Are Winters Getting Longer Or Is My Tolerance To Them Decreasing With Age?
Why am I still wearing a woolly hat at the end of April?
I have noticed in the last few years that my dread of the changing of the clocks from British Summer Time to Greenwich Mean Time, at the end of October, has grown considerably. I don’t think before turning 50 I gave winter too much consideration besides packing away my summer clothes and taking out the winter ones.
Even the summer solstice is starting to make me jittery as the days become shorter and the northern hemisphere slowly descends into hours and hours of darkness.
As soon as that clock falls back one hour, I start taking highly concentrated Vitamin D tablets and start considering emigration to warmer and sunnier climates. By February this year, I became very knowledgeable about all the visa requirements for southern European countries. I have started gathering all my pensions into one place to determine when, if ever, I will qualify for a Portuguese D7 visa. I have started building an online presence as a way to make money and qualify as a digital nomad in France, Spain, or Italy (please follow, clap, and comment to help this journey along 😉)., I live in Scotland and for the two weeks of the year (if we are lucky) that we get glorious weather, there is nowhere better to be. Indeed it’s wild and windy weather adds to the rugged atmosphere of the place. This is fine when you are in Glencoe or on the Isle of Skye. It is less attractive when battling over the A92 Muchalls bend in heavy rain, trying to get to work.
I am a keen hiker and prefer to be outdoors, but it has just been too cold, windy, and wet here to do anything. Usually, by this time of year, I will have had several big hikes under my belt, but so far I’ve only managed two short ones. The weather has been awful. It has barely been above 8 degrees Celcius since September 2023.
I’ve also noticed a decline in my physical health, which may be largely down to not being able to exercise outdoors. My joints have started aching more in the mornings. I injure my feet and ankles much more easily. If I was walking regularly, then I believe, these things would not be happening yet. My feeling is, and evidence would suggest, that people feel better in warmer climates. The opportunities for exercise, the access to locally sourced fruit and vegetables, and lashings of Vitamin D all add up to a healthier lifestyle.
I realise I am probably idealising other places but it sustains me through the toughest months. Perhaps next winter will be different. I hope that I can spend at least some time away from the hail and the darkness. I don’t even need it to be that hot, just sunnier and drier. Hiking weather!
There are difficulties with just getting up and going, namely my cat and my granddaughter. I have promised my cat for a long time that we would stay somewhere warmer. Pre-Brexit I tried to get us away, I even got the cat her own passport, but my house didn’t sell in time, then the pandemic hit and my granddaughter came along in 2021.
Having a longer stay in Southern Europe has become much more challenging, but I will keep dreaming. I have made some dreams come true before, I believe I can do it again.
Have you moved abroad for a better climate? Perhaps you migrate south for the winter, like the birds? Have you obtained the golden ticket of a Digital Nomad Visa? If you have done any of these things or have any advice for someone contemplating them, i.e. me, please let me know. I love hearing other people’s stories.
