New England: The Six Best Months Anywhere

Maybe I'm a little bit biased (the name of the blog kind of gives that away) but I really believe that the six months from mid-April to mid-October in New England really are the best six weather months anywhere in the States. Because of our other six months, I won't get into the year-round argument with places like Hawaii, Florida, or California. But having lived in most of the major regions, I can tell you this:

** New England is the best place to be in the summer because it stays warm at night. There are no sudden 30- or 40-degree temperature drops like you have in the SF Bay Area. No need to run out and put a jacket on to go out in the middle of July or August.

** It's not truly stifling heat the way you have in Texas and other parts of the South and Midwest.

** There's enough weather variance (clouds, storms, etc.) to make it more interesting than the dry Southwest...and way more suitable to those of us who are prone to sunburns..

** There's no serious natural disaster threat -- tornadoes, floods, hurricanes, mudslides, etc. are all theoretically possible but we really don't get them.

** If you're into surfing or ocean-going, you've got great water temperatures here in late summer, which you never really get out West.

** Thanks in part to the year-round climate, it's way greener here (during the right times) than most other spots.

And lastly, there's the intangible benefit of the way things just sort of come alive in a place that lies more or less dormant for half the year. It's what you notice when you walk down Palmer Street (between Market and Merrimack) on the first nice weekend. All of a sudden, every seat at every table on the sidewalk is full. People are out. They're eating, drinking, telling stories, and laughing. Everyone knows that on some level they have a limited time to enjoy the great weather that allows them to do this, so it's not taken for granted.

This is a great time to be out here. No extended training or deployments on the immediate horizon and what looks like an entire summer to enjoy and get to know this area.