3 ms·

The comment about the lack of seasons was odd to me. I grew up in the Bay Area, but spent about 10 years in Southern California where there truly is no such thi

The comment about the lack of seasons was odd to me. I grew up in the Bay Area, but spent about 10 years in Southern California where there truly is no such thing (based on my schema) as autumn and winter. When we were moving back to the Bay, my wife (an LA native) and I were looking at neighborhoods during January or something, and she remarked, "everything is dead here!" It's winter. We have deciduous trees in Northern California... In autumn they turn orange, and they spend winter without leaves! A foreign concept in LA, where most of the trees are palms or coral trees or other evergreens. It's true that we don't get snow like many European cities. But I guess the presence or lack of "seasons" depends on what you're used to.

dasil003 5y ago
Sort of a strange comment since January is when everything turns green in the Bay Area.
rmk 5y ago
For people who come from tropical climes, such as Hawaii, Singapore, or subtropical Australia and India, the Bay Area does indeed have "seasons". But the majority of Americans and Europeans hail from places that have much more delineated (and varying) weather across the four seasons, the Bay Area seems lacking in comparison.
bartwr 5y ago
My point of reference is very European. In most of Europe you get very distinctive four seasons - cold, sometimes snowy, almost always frosty and depressing winter, fresh and optimistic spring bringing some change, muggy and sweaty, but exciting summer that you spend outdoors with your friends and 'white nights', nostalgic, colorful and beautiful smelling autumn reminding you of passage of time. And all of those are sometimes dry, sometimes muggy, often raining/snowing. To me (growing up in central-eastern Europe) it's essential to add some "rhythm" of life, otherwise I get into "day of the groundhog" workaholic mode. I'm sure though that people who grew up in those non-seasonal climates have internalized some different ways of marking the passage of time. :)

dasil003 5y ago

Sort of a strange comment since January is when everything turns green in the Bay Area.

rmk 5y ago

For people who come from tropical climes, such as Hawaii, Singapore, or subtropical Australia and India, the Bay Area does indeed have "seasons". But the majority of Americans and Europeans hail from places that have much more delineated (and varying) weather across the four seasons, the Bay Area seems lacking in comparison.

bartwr 5y ago

My point of reference is very European. In most of Europe you get very distinctive four seasons - cold, sometimes snowy, almost always frosty and depressing winter, fresh and optimistic spring bringing some change, muggy and sweaty, but exciting summer that you spend outdoors with your friends and 'white nights', nostalgic, colorful and beautiful smelling autumn reminding you of passage of time. And all of those are sometimes dry, sometimes muggy, often raining/snowing. To me (growing up in central-eastern Europe) it's essential to add some "rhythm" of life, otherwise I get into "day of the groundhog" workaholic mode. I'm sure though that people who grew up in those non-seasonal climates have internalized some different ways of marking the passage of time. :)