live there again - if it wasn’t for the cost of living! It’s an expensive place to buy property, you should probably have private healthcare that includes MedEvac to Miami in case of emergency (though there is a state healthcare system and two hospitals now - when I lived there, there were only clinics). And as most food and other goods comes on a container ship from Fort Lauderdale, food etc. is quite pricey.

No personal income tax, VAT, inheritance tax or capital gains tax, but 35% imported duty on goods!

One of the word’s Top Ten beaches (Grace Bay on Provo) and excellent scuba diving.

But climate-wise, apart from a passing hurricane every few years, lovely. :slight_smile: And a very chilled lifestyle, especially if you are retired. Lots of excellent restaurants too. There is a semi-direct BA flight to and from the UK once a week and plenty of flights to Miami and other US cities.

The hurricanes were no big deal as the building code is strict - my house was made of solid concrete!

This post is not sponsored by the Turks & Caicos Tourist Board! :smiley:

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I haven’t lived there but if we could afford it, Hawaii would suit us. On the coast it’s up to about 31C in summer and up to 28C in winter.

Tours is good, just about the right amount of heat in summer and cold in winter without too many hosepipe bans.

Still looks a bit on the warm side. But I would love to be able to jump out of befuddled into the sea, or nearly.

As mentioned, the breeze really takes the edge off it compared to being hot somewhere inland where the air is still. And a max temperature of 29C compares quite well to inland France in high summer - where I was in Vienne in June it hit 33C and in Provence it went over 40C during the canicule I think.

Yes that was a big plus - none of the islands are very big so the sea is no more than a short walk away usually. Not all the coastline is sandy, there are quite a few rocky bits, but there are still plenty of beaches. And on the smaller islands, nobody on them.

I really ought to read my posts! I suppose I might be a bit befuddled immediately after waking!

Easy peasy for me,

Capetown.

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I knew what you meant but could not resist quoting! :smiley:

Humidity levels can make a huge difference to how ‘hot’ it feels. You can get quite high levels in the Carribbean. Usually worse in the summer rainy season when it tends to be hotter anyway. So, 28 C at 90% rh can be a lot more uncomfortable than 35 C at more modest humidities. Never been to T & C so it may be a bit different to some of the islands further south.

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Has anyone mentioned Tobago… a friend has a place there and loves it. :+1:

After living in SE Qld for 3 years which they say is a perfect climate, Qlds tourist board’s slogan was ‘beautiful one day, perfect the next’. I hated it, except for the 6 weeks in the middle of ‘winter’ where it was 21c in the day and low humidity. It never got above 30/32c but it was brutal with 90% humidity. When it rained it was tropical torrential, everyone lived in flip flops as the car parks would have inches of water in them when you went shopping in the rain! We all kept a beach towel to cover yourself run inside or you’d be sosked. Locals thought it was the best climate in the world, as did many incomers. I loathed it and left within 10 days of my final uni exam! Missed the seasons, hated the humidity. It’s very personal I think.

Trinidad and Tobago … I’ve only transited Tobago. It’s the one with beaches. It used to be the safe one but that’s a diminishing feature. Advice is never go to a beach with nobody else on it.

My ex’s pals went to Tobago from Trini for New Year 3-4 years ago, in a rented house. While Dad went to pick up another child, grannie, mother and two children were held at gunpoint, face down on the floor, for a considerable time by a drug-crazed bandit, who did a lot of insane screaming and shouting. When dad got back he managed to persuade the gunman to help himself and leave. Of course, they went straight back to Trini.

T & T, esp Trini, has a massive drug problem. It’s a major transit point for dope en route to Cuba> Miami>USA. It’s only 8 miles across a channel to Venezuela. Ref the U.S. Navy taking no prisoners on Venezuelan boats suspected of drug running.

As for the climate, I went to Port of Spain for Christmas and “stay as long as you like” Hmmmm :thinking: An offer I can’t refuse?

The ‘Christmas Breezes’ dry season failed. In 2 months there were not 3 days together without tropical downpours. There were only 3 x 2 days together with no rain. The humidity was awful. The mozzies were horrendous. The previous time I went there I came back with mild dengue.


and humidty 96%!

Tobago airport


Humidity 89%

Never again.

The WHO reckons the Med coast of Spain [possibly excluding Andalucia] has one of the world’s best climates. I agree, with the reservation that one should decamp to the Biscay/Atlantic coast or go fishing in Somerset, for July/Aug/Sept, something I failed to do.

Thus I was a prisoner in my flat in Valencia, the A/C and I in those months. Weeks of +/-35C and many days of 40C. Nights of 30C. A dry heat, to be sure but still too punishingly hot to go about in the city.

But once it cools down, in late Sept thru’ to mid June, it’s sublime. Nov/Dec/Jan/Feb - days of lovely sunshine. Chilly enough in the shade to need a light jacket but in the sun - blissfully warm.

Taken 17/11/24. Typical weather for the autumn/winter/spring months.

I recommended VLC to my nurse for hols in March - she was thinking of Scotland! Nooooo!


They had this weather all thru’.

I know exactly what you mean. Sao Paulo (Brazil) only has two seasons Summer - hot and wet. Winter - cooler (sometimes cold) and less wet. Vegetation is basically green all year - sometimes in flower.

I was ecstatic when I went on holiday to Bariloche in Argentina because it was autumn and I spent a week photographing autum colours - loved it.

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Yes of course. TCI can get humid - officially it’s around 77% average - but for comparison it can be 80-90% in the UK sometimes!

As mentioned, there is almost always a breeze, so that means it doesn’t feel as sticky as it would if you were in (say) a tropical rainforest.

The islands are quite dry with vegetation mostly being cactus and low scrub (apart from where people irrigate and plant palm trees etc.) so that helps.

thankfully my pal has found a little paradise :+1: he’s been there for around 25 years and is well entrenched in local life, conservation etc. I see him in the news from time to time but never on a “Wanted “ poster” :rofl:

We have been in the murk for several days now, very depressing and not good for old scars.

No wind to blow it away.

Yes there is a big fat area of high pressure centred on the UK which is stretching its tentacles across most of France. The murky cloud is trapped underneath it, and it’s not moving.

I think the wind is due to move round to the south-west on Sunday and blow in some fresh air (and rain).