Comparing the Weather of US Regions to the World

Executive Summary

• The US weather by region has approximations to other countries.
• We cover this and provide some color commentary.

Introduction

While rating the civilization score of various countries of the world, we noted how poorly we rated Russia, far below its Eastern European neighbors.

This brought up why Russia has been such a poorly performing country, delivering such poor outcomes to Russians and countries that they have influenced. In this article, we will address the negative consequences of being close to Russia.

See our references for this article and related articles at this link.

Weather Comparison Map

This graphic was developed by or is hosted by Mapmania. 

Here are a few observations about this map.

Observation #1: Portugal as #1

In my view, the best weather in the US is in Southern California. Apparently, a lot of people agree as the area is overwhelmed with people. It was curious to see Portugal as the closest approximation to this region, as I would have guessed either North Africa or Greece.

Observation #2: Phoenix as Bagdhad

It was also interesting to see Arizona as closest to Iraq. It is something to drive around Arizona and imagine it as Iraq. Naturally, Arizona has both straight desert and significant mountain regions in the North of the state.

Observation #3: Southeast as China

In every picture I have ever seen of China, it appears quite humid. This matches the Southeast, which is also humid. There are pretty parts, but it is not my preferred climate.

Observation #4: Western Europe as the Pacific Northwest and Alaska

Much of Western Europe is far cooler than many imagine. Some of the most prominent countries in Western Europe are all a match for the North of the US.

• Germany is entirely out of the US and further north in Canada, which is different from what I imagined, as I always thought of the weather in Germany closer to that of Ohio.
• Both Germany and Scandanavia are located in a place in North America where virtually no one lives. To give some perspective, the entire state of Alaska, which is the only significant population where Scandinavia has been allocated to the map, is around 720,000. And Alaska is only populated because of people drawn there for work, due to things like oil and fishing. If people in Alaska could get the same pay while living further south, they likely would.
• Many Americans are drawn to Scandanavia because the countries in Scandanavia tend to have the best outcomes in multiple areas. But one would also have to be ready to deal with Scandinavia’s climate.

Scandinavian social outcomes sound great right. But are you “man enough” to take winter in Scandinavia? Are you stocked up on (nonfunctional) antidepressants? Winter can even depress experienced Scandinavians, who have to, as explained in this video, develop coping strategies.

Even the Midwest of the US, which is the country’s coldest region, does not have the extremely long nights and short days of Scandanavia.

Observation #5: India as Mexico

I always thought of Mexico as far drier than India. So this means that there must be large regions of Mexico that are quite humid.

Conclusion

This is an interesting map. It is not perfect, and it is only using the average climate as an example. One can observe the weather that one likes in the US and then use that to choose a destination for travel if the weather is a major motivator to visit a location.

My Preference: The Mediterranean Climate

The movie 13 Hours is one of my favorite movies, but not because of the movie itself, which never seems to answer the question — what was such a large US military presence doing in Libya. Instead, I liked the movie because it has some great outdoor scenes in a Mediterranean climate. Michael Bay is a weak director with a brainless adherence to military patriotism, but he is a great cinematographer.

This movie is based in Libya, but they could not film there, so the movie was filmed in Morocco. And the weather looks marvelous.

The closest match for my climate preference is Portugal. However, this is only one of many factors to consider when traveling. Portugal is a moderately inexpensive country to visit, it is relatively easy to get visa extensions, and is popular with digital nomads. But, it is a country that has been in significant decline since WW2, and the maintenance of buildings is low. It also has a reputation of the Portuguese being coarse and self-involved. However, compared to other countries or regions with a similar climate, it compares quite favorably.

Let’s look at the issues of these countries.

• Greece: Lots of scams on tourists, and brought down low by the 2008 crisis, which has lead to mass migration from Greece.
• Southern Italy: Very disorganized and mafia and scams on tourists.
• South Africa: In terminal decline now, the country is managed by blacks, which means not only is the driving unsafe, but the hospitals in South Africa are a problem if you end up in one. The ANC can’t seem to figure out why South Africa’s tourism has declined so greatly even before Covid and will probably go with the racism excuse. Cape Town is now frequently referred to as “the last deck chair on the Titanic.”
• Chile: Latin American culture, and lots of scams on tourists.
• Morocco: Muslim
• Tunisia: Muslim
• Algeria: Muslim
• Libya: Muslim, and bombed into the dark ages by Obama, Hillary Clinton, and Emanuel Macron.

After being bombed and having normal opportunities wiped out as Libya is still in a civil war, Muslims in Libya are back to slave trading. This is apparently the plan that the Obama Administration had for Libya and is why he won and deserves a Nobel Peace Prize.

Good thing these men were not voters for the Nobel Peace Prize. As soon as Obama won, he began looking for countries to bomb, and finally ended up with the moniker “President Drone Strike.” Obama knew he was covered, because after you get a peace prize, even if you run a concentration camp, they are not allowed to ask for it back. 

The Negative Impact of The US and French Bombing on Libya’s Travel Score

Libya was not a big vacation spot before the bombing, but now you can’t go there at all. This is especially true for African Americans. If you go to Libya and lose your passport, you might find yourself in a slave-trading pit like something out of the movie Gladiator.

There are not that many countries with the Mediterranean climate to visit in the world, and most of them are dodgy locals.

I noticed how run down Lisbon was when I traveled there. However, I did not even see the many abandoned buildings in both Lisbon and Porto. 

Abandoned Buildings of Portugal

Why these buildings are abandoned is explained in the following quotation from the website Travel with Winnie.

These abandoned houses were everywhere and many of them were around the city centre where we would consider as prime real estate. We thought the second largest city in Portugal would be bustling and prosperous. Instead, we found it to be full of empty houses left in shambles. The government and tourism industry of Portugal had painted a picture of Porto quite differently to the one we actually saw.

During the Global financial crisis, the world focused on the bankruptcy of Greece. Most of us didn’t realize that Portugal was also going through a difficult period. In 2011, Portugal received a bailout from the EU to prevent bankruptcy.

Financial crisis then added fuel to the fire. Many companies to become bankrupt in the financial crisis and many Portuguese left Portugal to find jobs in other countries. In 2011, around 18.8% of the houses in Porto were abandoned. That means 1 in 5 houses were empty! Even Lisbon, capital of Portugal, had around 15% of houses in the city being abandoned.

The Portuguese government did try to improve the situation by releasing 2800 “Golden Visa”, aiming to increase foreign investment. The Golden Visa is basically permanent residency in Portugal, which can be obtained when foreign investors purchase a property in Portugal. 80% of these Golden Visas were taken up by Chinese investors hoping to gain a residency in Europe.

As we walked around looking at these extremely poorly maintained houses, we saw many of them occupied. In parts of Porto, We felt like we were walking in an apocalyptic movie set based in Europe. It is hard to grasp the idea that we were walking in the city centre of the second-largest city in Portugal. I believe these buildings would have looked so glorious in the past when Portugal was at the height of its power.