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Having spent meaningful time in Reykjavik… hard concur. Seeing Dublin and Chicago in their target range simply reinforces the doubt. The bad assumptions start

Having spent meaningful time in Reykjavik… hard concur. Seeing Dublin and Chicago in their target range simply reinforces the doubt. The bad assumptions start with average temp, but this is where it goes off the rails: > Let’s see the same plot, including only the cities within one degree of Toronto’s average temperature. So theyre really looking at “cities with an average temp similar to toronto, but lower variability.” That is certainly one wag to look at weather, but Id be hard pressed to accept its “nice.”

scoofy 4y ago
Seriously, if Californian coastal cities are not predominantly featured, there's something wrong with the methodology. Whether you like chilly Eureka, temperate San Francisco, moderate San Diego, or warm Los Angeles, you can't get more consistent weather than out here in California.
caffeine 4y ago
I think his desire for “lower variability” than Toronto means he has gone from “sometimes bad” to “always bad” weather.
- TrysterosEmp 4y ago
  Bringing Edinburgh into the mix definitely reinforces this take. "I want to live somewhere that's not total shit, but a bit shit... all the time"
  - 0tt049 4y ago
    All this comunal reaction against OP's methodology makes me smile. After spending miserable weeks under, sometimes tree shades but, most of the time, hot Brazilian sun observing whet bulbs, anemometers and what not, during "Environmental Comfort" class at Architecture school, I could not help myself felling anything other than pure hatred towards OP's assumptions and overall lack of understanding of what "nice" means. So again, it doesn't come often, but HN people, you made my day, thank you.
Simon_O_Rourke 4y ago
Well the thing about Dublin at least, you're unlikely to get six foot snow banks, or Chicago style freezing winds. But it's got the most bland weather both summer and winter. Never been to Iceland, but I guess the clue is in the name there!
- thematrixturtle 4y ago
  Oddly, Iceland rarely if ever gets really cold and even snow is mostly transient. Temps mostly hover between 0 and 10 C (30-50 F), and it rains quite a bit. It has often been suggested that the names of Greenland and Iceland should be reversed, and/or that "Greenland" was thus misnamed for marketing purposes to entice Viking settlers.
  - vintermann 4y ago
    With the amount of sunlight Reykjavik gets, "Greyland" might be more appropriate.
  - pen2l 4y ago
    Iceland is cold, but a very enjoyable kind of cold. There's this crispness in the air in Reykjavik which I always liked a lot. It's actually super fun to walk around the city or even away from the city. I dread the extreme winters of American cities though.
- rowanajmarshall 4y ago
  Assuming Dublin is pretty similar to the UK, it's the blandness that gets you. I'll take inconvenient variety over months of grey, dark dampness anytime.
  - messe 4y ago
    Similar enough, but tends to be ever so slightly more bland than even the UK. If I remember rightly Ireland has the highest lows and lowest highs of anywhere in Europe.
netfortius 4y ago
After 30+ years in Chicago, I can tell you this data processing approach, deriving results presented, is completely wrong. Period.
- halfmatthalfcat 4y ago
  Been a miserable "spring" this year...
  - mrep 4y ago
    It was only 90 degrees yesterday...
    - halfmatthalfcat 4y ago
      Yeah we went from winter to summer in a week.
    - searchableguy 4y ago
      It was 115F or 46 C here in the noon today.
basicform 4y ago
No wind is factored in this equation. That kills Reykjavik. From page: "Next Steps: It would be interesting to use detailed time series for each city and a utility function on temperatures (perhaps including wind chill and humidex) to determine which cities are truly mean-variance optimal."
- starik36 4y ago
  Yep, was there in this February and while the temperature is not bad (bring hand warmers), there were multiple wind storms. One of them was so bad that you simply couldn't walk. Otherwise a wonderful city.
twox2 4y ago
One man's frostbite is another man's "nice weather.

scoofy 4y ago

Seriously, if Californian coastal cities are not predominantly featured, there's something wrong with the methodology. Whether you like chilly Eureka, temperate San Francisco, moderate San Diego, or warm Los Angeles, you can't get more consistent weather than out here in California.

caffeine 4y ago

I think his desire for “lower variability” than Toronto means he has gone from “sometimes bad” to “always bad” weather.

TrysterosEmp 4y ago
Bringing Edinburgh into the mix definitely reinforces this take. "I want to live somewhere that's not total shit, but a bit shit... all the time"
- 0tt049 4y ago
  All this comunal reaction against OP's methodology makes me smile. After spending miserable weeks under, sometimes tree shades but, most of the time, hot Brazilian sun observing whet bulbs, anemometers and what not, during "Environmental Comfort" class at Architecture school, I could not help myself felling anything other than pure hatred towards OP's assumptions and overall lack of understanding of what "nice" means. So again, it doesn't come often, but HN people, you made my day, thank you.

Simon_O_Rourke 4y ago

Well the thing about Dublin at least, you're unlikely to get six foot snow banks, or Chicago style freezing winds. But it's got the most bland weather both summer and winter. Never been to Iceland, but I guess the clue is in the name there!

thematrixturtle 4y ago
Oddly, Iceland rarely if ever gets really cold and even snow is mostly transient. Temps mostly hover between 0 and 10 C (30-50 F), and it rains quite a bit. It has often been suggested that the names of Greenland and Iceland should be reversed, and/or that "Greenland" was thus misnamed for marketing purposes to entice Viking settlers.
- vintermann 4y ago
  With the amount of sunlight Reykjavik gets, "Greyland" might be more appropriate.
- pen2l 4y ago
  Iceland is cold, but a very enjoyable kind of cold. There's this crispness in the air in Reykjavik which I always liked a lot. It's actually super fun to walk around the city or even away from the city. I dread the extreme winters of American cities though.
rowanajmarshall 4y ago
Assuming Dublin is pretty similar to the UK, it's the blandness that gets you. I'll take inconvenient variety over months of grey, dark dampness anytime.
- messe 4y ago
  Similar enough, but tends to be ever so slightly more bland than even the UK. If I remember rightly Ireland has the highest lows and lowest highs of anywhere in Europe.

netfortius 4y ago

After 30+ years in Chicago, I can tell you this data processing approach, deriving results presented, is completely wrong. Period.

halfmatthalfcat 4y ago
Been a miserable "spring" this year...
- mrep 4y ago
  It was only 90 degrees yesterday...
  - halfmatthalfcat 4y ago
    Yeah we went from winter to summer in a week.
  - searchableguy 4y ago
    It was 115F or 46 C here in the noon today.

basicform 4y ago

No wind is factored in this equation. That kills Reykjavik. From page: "Next Steps: It would be interesting to use detailed time series for each city and a utility function on temperatures (perhaps including wind chill and humidex) to determine which cities are truly mean-variance optimal."

starik36 4y ago
Yep, was there in this February and while the temperature is not bad (bring hand warmers), there were multiple wind storms. One of them was so bad that you simply couldn't walk. Otherwise a wonderful city.

twox2 4y ago

One man's frostbite is another man's "nice weather.