Outdoor lifestyle

[Nikey]

This debate has been had many a time and the general view seems to be that UK can be a bit cold but u can get outside spring, summer, autumn. Oz is a bit warm but u only have to stay out of the sun in the summer so half a dozen of one and six of the other really......but......it just dawned on me that when it is too hot in Oz u can still go and play sport / walk on the beach in the evening but u cant do that in winter in the UK.

So surely u CAN have a more outdoors life in Oz?

[MovingtoTasmania]

You have to take in to account that in the UK, it's light till very late in the Summer, but it's not the same in Australia where it's light till 11pm. So yes, to a certain extent you can go out in the late afternoon/early evening but there aren't the long warm sunny evenings that we have in the UK. Also, in terms of being too hot, it depends where you are, but I don't ever remember it being so so hot growing up that I was chained to the house. The other side of that coin is that when the temps in the North West were hitting -19/-20 a few winters ago, I was still going out to work and managing to live, despite the cold and the snow. You can adjust to what you have, it just takes time.

[Guest Ptp113]

Far more time outside here than in Blighty as a kid growing up

[Quoll]

Far more outside time here in UK than in Aus for me - you can dress for the weather here in UK but there is nothing you can do about the heat.

[flag of convenience]

More outside in UK/Europe than OZ. Far more walking, long summer evenings out far more. As never owned a car in London it felt like being out all the time. Never had nor seldom watched tv for the best part of ten years. Before computer as well.

[jasepom]

I think it does depend on your point of view. For me the houses in Oz lend themselves more to outdoor entertaining so inclined to spend more time in the backyard in Oz than in typical uk garden. Also I like being hot and find ways to cool down such as having a kids pool outside. But ignore the height of summer here, it does get too hot bit there always nice autumn and spring evenings if you prefer it cooler.

[Guest]

I guess it depends where you live. I live a far more outdoor life on Brisbane than the UK. Although if I lived out in the burbs and had to drive everywhere that would be different.

[Julinoz]

It depends how long the summer lasts for though, here in Perth it has been 'Summer' since October, that is nearly 6 long months of hot hot weather. I find it very restrictive, its far too hot to enjoy doing anything other than being close to the sea in the water. You have to either get out before 9am or after 6pm when it is cool, the part in between you are practically house-bound.

[Bobj]

Wusses, the bloody loto'ya...:laugh:

 

Get out and enjoy life.

 

Cheers, Bobj.

[Que Sera Sera]

Well both myself & my Oh work outside so to say you can't go out is rubbish. Yes you might stick to the shade in the summer but things are designed very well for that here. Even walking in the rain is not a problem here anyway because even in the winter the rain is rarely cold so we just work through it because when it rains it's generally just a short sharp shock. None of the constant drizzle that chills your bones.

[Paul1Perth]

I just don't get the housebound because of the heat thing. We are very rarely in at weekends and have loved this summer. Me the wife and kids have a much more outdoors lifestyle here than we did in the UK.

 

Guess it takes all kinds, though I would have expected people who come to Perth to live would have a fair idea that's it's going to be hot and sunny in summer.

[jasepom]

Well both myself & my Oh work outside so to say you can't go out is rubbish. Yes you might stick to the shade in the summer but things are designed very well for that here. Even walking in the rain is not a problem here anyway because even in the winter the rain is rarely cold so we just work through it because when it rains it's generally just a short sharp shock. None of the constant drizzle that chills your bones.

 

Yeah too true Id easily rather be hot than cold. Have a cold shower, stick to the shade, have an ice cold beer. Beats getting up in the morning and having to have a shower in zero degree temperatures.

[T-bone]

I have a wayyyyy better outdoor life in Aust. I love participating in most sports, especially if it's anything to do with the water. The water around Blighty is too cold most of the year, where as it's only too cold in the winter for me in Aust. The main factor that inhibits outdoor life for me is hay fever. I'm extremely allergic to grass pollens and I don't suffer when I'm down under. On the other hand I get incredibly bad attacks between Feb - Oct when I'm in the UK, almost to the point that I can't breathe. All this adds up to my outdoor sports life, other than sailing, being almost non existent in the UK.

[Nikey]

I have a wayyyyy better outdoor life in Aust. I love participating in most sports, especially if it's anything to do with the water. The water around Blighty is too cold most of the year, where as it's only too cold in the winter for me in Aust. The main factor that inhibits outdoor life for me is hay fever. I'm extremely allergic to grass pollens and I don't suffer when I'm down under. On the other hand I get incredibly bad attacks between Feb - Oct when I'm in the UK, almost to the point that I can't breathe. All this adds up to my outdoor sports life, other than sailing, being almost non existent in the UK.

U hit the jackpot mate.....For u it's a no brainer!

[ramot]

Wusses, the bloody loto'ya...:laugh:

 

Get out and enjoy life.

 

Cheers, Bobj.

 

I'm with you, but I was going to say wimps.

I moved to Borneo when I was 50. If the temperature got as low as 27 we would put a jacket on. Only had air con in the bedroom. Certainly didn't hide away in a darkened room.

I played badminton in a large airy non air conditioned hall in the daytime, but didn't play tennis outdoors until the late afternoon.

lots of people were keen cyclists, but again went out early or late afternoon, and we walked on the beach again late afternoon, after a swim.

you have to adjust to your living conditions, and we all lived life to the full.

Obviously some people find either the hot or cold difficult to deal with, but it's the "I find OZ too hot posters", that surprise me didn't they do their home work before they emigrated here.

I love the climate on the Sunshine Coast and after 9 hot sticky years in Brunei and 11 years here it seems perfect for most of the year.

Almost every country has approx 3 months of unpleasant weather, too hot, too cold, too wet etc. it's the other 9 months that should tip the scales.

keep cool or warm, whatever suits you, but please stop moaning about the weather.

[Nikey]

Thanks for all of your replies guys. I know it might seem like I ask a lot of silly questions but I DO like to really think about stuff and plan :-)

 

So it seems people have different experiences and it varies where they live. Reading between the lines, here is how I think it would affect my clan....now that Ihave your views.

 

If I react to privet as badly as last few years between may and july then that will b a big plus for oz...always hated aircon now its my best friend and I dont think u get much privet in oz....I think going outside once a day all year would be lovely even if it is dark and we have early eves coz we like tennis with floodlights is fine....I actually dont like bright sunshine but like it to b warm and then be in the shade.....I think my ginger son would be hard to keeep out of the sun and we dont use much suncream in uk so that wld be a bummer....as wld mozzie cream (espesh with family allergies and eczema).....hubby's and sons asthma hopefully will improve (it instantly disappeared in canaries a week ago and also when he went to oz years ago).

Thanks again everyone x

[jasepom]

I think that's an excellent point Ramot, pick the climate that's great for you for 9 months of the year and don't worry about the other 3.

[Paul1Perth]

Thanks for all of your replies guys. I know it might seem like I ask a lot of silly questions but I DO like to really think about stuff and plan :-)

 

So it seems people have different experiences and it varies where they live. Reading between the lines, here is how I think it would affect my clan....now that Ihave your views.

 

If I react to privet as badly as last few years between may and july then that will b a big plus for oz...always hated aircon now its my best friend and I dont think u get much privet in oz....I think going outside once a day all year would be lovely even if it is dark and we have early eves coz we like tennis with floodlights is fine....I actually dont like bright sunshine but like it to b warm and then be in the shade.....I think my ginger son would be hard to keeep out of the sun and we dont use much suncream in uk so that wld be a bummer....as wld mozzie cream (espesh with family allergies and eczema).....hubby's and sons asthma hopefully will improve (it instantly disappeared in canaries a week ago and also when he went to oz years ago).

Thanks again everyone x

 

Not much privet here to worry about. You'll have to cover your ginger son with cream if he likes being in the sun. Don't worry though, it's cheap and works really well. There are heaps of tennis courts around, very cheap and most have floodlights. You might struggle with the bright sunshine, you literally don't see a cloud in the sky here for days on end sometimes. Asthma should improve, specially if you take up swimming, nothing better for helping with asthma. Mozzies tend to come out at dusk and a bit of a spray does the trick.:cool:

[Chortlepuss]

I do love the swimming outdoors here (Brissie). If you're a water sports fan then this is the place for you. I love walking and find myself restricted by hot weather and dark evenings, so much more active in the UK. I've rarely burned here - wear factor 50 so my skin is probably better than no sun cream in the UK. But one of the reasons I'll be heading home to UK is that I miss time outdoors - even in the gloom I get exercise and find this so much better for my spirits than an air conditioned gym

[pob]

It's the rain that I hate in any country. It prevents me from going outside.

The heat of summer in Australia also prevents me from going outside, I mainly go outside to walk the dog and he gets hot quickly.

 

Summer and winter in England were ok, spring and autumn were too wet for me. I used to love those winter days when the ground froze over and we could escape the sludge that the fields would turn into.

 

Cold I don't mind but any kind of water falling from the sky is bad news for me.

[Rossmoyne]

Hate the extreme heat in Perth so hibernate in the aircon indoors if I can of I don't have to go out and do stuff on the few days we get it. But love the pool in my garden and being able to swim outside in my garden about 8 months of the year.... yep got solar pool heating... love it.

[northshorepom]

On balance I'm outside more here, but there's not a lot in it. It's more because I can cycle to work here (conscious decision as to where to live) rather than anything else.

 

I am much more an outdoors person than the rest of my family, so wherever I am in the world that ends up being more of an issue than the climate. If I had my way we'd be outside a lot. Heat doesn't bother me, but then neither did cold at home

 

I love the warmth here, and the fact there are more sunshine hours (also more rain, but less overcast). But I don't think I will ever like or get used to the relative shortness of the evenings in summer at Sydney's latitude

[rob dc]

It depends how long the summer lasts for though, here in Perth it has been 'Summer' since October, that is nearly 6 long months of hot hot weather. I find it very restrictive, its far too hot to enjoy doing anything other than being close to the sea in the water. You have to either get out before 9am or after 6pm when it is cool, the part in between you are practically house-bound.

Perhapse you need a little more imagination ?

[TheGreatDane]

I love the fact you aren't forced to sit inside with the central heating on in Oz!

[HappyHeart]

Well both myself & my Oh work outside so to say you can't go out is rubbish. Yes you might stick to the shade in the summer but things are designed very well for that here. Even walking in the rain is not a problem here anyway because even in the winter the rain is rarely cold so we just work through it because when it rains it's generally just a short sharp shock. None of the constant drizzle that chills your bones.

 

Disagree!! In Winter I seem to have this uncanny knack of timing my dog walks with the 30 mins of torrential rain followed by clear skies, just as we arrive home. Soaked to the skin rain. You know the type! I avoid going out when its raining here because invariably its blowing a gale too and despite a raincoat you get bloody soaked. Not fun.