I've been in desert heat (Arabian Peninsula) and I've been in Florida in September (humidity!!!) and those visits have made me wonder how people lived in either place before A/C.
I’m in Hernando Cty, an hour north of Tampa. Mid 80’s now, a little cool for this time of year only because of the on and off rain from whatever’s left of Harvey. Though it’s still too early to tell what Irma’s gonna do. Yeah, I often wonder how the Seminoles managed with the crazy summer humidity. When we first got married I made deliveries all over NYC in a truck without AC, even those few days when it would get just as hot as down here was brutal.
Yes, a single room A/C unit upstairs works miracles in efficiency with a single room to deal with. Nights are seldom a problem with the benefits of the famous delta breezes. With rare exception.
My first trip to DC (1986) I wondered how man or beast could stand the humidity. After a dozen times I just accepted it.
And then there's the cold. By mistake, I scheduled 2 weeks in DC during Obungo's 2nd inauguration.
That was fun.
Learned to shovel snow!
In Arizona, we used an evaporative (also called a water or swamp) cooler most of the year when it was hot. Worked perfectly in the dry climate and was much cheaper than refrigeration. Only uses a 50 amp. motor to turn the fan.
But here in Florida, the evaporative cooler is worthless because it is so humid. Even when it's not raining it's wet most of the time. We have refrigeration to cool our house here because there is no choice. I can say emphatically, that I would not live here in Florida were it not for refrigeration. No way.
I read an article in the Wall Street Journal years ago that said that Houston, Texas would have never developed into a major metropolitan area had it not been for the invention of refrigeration. Air conditioning made the insufferable climate tolerable and the city grew accordingly. Same probably can be said for Atlanta, Phoenix, Dallas and other large populated cities in southern climes.
In my youth and into middle age, I was an long distance runner. I could run forever training and racing in the dry climate of the southwest. My sweat would evaporate and keep me cool. Left sheets of salt on my cheeks and along my hairline.
But the first time I tried to go on a training run in Ft. Walton Beach, Florida, I made it 4 blocks and had to walk back home. I had never experience such debilitating heat and humidity before. The hotter and sweatier I got, the hotter and sweatier I got. The humidity is a killer. Without a way to cool off by sweating, your body just gets hotter and hotter.
I am 70 year old now and only walk and do some weight training in the mornings. But in the heat of the day, I beg off and just stay inside. It's not worth it. Clothes get soaked, It's like you have to shower twice a day to feel cool and clean.
In the summer, when the days are long, I work outside doing chores and projects in the late afternoon and evening. We raise Angus beef cattle in our retirement. Lots to do living on a farm. Afternoon clouds and/or rain showers cool things off sometimes.
If I was to pick my preferred hot climate, it would be the dry desert southwest, hands down. Easier to keep cool the tit is in the southeast. I love it the desert but I can only dream of returning to live or visit. My end game looks to be right here on the farm in humid Florida.