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Ideal location/climate for leather jackets

dudewuttheheck

I'll Lock Up
Messages
4,403
We have about 6 months of good jacket weather here in Ontario.

Summers are often too humid and then there’s winter which is just too damn cold.
This shows why I put socal as higher on the list than people would think.

Here in OC/LA I get 8-8.5 months of leather jacket weather per year. Not humid and never too cold.
 

Brandrea33

One Too Many
Messages
1,087
I live in the Vancouver area and you can wear a leather jacket easily ten months a year.
A few years ago it was 12 months a year but it’s getting hotter unfortunately.
I ride a Harley so for me, it’s leather year round!
I was just out there a month ago. Beautiful part of the country.
 

TheDonEffect

Practically Family
Messages
623
San Francisco specifically, the fog is perfect for wearing leather. Cold, but no precipitation. The rest of the bay has to suffer with year round sunny, generally mild conditions and have to endure wearing tshirts and jeans for much of the year.
 

zebedee

One Too Many
Messages
1,900
Location
Shanghai
For me, anything below 23 Celsius is leather jacket wear. Anything above 25 celsius would be too hot and I think I'd be the only person even wearing anything heavier than an overshirt. The humidity is very high, though.
 

Rich22

Practically Family
Messages
595
Location
G.B.
This is another interesting idea that I had for a thread recently (sorry that I keep making these).
Similar idea has been discussed in many "one jacket for the rest of my life" type threads.

Imagine that you're choosing where to live based on your leather jacket hobby/addiction/obsession.
You need a certain climate to maximize wear time.
Right now I'll stick to leather jackets and exclude shearling for the sake of argument. Otherwise the low temperatures become a lot more flexible.
From my experience leather jackets thrive in temperatures between -5 and +15 Celsius.
You can push that up or down a bit, but that seems to be the sweet spot between t-shirt only and serious layering.

So you want a place with several attributes:
- Rather low average temperature.
- Temperature variation / range as low as possible.

Tried to search for a bit of information related to this topic and found these 2 pages:
https://listfist.com/list-of-countries-by-average-temperature (most useful, has both range and average)
https://listfist.com/list-of-countries-by-temperature-range

From looking at the data for a while I came to the conclusions that these are the best places to live in the worlds if you love (wearing) leather jackets:
- UK
- Ireland
- New Zealand
- Chile
- Faroe Islands
- Iceland

I think living on the coast would be ideal as well for even smaller temperature fluctuations.
Certain coastal locations around Norway and Sweden would probably work extremely well too.

So yeah, you UK folks have it as good as it gets.

Thoughts and discussions welcome!
If you're going to add in UK, Ireland and Iceland you need to add in 3/4 of the rest of Europe too!

I spent all year in Thailand this year, and have no idea how some of the locals there manage to wear leather jackets. Back in the UK briefly, and Germany in a few weeks. Not sure how I'll feel about Bavarian winter after Thailand... But I'll have a new jacket (or 2) to cheer me up!
 

Rich22

Practically Family
Messages
595
Location
G.B.
Somewhere cool to cold. If I were choosing where to live based on leather jackets, though, I'd check myself in for a serious talking-to :)

I'm in Hong Kong. It's jacket weather for about three months a year, but I'd not be anywhere else for, as they say, all the rice in China.
Three months sounds about right, as it got cooler in the evenings. I found I could wear shorts in the daytimes there quite comfortably for all but 2 weeks in the year I was there!
 

navetsea

I'll Lock Up
Messages
6,843
Location
East Java
this year here in east java indonesia in the morning I can wear leather jacket I woke up to 16C, approaching mid day it creeps up to 34C, and then later in the afternoon it gets cool again. if I look around younger people tend to wear outerwear be it cardigan, or hoodie or trucker, or overshirt to block the sun out against unwanted tanning or fading of their clothes, I never see leather jacket, it's not a popular choice among young people perhaps because oversize fit is trendy now, and leather jacket in oversize fit rarely look the part.
 

zebedee

One Too Many
Messages
1,900
Location
Shanghai
Three months sounds about right, as it got cooler in the evenings. I found I could wear shorts in the daytimes there quite comfortably for all but 2 weeks in the year I was there!
I've been in Asia for about 22 years - my internal thermostat is now bizarre. Anything 23C or under and I'm cold enough to wear a jacket. Anything below 15C and the probability of me turning up is close to nil. I considered moving to Saigon briefly, but it's too hot for too much of the year. I need a few months of sorta-winter, but, on the other hand, I wouldn't ever choose to live in a colder climate. I tried a move back to the UK once, for a year, and I found it grim in terms of weather.
 

Rich22

Practically Family
Messages
595
Location
G.B.
I've been in Asia for about 22 years - my internal thermostat is now bizarre. Anything 23C or under and I'm cold enough to wear a jacket. Anything below 15C and the probability of me turning up is close to nil. I considered moving to Saigon briefly, but it's too hot for too much of the year. I need a few months of sorta-winter, but, on the other hand, I wouldn't ever choose to live in a colder climate. I tried a move back to the UK once, for a year, and I found it grim in terms of weather.
Getting temperatures comfortable is a challenge I know only too well. During my decade in Asia I was daft enough to go as far North as Changzhou (Jiangsu) for a year- lovely summer, but a horrid cold winter, and neither a spring nor an Autumn to speak of! Spring was one Tuesday. Monday I went to work and it was 4°C, and by Wednesday it was 28°C.

I love the heat, honestly. I've never overheated outdoors, even at 50°C in the Middle East or in the Sahara in mid summer. It just doesn't bother me. Weirdly, stick me inside without AC in a hot country and I hate life instantly.

My partner and I spent most of the last year in Thailand. Ideal weather for me, but she has low blood pressure and cannot comfortably tolerate anything over 30°C, so something had to give. We've decided to move to Germany for a year. I'm not sure how I'll cope with a Bavarian winter, as, like you, I can no longer tolerate the cold!

I'm not sure what our long term plan might be, regarding a climate we can both find pleasant. I always intended to retire to the Canary Islands, but I'm not sure how that could happen now. She previously lived in San Francisco (she's German/Austrian/American), and worked in tech there. That would be a possibility climate wise for a few years- just a pity how expensive it is!!
 

Rich22

Practically Family
Messages
595
Location
G.B.
Regarding a weird internal thermostat after a long time in Asia- my thermometer says my home office is 23.1°C right now, and I'm wearing jeans with a thick t shirt and a flannel shirt over it. I feel a bit chilly and my feet feel cold through thick socks. o_O
 

MrProper

I'll Lock Up
Messages
4,313
Location
Europe
I'm not sure how I'll cope with a Bavarian winter, as, like you, I can no longer tolerate the cold!
I am from Munich/Bavaria and live in Austria. The winters are getting milder and can be endured well. At least with a well heated apartment/house, one (or more) shearling jacket(s) and good boots.
I also like heat better than cold, but winter in cities is harmless.
 
Messages
17,490
Location
Chicago
As much as I am dying to get my wardrobe shifted for the season, if I never had to, it would lose some of the appeal. I like shedding my jackets in the spring and I love those first cold days that require them in the fall. I fear the climate has become either blast furnace hot right into a soggy 6 month long March. I am hopeful for a glorious, frigid, snow packed and wind whipped Chicago winter this year but I won’t count on it.
 

Rich22

Practically Family
Messages
595
Location
G.B.
I am from Munich/Bavaria and live in Austria. The winters are getting milder and can be endured well. At least with a well heated apartment/house, one (or more) shearling jacket(s) and good boots.
I also like heat better than cold, but winter in cities is harmless.
As I'll have the warm apartment and warm clothes, I should survive the winter ;) Just not sure how much I'll enjoy it as I used to find London winters rather miserable. It seems Bavaria gets a good bit more sunlight through winter than London, so that's something :D
 

Will Zach

I'll Lock Up
Messages
4,823
Location
SoFlo
The more I think about these things, at least in the US (or maybe globally), SoCal coastal weather is ideal. Warm days and cool nights. I am now in South Florida, and I cannot even imagine wearing a jacket. Maybe a couple of times in February... Hot and humid, which does not really bother me, but def not jacket weather. I mean iguanas live in city parks, lol. Tropics. I plan to spend time in Poland every year, so all my jackets will wind up there.
 
Messages
10,614
The more I think about these things, at least in the US (or maybe globally), SoCal coastal weather is ideal. Warm days and cool nights. I am now in South Florida, and I cannot even imagine wearing a jacket. Maybe a couple of times in February... Hot and humid, which does not really bother me, but def not jacket weather. I mean iguanas live in city parks, lol. Tropics. I plan to spend time in Poland every year, so all my jackets will wind up there.

Yep. A few colder days and nights but that’s it. Only reason I had so many leather jackets and vests in S FL was the riding.
 

red devil

My Mail is Forwarded Here
Messages
3,948
Location
London
I guess you can either look for the perfect weather or work on being more adaptable. Either way, most countries that have a tradition for leather garments will be good places to wear them.
 

MrProper

I'll Lock Up
Messages
4,313
Location
Europe
As I'll have the warm apartment and warm clothes, I should survive the winter ;) Just not sure how much I'll enjoy it as I used to find London winters rather miserable. It seems Bavaria gets a good bit more sunlight through winter than London, so that's something :D
A Bavarian or Austrian winter can be quite beautiful ;)
FullSizeRender.jpeg
 

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