Quick summary: When choosing where to relocate, expats often ask "how cold are the winters," but what exhausts most families most is short winter daylight, intense heat in homes without air conditioning in Southern Europe, wildfire smoke, and indoor humidity. Before committing to a city, live there for at least a few weeks during the worst month of the year, not the nicest one.
When comparing relocation programs, families scrutinize every detail: investment thresholds, legal fees, school tuition, rental prices. Climate usually rates one sentence: "Is it cold there?"
Then in the first year, they realize climate isn't just one line in a comparison table. It shapes every single day of the year: what time the sun sets, whether children can play outside, whether grandparents dare walk to the market, what heating bills cost, and the entire family's mood in January.
We've seen families choose the right country but the wrong city—and after a year or two, they moved again, purely because of climate. This article helps you avoid that.
Why Expats Often Underestimate Climate
There are three reasons.
First, many expats measure climate only by temperature. In tropical regions, the main seasonal difference is hot or cool, wet or dry. Daylight stays fairly constant: roughly 11–13 hours year-round. Nobody grows up experiencing darkness at 3:30 in the afternoon.
Second, people usually visit during the best season. A house-hunting trip tends to fall during Canadian summer, Lisbon spring, or Dubai winter. Those are the times when each place looks its best—and also when it's least honest about itself.
Third, climate is changing faster than memory. Common assumptions like "Southern Europe is pleasant" or "Canadian summers are cool" are based on conditions from decades ago. Heat waves, wildfires, and haze occur far more frequently in recent years.
Winter Daylight: What Few Calculate But Affects Everything
This is the point we most want to emphasize.
The farther north you go, the shorter winter days become. Around the winter solstice (approximately December 21), daylight hours are roughly:
| City | Daylight hours around winter solstice | Comparison to tropical regions (about 11 hours) |
|---|---|---|
| Helsinki, Stockholm | about 6 hours | 5 hours shorter |
| London | about 8 hours | 3 hours shorter |
| Vancouver | about 8 hours | 3 hours shorter |
| Toronto | about 9 hours | 2 hours shorter |
| Lisbon, Athens | about 9–10 hours | 1–2 hours shorter |
| Dubai | about 10–11 hours | roughly similar |
These numbers barely hint at the reality. In Vancouver or London, those 8 "daylight" hours are often cloudy and drizzly, so even during those hours, the sky looks like dusk many days. Commuters leave home before sunrise and return after dark.
The results are real: fatigue, drowsiness, loss of appetite or overeating, declining mood lasting months—what medicine calls seasonal affective disorder. People new from the tropics often experience it more acutely than locals. Many doctors in these regions recommend vitamin D supplementation in winter; ask your family doctor about this in your first year.
What to do: choose a home with large south-facing windows (in the Northern Hemisphere), near parks for midday walks, and plan a sunny trip in January or February. Many expat families from Vietnam in Canada go home for Lunar New Year partly for this reason—not just for the holiday itself.
Summer Heat in Southern Europe: Homes Weren't Built for It
Contrary to common assumption, many expats in Greece and Portugal complain more about summer than winter.
Athens has experienced multiple heat waves exceeding 40°C in recent years. The problem isn't outdoor temperature—expats from hot climates handle that well—it's the apartment. Many older buildings in Athens and Lisbon were designed to retain winter heat, have poor ventilation, no air conditioning or units only in one room. Top-floor units under concrete roofs can reach temperatures that make sleep difficult.
Winter here is the opposite: outside temperatures aren't extremely cold, but indoors it's cold and damp because of poor insulation and weak heating systems. Expats in Lisbon often say they've never felt cold inside a home quite like this, despite outdoor temperatures being far higher than in Toronto. Details about first-year life in both cities appear in the articles first year in Lisbon and living in Athens with a Golden Visa.
Questions to ask when renting or buying in Southern Europe:
- Is there air conditioning in the bedroom, what type, and how old is it?
- How is heating provided—electricity, gas, oil, or heat pump? What was last winter's utility bill?
- Which floor is the apartment on, and is the roof insulated?
- Do windows have double-glazed glass? Are there signs of dampness or mold in corners, ceilings, or bathrooms?
- What is the building's energy efficiency rating?
Dry Heat, Humid Heat, and "Indoor Living Season"
In the Gulf region, the rhythm of life reverses: summer is indoor season, winter is outdoor season.
In the UAE, summer from roughly June to September often exceeds 40°C with high coastal humidity. The entire city lives in air conditioning: homes, cars, malls. Children don't play outdoors during the day for months. Many expat families leave Dubai or travel during summer. Conversely, from November to March, the weather is very pleasant. Cooling costs are substantial and should be factored in when viewing homes; the article living in Dubai: costs by floor covers this.
In Malaysia and Thailand, climate is similar to southern Vietnam, so expats adapt easily. But one thing newcomers often find surprising is seasonal haze. Kuala Lumpur and Penang experience transboundary haze episodes from land clearing and burning, typically mid- to late-year. Chiang Mai has a severe haze season from roughly February to April each year, with air quality sometimes ranking among the worst in the world. Families with young children or those with respiratory conditions need to consider this carefully.
Natural Disasters: Climate Is Changing the Equation
Once, natural disaster concerns only applied to hurricane zones. Now it's broader:
- Wildfires: Greece, Portugal, Canada, California, and Australia have increasingly long fire seasons. Smoke can blanket cities hundreds of kilometers from the fire. Homes near forests are beautiful but carry higher risk, and insurance may be difficult to obtain.
- Storms: the Caribbean hurricane season runs June through November. We discuss this in detail in living authentically in Grenada.
- Flooding and extreme rain: even Europe has experienced severe flooding in recent years. Check flood maps of the area before buying.
- Snow and ice: not dangerous for younger people, but falling on ice is a common injury among older newcomers. Choose a home near amenities so elderly family members travel less in winter.
- Extreme heat: genuinely dangerous for the elderly, young children, and those with heart conditions, especially in homes without air conditioning.
We don't advise on insurance or real estate. But before buying a home anywhere, the question "has this area ever flooded, burned, or been hit by storms, and how much did home insurance increase this year" should rank equally with price questions.
Downsides of Choosing Location Primarily by Climate
Climate matters, but don't let it be the only criterion. There are some opposite traps:
Choosing the warmest city but wrong for your goals. The warmest place may lack good schools for your children, the right career opportunities for you and your spouse, or the residency pathway you need.
Assuming everyone will adjust eventually. Most do, but not all. People with a history of depression, older people with joint problems, or children with asthma should be treated as special cases, not told to "try harder."
Forgetting that in large countries, climate varies dramatically by region. Canada doesn't have "one climate." Vancouver is rainy and gray, Calgary is cold-dry with sunny days, Toronto is cold and humid. Australia is the same: Brisbane is subtropical, Melbourne changes dramatically within a single day. Choosing the right country is half the problem; choosing the right city is the other half.
Regarding elderly parents—the group most affected by climate—you can read more in aging parents moving abroad with children.
Climate Checklist Before Committing to a City
| Task | Why |
|---|---|
| Spend 2–3 weeks during the worst month (January in Canada, August in Athens, July in Dubai) | The best month won't tell the truth |
| Check sunrise and sunset times on the winter solstice | Daylight affects mood more than temperature does |
| Ask for heating and cooling bills from the previous year for the specific home | These are major, fluctuating expenses |
| Ask about local flood history, wildfire records, and storm patterns | These affect safety and insurance costs |
| Check air quality by season | Haze and wildfires affect children and elderly |
| Get input from every family member, especially elderly relatives and those with health conditions | Each person experiences climate differently |
Next Steps
When comparing relocation programs using our country comparison tool, add a separate column for climate in the specific city where you'll live, not the country as a whole. Then, before signing any home rental or purchase agreement, take a trip during the most difficult season of the year.
The cost of that trial visit is far smaller than the cost of relocating again after one year—and far smaller still compared to an entire season of family unhappiness with no clear reason why.
