5 ms·

This is mildly unrelated, but living in New England and being stuck with shitty heating bills in January and February always makes me wonder what things would b

This is mildly unrelated, but living in New England and being stuck with shitty heating bills in January and February always makes me wonder what things would be like if we had enough common sense to move to regions of the country where heating isn't so vital. There's plenty of space out there. Sure excessive heat is an issue, but if my heat goes off when it's 2°F I would likely die within a day or two. Not in practice of course (thanks society!) just in theory. I can withstand 102° heat just fine if water is available and I'm a little careful.

Simulacra 8y ago
We have that, but it's called Florida....
Waterluvian 8y ago
Isn't there a theory that winters forced human evolution because of the need for preparation? Not so relevant today. But an interesting thought.
everdev 8y ago
Former Boston resident here. Moved to Hawaii after a blizzard and then to CA. The weather is wonderful here and we can drive up to the snow if we want. We still need heat in the winter but the temperatures aren't as intense. I do not Boston though just not the weather.
smileysteve 8y ago
I agree. I live in a condo in Georgia and 99% of my heating and cooling is performed by heat pump.
- thisisweirdok 8y ago
  Heat pumps keep getting better and better. I actually use one as my primary heat source in New Hampshire now. It's cheaper than oil or traditional electric resistance heating. Plus air conditioning in the summer is a nice bonus.
tyingq 8y ago
I remember a fair amount of older houses in New England had oil heating and the cost was crazy high.
- evandev 8y ago
  There are still many that have heating oil. I live in NH and have heating oil. I also had heating oil while living in central PA.
  - mikeash 8y ago
    Virginia here, I just converted my house from oil to gas a few months ago. Fun fact: heating oil is just diesel fuel. I ran out of oil a while before the gas installation and didn’t want to pay for the minimum 150 gallon delivery the local companies required, so I made it through by visiting the local gas station with some gas cans a few times.
    - toast0 8y ago
      Heating oil is diesel fuel not legal for on highway vehicle use. It's fine to buy diesel fuel taxed for vehicles and burn it in your heater though, but you'll (eventually) get in a lot of trouble for doing it the other way.
      - mikeash 8y ago
        Oddly, getting it from the gas station was slightly cheaper per gallon. I assume the cost of delivering to my house exceeded the tax for vehicle fuel.
- hopler 8y ago
  Remember 1-800-JOE-4-OIL ?
- markkanof 8y ago
  Not just oil heat, but using the oil to heat a boiler to turn water into steam to travel up to radiators and then finally get some warmth in your living space. It seemed so inefficient. Oh and did I mention the house had zero insulation too. Fun times, glad I’m not living in Boston anymore.
anonu 8y ago
Humans are a sub-tropical species. So you are correct - we are totally better off in warm climates. But at the rate we're going, Boston will have Florida weather in 50 years.
- gbrown 8y ago
  If only - expect Florida heat, Canada cold, and extreme weather of all types.
ams6110 8y ago
I've camped in Sub-Zero weather before. Not my idea of fun, but if you have the right clothing and a good sleeping bag it's not life-threatening. And especially if you are indoors out of the wind, you could survive it.
- mises 8y ago
  Same. Heck, I've been in forty below, but that was with wind chill. That's actually one of the worst things, the wind. As someone who has camped in ten below and 110, you can always put on more, but you can only take off so much.
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
gumby 8y ago
> but if my heat goes off when it's 2°F I would likely die within a day or two. In your own home you should be able to survive those conditions same as 102 — unhappy but safe. I slept outdoors last week end at about 5 F — with more extreme gear but then again no house. I do believe you shouldn’t have to but If you run out of heating oil (most common in NE) a Combination of blankets, jackets, hat plus soup or other warm food should at least keep you alive.

Simulacra 8y ago

We have that, but it's called Florida....

Waterluvian 8y ago

Isn't there a theory that winters forced human evolution because of the need for preparation? Not so relevant today. But an interesting thought.

everdev 8y ago

Former Boston resident here. Moved to Hawaii after a blizzard and then to CA. The weather is wonderful here and we can drive up to the snow if we want. We still need heat in the winter but the temperatures aren't as intense. I do not Boston though just not the weather.

smileysteve 8y ago

I agree. I live in a condo in Georgia and 99% of my heating and cooling is performed by heat pump.

thisisweirdok 8y ago
Heat pumps keep getting better and better. I actually use one as my primary heat source in New Hampshire now. It's cheaper than oil or traditional electric resistance heating. Plus air conditioning in the summer is a nice bonus.

tyingq 8y ago

I remember a fair amount of older houses in New England had oil heating and the cost was crazy high.

evandev 8y ago
There are still many that have heating oil. I live in NH and have heating oil. I also had heating oil while living in central PA.
- mikeash 8y ago
  Virginia here, I just converted my house from oil to gas a few months ago. Fun fact: heating oil is just diesel fuel. I ran out of oil a while before the gas installation and didn’t want to pay for the minimum 150 gallon delivery the local companies required, so I made it through by visiting the local gas station with some gas cans a few times.
  - toast0 8y ago
    Heating oil is diesel fuel not legal for on highway vehicle use. It's fine to buy diesel fuel taxed for vehicles and burn it in your heater though, but you'll (eventually) get in a lot of trouble for doing it the other way.
    - mikeash 8y ago
      Oddly, getting it from the gas station was slightly cheaper per gallon. I assume the cost of delivering to my house exceeded the tax for vehicle fuel.
hopler 8y ago
Remember 1-800-JOE-4-OIL ?
markkanof 8y ago
Not just oil heat, but using the oil to heat a boiler to turn water into steam to travel up to radiators and then finally get some warmth in your living space. It seemed so inefficient. Oh and did I mention the house had zero insulation too. Fun times, glad I’m not living in Boston anymore.

anonu 8y ago

Humans are a sub-tropical species. So you are correct - we are totally better off in warm climates. But at the rate we're going, Boston will have Florida weather in 50 years.

gbrown 8y ago
If only - expect Florida heat, Canada cold, and extreme weather of all types.

ams6110 8y ago

I've camped in Sub-Zero weather before. Not my idea of fun, but if you have the right clothing and a good sleeping bag it's not life-threatening. And especially if you are indoors out of the wind, you could survive it.

mises 8y ago
Same. Heck, I've been in forty below, but that was with wind chill. That's actually one of the worst things, the wind. As someone who has camped in ten below and 110, you can always put on more, but you can only take off so much.

deleted 8y ago

[deleted]

gumby 8y ago

> but if my heat goes off when it's 2°F I would likely die within a day or two. In your own home you should be able to survive those conditions same as 102 — unhappy but safe. I slept outdoors last week end at about 5 F — with more extreme gear but then again no house. I do believe you shouldn’t have to but If you run out of heating oil (most common in NE) a Combination of blankets, jackets, hat plus soup or other warm food should at least keep you alive.