6 ms·

It's a city built on what I can only assume is swamp. It doesn't surprise me at all. I moved 1000mi from Florida to here and very little changed at least as fa

It's a city built on what I can only assume is swamp. It doesn't surprise me at all. I moved 1000mi from Florida to here and very little changed at least as far as the climate is concerned.

goblinux 4y ago
It's built on a bayou. New Orleans was built on a swamp https://www.bayouswamptours.com/bayou-vs-swamp-whats-the-difference/ https://www.bayouswamptours.com/bayou-vs-swamp-whats-the-dif...
- stjohnswarts 4y ago
  For most people bayou and swamp are basically the same thing, so it seemed like a reasonable comment to me.
- wahern 4y ago
  Most of the old place names and literature describing New Orleans use the term bayou. Though I think the core downtown area was originally built on [slightly] higher ground above the surrounding bayou(s). I don't know what New Orleans looked like 100+ years ago, but at least today the area generally looks more bayou'ish, though I'm sure there were also plenty of swamps here and there. Certainly you don't have to go very far to reach a swamp, but neither do you need to go very far to reach a bayou. I grew up on the Gulf Coast, mostly further east on the Florida Panhandle, but also very briefly in rural SW Louisiana surrounded by actual swamps. I suspect people today will tend to use the term swamp for its more derogatory insinuations when describing New Orleans, and bayou for other areas when they're trying to be more charitable or simply because bayou is more apt. FWIW, to me a swamp is very stagnant and mostly overgrown with trees, whereas a bayou tends to me more open and dominated more by grasses than trees, though you can still certainly see trees (e.g. in clusters on high spots/islands). That said, the term bayou is more often heard in Louisiana, Mississippi and Eastern Texas than in Florida or Alabama, so I've not had many occasions to ponder the distinction.
Maursault 4y ago
> very little changed at least as far as the climate is concerned. I've lived in S. Florida and in Houston. Humidity is similar, but Florida is far more comfortable because it is surrounded by ocean, there's always an off shore breeze, and whenever it does get too hot, it always thunderstorms for about an hour pretty much every afternoon when it gets hot. With the ocean breezes and the daily short sunbursts, the air is really clean. I recall once getting back to my apartment in Houston after work, and I took a shower like I did everyday after work. Had to, always got soaking wet from sweat on the commute home, even with AC. I forgot my wallet in the car, and I knew never ever to leave my wallet in the car in Houston. Walked out to get it, maybe it was all of 30 yards through the parking lot and back 30 yards. I had to take another shower. Never forgot my wallet again. And when it rains in Houston it rains for days on end. And you just know with all those refineries and traffic that Houston air is horrid. Must smell like money to the residents. The only thing I miss about Houston is the Tex-Mex, which is just as good in Austin but without the humidity.
- ltbarcly3 4y ago
  It gets hot and humid, but not that hot and humid. Your car ac wasn't working properly and it sounds like you might be... prone to sweat a lot more than an average person?
  - Maursault 4y ago
    Well, a car sitting in the Texas sun all day holds a lot of heat, and glass has low thermal conductivity, but is transparent to sunlight, which comes through and turns into heat and doesn't escape, ala greenhouse effect. Add high humidity, and sweat doesn't evaporate, causing more sweat. Also, trust me on this, AC has gotten a lot better in the last 30 years. But I guarantee you a non-negligible amount of Houston commuters still ordinarily shower for relief from heat and sticky sweat after getting home from work.
    - ltbarcly3 4y ago
      Yea, I think this is confirmation that your AC was broken. Your AC should have been able to dramatically lower the humidity level inside the car, even if the greenhouse effect and radiant heat from solar loading kept the temperature super high.

It's a city built on what I can only assume is swamp. It doesn't surprise me at all. I moved 1000mi from Florida to here and very little changed at least as far as the climate is concerned.

goblinux 4y ago

It's built on a bayou. New Orleans was built on a swamp https://www.bayouswamptours.com/bayou-vs-swamp-whats-the-difference/ https://www.bayouswamptours.com/bayou-vs-swamp-whats-the-dif...

stjohnswarts 4y ago
For most people bayou and swamp are basically the same thing, so it seemed like a reasonable comment to me.
wahern 4y ago
Most of the old place names and literature describing New Orleans use the term bayou. Though I think the core downtown area was originally built on [slightly] higher ground above the surrounding bayou(s). I don't know what New Orleans looked like 100+ years ago, but at least today the area generally looks more bayou'ish, though I'm sure there were also plenty of swamps here and there. Certainly you don't have to go very far to reach a swamp, but neither do you need to go very far to reach a bayou. I grew up on the Gulf Coast, mostly further east on the Florida Panhandle, but also very briefly in rural SW Louisiana surrounded by actual swamps. I suspect people today will tend to use the term swamp for its more derogatory insinuations when describing New Orleans, and bayou for other areas when they're trying to be more charitable or simply because bayou is more apt. FWIW, to me a swamp is very stagnant and mostly overgrown with trees, whereas a bayou tends to me more open and dominated more by grasses than trees, though you can still certainly see trees (e.g. in clusters on high spots/islands). That said, the term bayou is more often heard in Louisiana, Mississippi and Eastern Texas than in Florida or Alabama, so I've not had many occasions to ponder the distinction.

Maursault 4y ago

> very little changed at least as far as the climate is concerned. I've lived in S. Florida and in Houston. Humidity is similar, but Florida is far more comfortable because it is surrounded by ocean, there's always an off shore breeze, and whenever it does get too hot, it always thunderstorms for about an hour pretty much every afternoon when it gets hot. With the ocean breezes and the daily short sunbursts, the air is really clean. I recall once getting back to my apartment in Houston after work, and I took a shower like I did everyday after work. Had to, always got soaking wet from sweat on the commute home, even with AC. I forgot my wallet in the car, and I knew never ever to leave my wallet in the car in Houston. Walked out to get it, maybe it was all of 30 yards through the parking lot and back 30 yards. I had to take another shower. Never forgot my wallet again. And when it rains in Houston it rains for days on end. And you just know with all those refineries and traffic that Houston air is horrid. Must smell like money to the residents. The only thing I miss about Houston is the Tex-Mex, which is just as good in Austin but without the humidity.

ltbarcly3 4y ago
It gets hot and humid, but not that hot and humid. Your car ac wasn't working properly and it sounds like you might be... prone to sweat a lot more than an average person?
- Maursault 4y ago
  Well, a car sitting in the Texas sun all day holds a lot of heat, and glass has low thermal conductivity, but is transparent to sunlight, which comes through and turns into heat and doesn't escape, ala greenhouse effect. Add high humidity, and sweat doesn't evaporate, causing more sweat. Also, trust me on this, AC has gotten a lot better in the last 30 years. But I guarantee you a non-negligible amount of Houston commuters still ordinarily shower for relief from heat and sticky sweat after getting home from work.
  - ltbarcly3 4y ago
    Yea, I think this is confirmation that your AC was broken. Your AC should have been able to dramatically lower the humidity level inside the car, even if the greenhouse effect and radiant heat from solar loading kept the temperature super high.