Hello all. Below is our first of many installments in which we (as in Ben Koo and Joe Lucia) try to assign a monetary value to the nice California weather. We will be doing this post once a month for all of 2018.
Each day, Joe and I log the weather of where we currently live and formerlly lived and then assign a value between -$100 to $100 depending on the difference, as well as what was in our daily routine and social life. Joe moved from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania to Orange County and I did a reverse move from the Bay Area to Columbus, Ohio.
This is our attempt to use some type of systematic evaluation to answer the question: How much is California’s weather really worth?
Ben’s breakdown
Total value: $1,325
Average California high temperature: (Campbell, CA) 62 degrees
Average Ohio high temperature: (Columbus, OH) 32 degrees
Total days Ohio weather was equal to or better than California weather: three
Summary: The first half of January was historically shitty. Stayed under 20 for the first week and then again later in the month. There were a couple patches of okay weather but they usually came after big storms, which only made the snow slushy and slippery. I spent a good amount of money getting more of a winter wardrobe. Honestly, this was kind of rough, and I now dread walking my dog at night and hate my dog if he takes a while to shit when it’s zero degrees or colder. Meanwhile California’s weather was as fucking precious as ever.
Am I surprised I valued the California weather at $1,325 for the month? Not at all. This month was historically cold and with a few big storms. I bet other winter months will be closer to $1,000 with the rest of the year being much lower. It was cold. You have to wear all of this shit and then when you go inside, you don’t know where to put that shit. Going and coming back from each dog walk has a like two-three minute process of just putting shit on. The weather just loomed over everything this month.
How did the weather affect your month? I’m trying to explore a new city and meet new people. This didn’t help. I had a friend reschedule on me a few times for some appointment house stuff out of necessity because she lives 40 miles away and the roads were pretty bad. I had fun this month, but only in spurts. It’s cold.
Joe’s breakdown
Total value: $905
Average California high temperature: (Irvine, CA) 71 degrees
Average Pennsylvania high temperature: (Harrisburg, PA) 38 degrees
Total days Pennsylvania weather was equal to or better than California weather: six
Summary: Despite the awful bomb cyclone that hit the northeast to start January, it was actually a pretty standard winter in Pennsylvania: cold, shitty, windy weather with some snow and ice mixed in. The weather actually spiked into the 50s and 60s at times during the month, which, combined with some rain and clouds in California, made for the weird situation where the weather on the east coast was preferable to the weather on the west coast. But overall, it was sunny and pretty in California for nearly the entire month, which is a pleasant change of pace from… well, garbage winter weather.
Am I surprised I valued the California weather at $905 for the month? Yes, because I thought it would be higher. Given that I’ve lived here since August, I’m somewhat used to the great weather already. The sticker shock has somewhat worn off, and I’ve gotten spoiled by weather in the 70s every day. Also, when I went back to PA for the holidays, we largely avoided disgusting weather, so maybe that lack of “15 degrees high, 20 mph wind” bullshit made me forget just how miserable it truly is during the winter months back in the northeast.
How did the weather affect your month? I participated in Dry January this past month, so I didn’t go out as much as I had in prior months. That being said, when I did go out, I was pleasantly surprised with being able to just throw on a pair of flip-flops and do whatever in a t-shirt and shorts. During winters in PA, I would need to wear socks, sneakers, pants, a hoodie, and some sort of headwear any time I would go out for more than five minutes.
Also, I didn’t have to shovel my driveway, de-ice my windshield, clean off my car, or cancel any plans because of the weather. That’s pretty awesome.
