In which a boy from the midwest finds his ideal climate.

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People ask me “What brought you to Puerto Rico?” and I explain how I married a Puerto Rican and we ended up moving here during the pandemic. I then go on to say that it was actually my idea to move here, not hers.

Why?

This graph displays one of the biggest reasons:

“Oh wow, it’s warm all year in the Caribbean,” I hear you say sarcastically. I know, I know!

Look, as a midwesterner I can’t really explain how incredible that chart is to me. I do know that after living here for a year, I can’t go back to cold winters. I also know:

• I can eat any meal outside, year round (this is particularly a blessing with Covid).
• The temperature every night, 365 days a year, is pleasant.
• My joints feel better. My skin isn’t as dry.
• The flora is green year round.
• I can wear shorts year round. 
• I can walk my dog comfortably (i.e in shorts) year round.
• I can swim year round.
• There are rarely days over 90 degrees (32 C), so with a breeze and some shade you can be outside comfortably.
• That on the really really hot days, there is no place on the island that is more than an hour from the beach. 
• The rain is often fat and warm and it’s usually not a bother to be wet when it’s so damn nice out.

Other perks of island temps: no buying, washing, or storing winter coats, boots, scarves, hats, gloves, sweatshirts. No shoveling my car out of snow, no frozen pipe worries, no cold toilet seats on my butt.

Sure, I sweat like hell some days, but I also haven’t seen my frozen breath in over a year. I’ll take that trade any day. In fact, I did take that trade.

Am I sharing this information about temperatures to convince you to come to Puerto Rico? Maybe. If you’re a friend or family member living in the north, I want you to know that, yes, I’m intentionally trying to make you jealous. I do this so that you come visit the island. This jealousy is for positive ends, I swear!

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I knew about the temperatures before I moved here, but one thing that I didn’t know was the amount of daylight the island gets. Check out this graph of sunrise/sunset times:

Due to Puerto Rico’s proximity to the equator, the “winter” months still have nearly 12 hour of sunlight. There is no daylight savings time, no darkness at 4pm. Say goodbye to seasonal affective disorder. Winter here is heavenly.

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There you have it, two very simple but incredible features of living on the island that I hope I never take for granted. Warm weather and sun. Lots of sun!