I live in Austin. And I've lived in Miami. And I've lived in NYC.
Degrees don't tell the whole story. Austin is nowhere near as humid as NYC or Miami. No question. Ask anyone who's lived in both places and they'll tell you the same: Austin is more comfortable in the summer.
I totally agree. I lived in New Orleans for 3 years and NYC for 8. NYC summers are horrible and I was 10x more uncomfortable. One: down south has more expectation of everywhere having air conditioning. NYC doesn't. Two: the cement everywhere makes everything so much hotter and uncomfortable when the weather gets over 85 degrees in NYC. Three: when you live in NYC for awhile you get immune to the piss smell. Except when its hot and it has rained. Then the smell is as strong as the first day you moved to NYC.
I loved living in Manhattan. Especially Harlem. But summers there were horrible when it got really hot out.
I have lived in NYC and Austin and I grew up in southern Alabama. Austin is much hotter in the summer. It's nearly as humid as Mobile but tack on 10 degrees.
Average humidity during the summer:
Austin: 90%
Mobile: 100%
Miami: 100%
NYC: 54%
It's not even close.
Maybe its because people are outside more in NYC and don't have a car readily available with AC torqued to full blast? Or less buildings have AC / the subway is oppressive?
Concur, lived in Texas and NYC both, Austin is hotter for sure, but air conditioning is on blast everywhere and the driving helps. Just walking a couple of blocks on a 90 degree day in NYC is enough to get you soaked.
On top of that you can wear shorts most workplaces in Austin and not have a problem. Shorts in NYC is frowned upon in the cosmopolitan set and professional industries.
This is Hacker News. The conversations generally have a tech-oriented context. I've never worked at a tech company in NYC where lots of people don't wear shorts in the summer. Shorts, flip flops, tank tops. It's all fair game. No one cares.
Can one be comfortable outsidee when it's 100 degrees? I would think that would make a lot of things unwalkable because you would show up covered in sweat.
I've been outside when it was 120 and as long as I stayed hydrated I wasn't too bad. Sweat tended to evaporate quickly. I've also been outside when it was 90 and humid. That was sweaty hell.
Degrees don't tell the whole story. Austin is nowhere near as humid as NYC or Miami. No question. Ask anyone who's lived in both places and they'll tell you the same: Austin is more comfortable in the summer.