My husband and I just got back from visiting his family in the US. We stayed in Florida and went around Tennessee and Georgia for a bit. I noticed a lot of people, his family included, really didn’t mind the summer heat. They were okay being under the sun for long periods of time.
I’m from the Philippines and although I’m used to our tropical climate, I stay away from the sun as much as I can. I don’t mind getting a bit tanned (I know there’s a stereotype that Asians hate having dark skin), I stay away because the sun really just…hurts. I tried doing this in the US (finding shade, using an umbrella, etc), but a lot of them thought I was being silly lol. So..genuine question, does it not hurt at all? How do you guys stand it?
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I don’t normally. During peak summer I’m only outside as long as I need to be to complete my task and then I immediately retreat back to the comfort of an air conditioned building.
If I have to be outside for longs periods of time I just dress appropriately, wear a hat, stay hydrated and just accept that I’m going to feel gross and uncomfortable.
Your body adapts to a certain extent. Summer heat definitely isn’t enjoyable, but my body is used to it
I’m super pale but my arms/legs take a lot to get sunburned. I won’t really tan, but i won’t really burn either
People who are outdoors a lot adapt to the climate in their area.
It’s just part of life. We can’t avoid it completely so we just deal with it. I don’t love the heat but I hate the cold worse, so I would rather have this as that.
This is not the time of year to be outside in Georgia or Florida.
You get used to it.
You get used to it.
You get used to it, and especially in places like the southeast– you grew up in it and don’t know different. I grew up in Southeast Georgia and never liked summer but also survived fine. I spent 10 yrs in the dry desert heat and then moved back to the humidity and I absolutely have zero tolerance. I cannot WAIT for winter.
Honestly? As a Floridian it really doesn’t bother me. Unless I’m out doing manual labor or something, it’s gotta be in the high 90s with some solid humidity before I start getting hot if I’m just walking around or whatever.
Can’t really explain it beyond that, but I am surprised it bothered you as a Filipino given that Florida’s climate isn’t *that* different when it’s summer.
Most people were born there, so they are used to it. Others adapt over time.
I grew up in a hot, humid climate. Everyone pulled their winter coats out of the closet when the temps went down to near 50F (from 80-90F). It felt freezing.
I’m in a cooler climate now where summer nights go down to 50F, and we are all still wearing shorts and sandals, just adding a hoodie or light sweater. It’s comfortable.
It’s a matter of what you are used to.
Your body adapts over time.
You learn to drink a lot of water (or other drinks, lemonade is good), to stay out of the sun when possible, and to not be TOO physically active at the peak parts of the day during summer.
No, we don’t generally use umbrellas to stay out of the sun. Historically that was done by upper-class women trying to preserve their fair skin, not by most people.
We don’t LIKE the heat, but you learn to cope with it. I’ve always hated the summer, to be honest.
We’re built different, that’s why.
It takes several hours in the sun for me to tan even a little and it takes several days in the sun for me to peel.
I work outside often but the most I’ve ever needed was just a bit of sunscreen and I’m ready for just about any kind of heat we’ve got
I don’t go outside between May-September (especially since I had skin cancer removed for the 2nd time earlier this year).
Control the things you can control.
Clothing <- dri-fit or wicking material is a must have. Avoid wearing jeans.
Hydrate: <- You are going to sweat. All my homies hydrate
Sunscreen <- Apply sunscreen if you plan on being out for an extended period of time. Especially if you have fair skin
Find a pool <- Living in Florida is much better when you have access to a pool
I have the same conversation with my dad every year.
He’s from Dominican Republic and always jokes about how the only people on the beach are white tourists.all the locals are inside and away from the scorching sun. Vacations were always a toss up because he has zero interest in tropical locations.
My mom and I love the beach, though. We’re there constantly throughout the summer and when we’re not, we’re by a pool. We thrive in the sun and heat.
I even work outside during the summer so I can soak it all in.
When I was a kid, I would play outside in it for hours, and I didn’t mind, because I was used to it. I moved to Pennsylvania 10 years ago, and now I cannot stand anything over 70°F, and I much prefer the cold, even when it is well below freezing. I can go outside for brief tasks in short sleeves, and it doesn’t really bother me.
I think you just adapt to your environment after awhile.
It’s a dry heat;)
eating popsicles one after another
Air conditioning everywhere.
You get used to it if you are exposed to it. My mother is also from the Philippines. True story: after marrying my father, she took him “back home.” He was worried about the heat. She explained to him that it was a dry heat and that it wasn’t that bad. Spoiler: it’s not a dry heat.
She had grown up in the tropics before air conditioning was readily available, and it was just her normal. When she went back, after having lived in an air conditioned apartment for a few years, she lost that adaptability.
You do kinda get used to it. Growing up I was outside all summer until about 22. As a kid for fun and then after 14 I worked at a day camp all summer. I remember some hot days but never dying. Wore lose cotton clothes though, and it was hot but not like I was sweating all day. Now I live somewhere that doesn’t get over 85 and no humidity, it’s awesome
A/C
I live as far north as I can without being underwater.
Doesn’t really bother me as long as I stay hydrated, I work outside and it’s hot and humid from April to October so I’m used to it, and I honestly prefer it, even if I layer up cold weather is painful.
Being in the sun is much easier when you have a ice box of an AC house to come back to — or the car or work.
Down South virtually everyone has AC.
Going to be 108F or 42.2C tomorrow.
You don’t get used to it.
I only come out at night.
~Ginger Girl in SoFlo
I’m weird, I like to exercise when it’s like 100. Had an awesome bike ride in heat index of 113 cut short from lack of water haha
As someone who grew up in Florida, you either get used to it or you avoid it. The people you saw outside are those who’ve adapted (or are secretly suffering but don’t want to let anyone know they’re “weak”). There were probably a ton of people hiding safely away with their AC, wondering who would be crazy enough to go outside in this weather.
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Not neglecting a/c and thinking it makes you sick
Start by not living in the south east
I appreciate all your responses 🙂
But I just thought to clarify my question. I don’t mind the heat as in…the humidity, feeling hot, sweating, etc. I am more concerned about being directly under the sun for long periods of time and how being in direct sunlight hurts.
You’ve gotten a lot of good answers, but I want to address the umbrella – I love using umbrellas on sunny days. I also hate the feeling of the sun hurting and am pretty pasty. I do get some funny looks when using an umbrella but I just don’t care because I’d rather be looked at as silly than be in pain or burn. So if/when you come back use the umbrella! I wish more people would so it becomes more normal.
I hate it. It makes me sick and so does the humidity. I’m extremely privileged to have reliable year round air conditioning. That’s the only way I survive here in Florida. During the summer months I also try to limit my time going out on errands and to work to the early morning or after sunset hours
I can’t stand it. I agree, bright sun hurts!
1.) Air conditioning
2.) Not living in Florida
3.) Denial
> How do you guys stand the heat?
I don’t, generally speaking.
I’m in Northern New York, so we don’t get the kind of heat that they do in Florida. But when it gets warm up here I try to stay inside with the air conditioning.
When I do have to go out I’m definitely avoiding the sun. I’ve got very fair skin, burn easily, and my Mother has had all sorts of skin cancers. So I’m typically wearing a big hat, long sleeves, and plenty of sunscreen.
It’s called I live up North
I love the sun. Partly because we have a long grey winter where we don’t get enough of it. I tend to get a vit D deficiency in the winter if I don’t take my vitamins. But the sun doesn’t like me. I tan rather well but skin cancer runs in my family so if I am going to be outside for more than 5 minutes I sun screen myself and wear loose natural fabric clothing. But I love how healthy the sun makes me feel.
And just a funny note, my mom and her lady friends used to sunbathe with baby oil and iodine to get really dark tans during the early 80s. That way it would last most of the year.
As a Floridian the past 17 years, I don’t know. I have to stay inside in the cool AC. I hate the heat, I hate the humidity, and I’d just as soon trade it and hurricanes for subzero temps and blizzards in a heartbeat. You can always add layers to keep warm, it’s not so simple to stay cool in the heat…
Basically the only time I go outside for any length of time is for like a 2 month period in the winter, and at night. Any other time I’m miserable.
I live in VA. I have Irish and Scottish heritage and have reddish natural hair. I’m literally built to not tan or handle heat as gracefully as some others.
As most anyone here will say, it isn’t the heat, it’s the humidity. I do just fine until it hits the 90s. Not so much Just because of the heat. Which is awful. But the humidity makes it feel like you’re stepping outside into a hot wet towel at best, and Satan’s stinking hot sweaty balls at worst, for the better part of a month or so.
I don’t handle that month. We go to the pool or we stay inside. I tried to visit a festival this year in the middle of it, and we lasted forty minutes. My kid turns bright red and I felt like I was having heart palpitations. Just this weekend we left the playground after an hour because it was just too hot.
I use mineral sunscreen and stupid hats. The pretty hats blow away. I have a pool hat that most people use for camping. We use rash guards. I have a portable fan that goes on your neck to cool us off when we go out so we can be out longer. Always plenty of water. We keep hand fans in my car and a fan that attaches to a head rest for my kid while the car cools down.
To be honest, I think it’s weird too. When I go to the beach, it’s most crowded in the middle of the day when it feels miserable outside. At sunset when it’s beautiful out and the weather is lovely, everyone packs up and goes inside.
I live in Michigan, which isn’t nearly as hot as other places in the US and I still feel like I’m dying in the heat. It gets pretty humid here since Michigan is surrounded by huge lakes though to be fair. I couldn’t live anywhere hotter, I lived in Tennessee for a year as a teen and it was pure misery lol.
I barely tolerate it. All summer [this](https://imgur.com/a/iEL0dMF) is me. I just avoid being outside as much as possible and stay in the air conditioning where I daydream about living somewhere less hot and humid (but my family is all here so I doubt I will ever move). I love being outside in the fall and winter though.