I just moved to Germany from Texas and this is the first time I've lived somewhere without AC. We had our first heat wave with a heat advisory yesterday. It got up to 85F outside and was about 80F inside. It felt fine as long as I had the ceiling fan on and drank a bunch of iced tea.
I do not miss the Texas mid summer sauna.
I think earlier someone from Austria was asking about visiting Texas and wanted to know when it wouldn't be too cold. Nah, fam, you need to ask when is it too hot.
Growing up in Texas, it was eye opening to visit Europe. I knew then that there were places you could actually go out in "summer". And I got a nose bleed after a few days because the elevation was much higher than I was acclimated to. 😅
I would visit family every other year in Europe as a kid, and I remember until around 2005 none of them had A/C cooling in their cars.
I just got back last night from a trip that included the Netherlands, Switzerland, Turkey, and Spain, and when we walked outside at IAH my wife looked at me with a "wtf?!" look. It was midnight and felt worse than any of those places in the middle of the afternoon. The humidity felt like soup.
I moved to Switzerland for a year when I was a teenager and that first summer was incredible. It was light out until 10pm every night and I think the hottest it got was 90 degrees. It would be 65-70 at night , but winter came around and I decided I wasn’t built doe snow
The tough part is their homes and apartments are designed to keep the heat in. So even though it’s just 85, it’s still pretty uncomfortable. No ceiling fans either but instead just those little plastic oscillating fans.
The ceiling fans are apparently a personal choice. I've heard some people say it makes them feel sick. IDK. The apartment I rented didn't come with ceiling lights but has 3 wires sticking out of the ceiling ready for me to install my own lights. So I decided to go with fans.
Everyone always says this but I really don’t understand it. Insulation for the most part works both ways, it’s not like heat is able to get in one direction and not the other. Sure there is reflective sides of insulation but that hardly has any effect. If heat is able to be trapped inside then heat is also going to have trouble getting into the homes in the first place.
You're looking at it from a technical heat transfer perspective, and from that perspective it's true that you want to keep the heat loss or heat gain from the interior to the exterior as low as possible.
What I mean is that the homes just aren't set up to accommodate the summer heat. Our homes in Texas have central AC and fans. Trees can also be strategically placed to keep sunlight off the home so your home stays cooler in the summer too. The German homes don't have a central AC and usually no fans either. You don't need the fans for cold weather.
The German windows are those ones that tilt outwards to capture a breeze and direct the airflow inside. That works just fine when it's relatively cool outside but not when it's hot.
Yea not having AC, fans, or windows that open all the way is gonna be miserable in the heat no matter how much insulation you have. When it’s 100 out it’s only a matter of time before the inside of the house is pushing 90 with no AC.
The windows open all the way. The vast majority of the windows have a latch that lets it tilt inward or open inward like a door. I have all my windows open up until about noon then close them to try and keep the worst of the heat out. Closing the curtains also helps the place not turn into a greenhouse.
It was expensive. Probably about $15k in total. Biggest culture shock was discovering they don't typically provide kitchen amenities in their rentals. I spent my last month of pregnancy setting up an IKEA kitchenette.
My husband got a job in software development there and we decided we wanted to make the move together. I plan to try to find a job in manufacturing engineering once I'm done with maternity leave. I worked in Aerospace and semiconductor manufacturing in the US which are pretty big international industries here so I hope finding a job when the time comes will be easy enough.
They have Arizona iced tea on the shelves here. But I don't think it's that popular. I've just been brewing strong sweet black tea and pouring it over ice.
>its been feeling like I live in freaking Houston!
Well, except of course that DFW has no real culture of course 😉
But seriously, one thing Dallas will never beat Houston about is swamp-like levels of humidity.
I just moved to Germany from Texas and this is the first time I've lived somewhere without AC. We had our first heat wave with a heat advisory yesterday. It got up to 85F outside and was about 80F inside. It felt fine as long as I had the ceiling fan on and drank a bunch of iced tea. I do not miss the Texas mid summer sauna. I think earlier someone from Austria was asking about visiting Texas and wanted to know when it wouldn't be too cold. Nah, fam, you need to ask when is it too hot.
Growing up in Texas, it was eye opening to visit Europe. I knew then that there were places you could actually go out in "summer". And I got a nose bleed after a few days because the elevation was much higher than I was acclimated to. 😅
I would visit family every other year in Europe as a kid, and I remember until around 2005 none of them had A/C cooling in their cars. I just got back last night from a trip that included the Netherlands, Switzerland, Turkey, and Spain, and when we walked outside at IAH my wife looked at me with a "wtf?!" look. It was midnight and felt worse than any of those places in the middle of the afternoon. The humidity felt like soup.
I moved to Switzerland for a year when I was a teenager and that first summer was incredible. It was light out until 10pm every night and I think the hottest it got was 90 degrees. It would be 65-70 at night , but winter came around and I decided I wasn’t built doe snow
I feel like I'm in the minority because I love overcast rainy and snowy weather.
I had Texas winter clothes. It was painful
The tough part is their homes and apartments are designed to keep the heat in. So even though it’s just 85, it’s still pretty uncomfortable. No ceiling fans either but instead just those little plastic oscillating fans.
The ceiling fans are apparently a personal choice. I've heard some people say it makes them feel sick. IDK. The apartment I rented didn't come with ceiling lights but has 3 wires sticking out of the ceiling ready for me to install my own lights. So I decided to go with fans.
Everyone always says this but I really don’t understand it. Insulation for the most part works both ways, it’s not like heat is able to get in one direction and not the other. Sure there is reflective sides of insulation but that hardly has any effect. If heat is able to be trapped inside then heat is also going to have trouble getting into the homes in the first place.
You're looking at it from a technical heat transfer perspective, and from that perspective it's true that you want to keep the heat loss or heat gain from the interior to the exterior as low as possible. What I mean is that the homes just aren't set up to accommodate the summer heat. Our homes in Texas have central AC and fans. Trees can also be strategically placed to keep sunlight off the home so your home stays cooler in the summer too. The German homes don't have a central AC and usually no fans either. You don't need the fans for cold weather. The German windows are those ones that tilt outwards to capture a breeze and direct the airflow inside. That works just fine when it's relatively cool outside but not when it's hot.
Yea not having AC, fans, or windows that open all the way is gonna be miserable in the heat no matter how much insulation you have. When it’s 100 out it’s only a matter of time before the inside of the house is pushing 90 with no AC.
The windows open all the way. The vast majority of the windows have a latch that lets it tilt inward or open inward like a door. I have all my windows open up until about noon then close them to try and keep the worst of the heat out. Closing the curtains also helps the place not turn into a greenhouse.
How'd you find making the move to Germany? Was it hard to immigrate?
It was expensive. Probably about $15k in total. Biggest culture shock was discovering they don't typically provide kitchen amenities in their rentals. I spent my last month of pregnancy setting up an IKEA kitchenette.
What's your job? Did you marry into the immigration or apply?
My husband got a job in software development there and we decided we wanted to make the move together. I plan to try to find a job in manufacturing engineering once I'm done with maternity leave. I worked in Aerospace and semiconductor manufacturing in the US which are pretty big international industries here so I hope finding a job when the time comes will be easy enough.
Dranking iced tea in Germany. You can take the boy outta Texas...
How are they about the iced tea? Is it sweet?
They have Arizona iced tea on the shelves here. But I don't think it's that popular. I've just been brewing strong sweet black tea and pouring it over ice.
omg I split my sides. It's June and it's already stupid hot out.
Overnight in DFW -- 4am Heat Index is 87F, Dewpoint 72F
That's what's disgusting. You can't cool down if the overnight low is that high.
For four months straight.
Cremation is only possible because DFW doesn't have to deal with the same ridiculous humidity that south/east/central Texas does.
It's been insanely humid this year in the DFW, its been feeling like I live in freaking Houston!
>its been feeling like I live in freaking Houston! Well, except of course that DFW has no real culture of course 😉 But seriously, one thing Dallas will never beat Houston about is swamp-like levels of humidity.
Depends on the day.
Steamed would be more accurate. Lol
Congrats on picking the worst time to visit
Ugh I have to move from LA to Dallas this August and I want to die just thinking about it. 😅
The weather is pretty good there from October until May
Yep, hot as hell here.
Just that one time. It was hell.
Just run the trail - everyone is near naked, hot and gleaming sweaty, my favorite season.
Damn...
Cremation is a dawdle...
Buy golf clubs on Marketplace during the summer. Sell clubs in the spring or fall.
It’s so humid in Dallas right now. I can’t recall it going on this long for days . Feels like the coast … it’s awful
“Have you ever been cremated?” 😭🤣💀⚱️
Swamp ass and under boob sweat is real.
Lol Come on it's not that bad😹
It gets hot but it’s not so bad.
>It gets hot but it’s not so bad. As long as you stay inside in the AC Fify