Reverse snow-birds.

rockhillmanor wrote:


I just bought property down here too. I was most definitely going to reverse snowbird to avoid the summer heat. But life took a different turn and I had to stay put right after buying the house.

The first summer you spend in Florida you will want to just up and die it's so hot. You learn real quick to do what ever needs doing outside early in the morning.

The heat truly has me worried as I have always been heat-sensitive. Twice I suffered from heat-exhaustion in TN. One time I actually collapsed. Had I been alone the Dr said, I would have died. The summers there are in the 90s for 3 months. I moved there in 1979 and never adapted to the heat. I am housebound for 3 months there except in the early mornings. People are now telling me I would be housebound in FL for 5 to 6 months. That is truly frightening as I love the outdoors.

I did not believe one word of that infamous line the local Floridians told me :
"You will get used to it"!

But guess what? You really do. Your body actually adjusts to it.
First summer is a real killer,

Second summer not so much,

and by the third one you will be running for a winter coat, hat, gloves and boots when the cool temps 'dip' to 60 degrees just like the native Floridians do! :C:W

I can assure you not everyone adapts to such heat. Many can and do, but I'm finding as I get older I am less heat tolerant than in the past. I never adapted to the heat in TN. Though I love FL I am the type of person who would fare much better in a northern state in summer. Anything over the high 80s and I start getting short of breath, heart rate increases, I stop sweating after about 20 minutes, get dizzy and disoriented... and finally, collapse. I have to be very careful and make sure I get indoors as soon as I start feeling short of breath. No, I have no lung or heart disease.

The first sign is the shortness of breath which is itself pretty scary. :(