Another reason to move to Asheville: the weather

Sometimes where you want to move comes down to a very simple priority: Good weather. Over the past half century, most of the states that have witnessed higher than average growth are in the South and West. Some of the growth may be due to advantageous tax laws (Florida and Texas have no statewide income tax), but most of it is probably due to an aging population that doesn’t want to deal with cold weather.

As climate change bears down on the country, this may change, and people are predicting climate refugees moving north. But have you seen the weather graphs for much of the north? Unlike southern coastal areas which have very mild climates, many places in the Northeast have dramatic changes in the winter and summer. In Philadelphia where we’re based, for example, the summer highs register regularly in the upper 80s already — just a degree or two above Tampa. But by January the highs are just in the 40s. If climate change moves each of these numbers up by 5 degrees, summers will be unbearable and winters will still be … pretty miserable.

The problem with places like Tampa is that it’susceptible to climate change and hurricanes. Ditto for places on the West Coast that will suffer from wildfires. We found the website WeatherSpark.com and have really been enjoying its graphs to geek out on this question.

Places like Asheville are a good bet. They’re away from the coastal flooding and hurricane problems and have cooler summer temperatures. To a lesser degree, Charleston, West Virginia and Lexington, Kentucky have slightly warmer winters and slightly cooler summers. It’s hard to find others desirable examples aside from Asheville on the East Coast.

San Francisco’s weather looks fantastic, particularly for the summer. But those wildfires … they’d keep us away.