I have friends with a farm in upstate NY that don't get enough days of sun during the summer to grow tomatoes. That seasonal affective disorder is real. When your whole life has been getting 250-350 days of sun a year, your first winter north of Chicago gets weird. You wonder how people live in the dark, like outdoor mole people.

And Lord have mercy, some of them think salt is spicy. You'll one day have Mexican food so bland you might think you're eating a Play-doh model of an enchilada. The restaurants play to the market. But the beer or good, the seafood is good.

Otherwise, find a town or city that matches your personality and enjoy.

Plan a winter trip up here and decide how you REALLY feel about snow before you commit to anything.

Well something I have experience in! Nothing prepared me for my first winter. Yes there is snow and it’s cold. The dark is what got me. I would leave for work before the sun came up and it was already setting as I was coming home. It was so deeply unsettling that first winter, like there was no warmth left in the world.

It is a lovely area. It feels so much older because they tend to preserve the historic homes and just driving around through the small rural towns is super cute. Fall is the best season in the NE. The colors are gorgeous! Apple cider donuts are the best donuts, most local orchards make them fresh too.

It’s pretty rural outside of NYC, Maine is especially so. You’ll most likely need a car, even if you’re in a town. The towns are walkable, but they’re small towns so the selection is limited. Getting hooked up with local events can be a challenge as word of mouth is the most common form of promotion. Get in good with your local coworkers or other local groups and they’ll help you find the cool ski deals and niche concerts.

On the whole car thing. Snow ands salt are really hard on cars. The inspection in NE is much more intensive than the SW which only checks emissions. Good tires are worth the investment, but the best method is just don’t drive while it’s snowing. Keep an eye out for black ice, the melting and refreezing is no joke. The people are nice though, had a kind man help pull me out of a snow bank when I made that mistake. If you’re ever unsure just go slow.

At the moment, if you account for humidity

done via use of a heat index

it's more-comfortable in Arizona than in the Northeast:

https://www.weathercentral.com/weather/us/maps/heat-index

EDIT: For the Europeans, Celsius:

EDIT2: Oooh, here's an interactive world map with a heat index:

https://zoom.earth/maps/temperature-feel/

EDIT3: Oh, wait...nah, those are apparently live temperature maps, not daily high maps. Still toasty in the Northeast, but some of that was just time-of-day.

Boston is very expensive. However, there are areas in MA that could/should be affordable.

Of course I'm biased because I've been in this area forever.

We get 4 seasons. I love the colors of Autumn. I enjoy snow, although, we may not get snow at all in the near future.

You've got great beaches on the Atlantic and then some nice skiing up in NH & ME that are only 2 hours away.

Boston area has the best medical care pretty much anywhere on the planet. I've personally transported numerous people from Logan airport to the area hospitals.

Sports? Big history of lots of champions.

Very diverse cultures all around Eastern MA. Very LGBT+ friendly.

People complain about cost of living and tax rates. Yet, the quality is worth it. I don't know the particular tax rates, but, we are definitely not "Taxachusetts" anymore in comparison to all the N.E. states.

I'm somewhat familiar with the rest of N.E., so, feel free to ask.

I can tell you from experience that you’re not going to escape the heat in upstate NY. The summer temperatures may look cooler than Arizona on paper but the humidity makes things feel so much worse

Oof

If you've never dealt with snow then northwest NY, NE in general will be interesting come winter that's for sure. It's not terribly uncommon for northwestern NY to see 12" of snow. Closer to the shore there are hurricanes to be concerned about for a month or two around now actually, but over my almost 40 years there have only been maybe 2 or 3 that were really troubling. It's usually just a lot of rain and really high winds.

I'm not sure how Austin gets, but the heat is disgusting for about 3ish months out here (NY) so you wouldn't really be escaping much except maybe the hot season is shorter. It's almost never dry heat though so we can have 90° days that are like 109° heat index because of humidity.

The only thing I can say with absolutely certainty is avoid Long Island like the plague unless you really love overpopulated areas full of assholes and disgustingly, almost comically, overpriced housing. The bagels are amazing though lol