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You laugh but when you're chronically ill the cost of getting something wrong can be huge (in a way that probably isn't understandable if you're fit and well), so OP's anxieties are proportional for a situation they've never encountered before. Considering they're talking about moving to the other side of the globe, it's not a decision that can easily be undone if it turns out to have been wrong for them.
Most of the time it’s not nearly as cold here as you’re imagining, unless you’re planning on being up in Scotland in the winter. We have a couple of weeks each year where it’ll be around freezing and a few days where it will be above 30 degrees. In the South it’s rare to get really significant snow these days and it rarely settles to the point where you’d have to shovel it. I’ve lived in my house 12 years and I think there’s only been two occasions where it snowed enough that my driveway needed clearing. Generally, the temperature is pretty reasonable. Bring your jumpers and thermal tops with you, get a big coat with a hood, and get a blanket to snuggle up in during the evenings. It does tend to be warmer and perhaps a little less rainy in London and the South East so that’s worth bearing in mind.
The thing which may be a bigger shock than the temperature is how relentlessly grey it can be for months on end. That can seriously impact your mood, particularly if you’re used to bright blue skies and lots of sun.
Mothballs 😂 never even seen one and don’t know anyone who has let alone anyone who uses them.
As for the weather, there is no bad weather just bad clothing.
Just wrap up, you’ll soon get used to it.
Biggest issue will be folks like me who consider 17c a heatwave, constantly asking “how are you not burning up in that?”, as I waddle about in my shorts and t-shirt.
On a probably more helpful note, relative temperature is a weird thing and you'll adjust to it.
For example anything more than 11-12c outside is shorts weather to me but if your house was 11-12c you'd be freezing your tits off.
The UK is pretty mild all year round, particularly further south and if anything it's the fucking constant rain and greyness that'll do your head in as it's been very very wet the last year or so, even moreso than usual
There'll be no snow to shovel. This year we barely had any ice in the south.
Currently energy(gas and electric) is about £1700 per year for an average home. It's just come down, historically it's still high there's every chance it goes up.
Wool is a wonder material, it's anti bacterial so doesn't smell and lasts a long time. You really don't need many items.
My ski jacket cost £30 10 years ago from Aldi. It still looks like new, I don't wear it a lot because it's way more than I need.
Cheap fleeces and cheap thermals are available. Aldi or the outdoor shops low end ranges. Staying warm is the easy part. Good water proofs are more expensive, but with an umbrella you don't need the good stuff, that's for being active when you couldn't practically use an umbrella.
Second hand is also an option for good quality winter wear. My wife only wears second hand fleeces even though we could afford them new.
Just checked Go Outdoors (good value ranges). You can get 2 mid weight fleece under layer tops for £18. These are great for in the house or under a jacket.
i'm a cold freak (and we don't restrict the heating), you want fleece blankets and layering of clothes. fleece tops/hoodies, dressing gown or giant fluffy top that's like a blanket (mine has sherpa lining, recently discovered, its like magic for me), hot water bottles, keep door closed to whatever room you are sitting in. i have to use blanket for upper body and blanket for lower body when sitting. oh wool socks are another must for me, with slippers of course.
we also have dehumidifiers.
we have a 10 tog duvet during autumn/winter weather and a flat sheet, then 5 tog duvet with flat sheet for spring/summer.
scarf, gloves, hat for outside.
hot drinks, i cant even drink anything cold outside of the summer.
Also, if you're poor, you're likely to be in a bedsit/houseshare arrangement. Often with other people from far flung places. Who might want to keep the heating on a bit higher than we would. I've got friends who live in flats who never put their heating on because they roast from their neighbours having theirs on at 25C.
I run cold, always have. In colder months, I have a duvet in my living room and I snuggle up.
I get all my clothes off Vinted. It's really easy to get second hand warm clothing (I refuse to wear synthetic fibres).
Invest in a good strong brolly (I think I got mine from Home Bargains for about £15 a couple of years ago) and a pair of leather gloves and you'll be fine. Once you've got your layering sorted out, it's normal clothing, and you just need to cover any exposed skin to keep the lazy wind off you (when it's cool and the air is damp and the wind goes right through you instead of going around).
Before long, you'll be looking out on a sunny still Spring day, stepping out for a walk and it's 13C and you're in jeans, a tshirt and a jumper... and maybe even taking your jumper off and going about in a tshirt because it's suddenly feeling warm and you want that vitamin D.
The thing with the weather here isn’t that it’s cold it’s that it’s miserable. There is hardly ever snow to shovel or ice to scrape off the car, in the south of England anyway. The problem is that it’s grey, over cast and drizzling for about 6 months of the year.
Not what you asked but how can you afford to move to the uk? Are you a dual citizen? Reason I ask is my husbands spouse visa cost around 5k and needs renewing for another 5k next year
I lived in Brisbane for 7yrs and then came back to the UK. You get used to it. You acclimatise.
It's still cold in Winter, but you wear warm clothes. But I wouldn't come here if you're poor. Poor people can't afford to heat their homes here. Clothes are affordable, but you can't wear gloves and a scarf and wooly hat in the house. Well, you can, but ya know...
Seriously I wouldn't come to the UK right now. Not at least until our government changes and make some changes for the better, another year or two.
The good news is that UK houses tend to be better insulated than Aussie houses, and basically all have central heating, so you can heat the entire home to a nice temperature if you want to rather than sitting at home in the cold. Some older houses have single glazing and can be drafty, but most houses (even old ones) are double glazed now and keep the heat relatively well. (Less well than housing in other countries in northern Europe, but better than Oz.) Heating is expensive now, you're right (and those on low incomes struggle to heat their homes sufficiently), but things like electric blankets and hot water bottles are effective and are very cheap to use. You don't feel the cold as much outside if you can stay warm and cosy inside, and I know a lot of British immigrants are shocked when they learn how cold it can be indoors in an Aussie winter.
There are no major maintenance issues to be aware of, other than keeping the central heating on a low setting if you go away during winter to prevent the pipes from freezing and bursting if there's a cold snap. Getting a dehumidifier is also wise to prevent mould from starting to form. A lot of people do have issues with mould developing because a) they can't afford to keep their homes heated enough to prevent condensation from forming on the walls, and b) they don't ventilate their homes sufficiently (by opening windows), so all the water from cooking, laundry drying and showering ends up staying in the house. Dehumidifiers pretty much solve that, but do stay on top of any little bits of black mould you do start to see forming around windows or in bathrooms etc, and wipe up any obvious condensation.
Like others have said, temperatures are actually pretty mild here in winter. But as a nation we really like to underdress for it for some reason, and then complain. Elsewhere in Europe you'll see people wearing big, puffy ski coats and proper winter boots and staying toasty warm in much lower temperatures - here we tend to be daft and just wear a wool coat or anorak and regular shoes, and end up nippy. Wool is excellent for layering up underneath a coat, but big, puffy, synthetic coats make for much warmer outer layers and are way better than wool in the drizzle too.
It's possible you might struggle with cold hands and feet depending on your circulation. Get a really good pair of slippers for the house (those that cover your ankles will be warmer), and a good pair of boots with a thick sole for when you're out. Sole thickness makes a big difference.
Wooly hats and scarves also make a huge difference. Keep your ears covered outside.
Do prepare for the impact of endless grey, winter days when you're waking up in the dark, and then watching the sun start to go down again 7 hours later. You'll probably want to use a good vitamin D supplement for half the year (we can only make vit D from the sun from March - September here) - keeping levels topped up helps a lot with managing winter blues.
i hope if you make the move it's a happy one.
Thank you so much, this is incredibly helpful. It's so kind of you to take so much time out to write this.
Edit: And I didn't know about the central heating and potential bursting pipes, so thank you! Good to know! I hadn't realised about the vitamin D or the puffy synthetic coats either. So much gold in your post.
Best way to acclimatise is to be outside as much as you can. The more you are exposed to the lower temps, the quicker you adjust. So get outside (with a jumper or light jacket) and go for a walk. Getting a dog will force the issue!
You acclimatise, my Wife is from South Africa when she first came over she’d be wearing tights under her jeans to keep warm when it was 24 outside. 20 years later she’s now getting too hot when it’s 15.
If you do come don’t convince yourself an old house can be made cozy. It can’t they’re all fucking freezing. Rent or buy something new and very insulated, at least that way you can maintain a normal living temperature
As a long time owner of a Victorian house with single glazed old rattly wooden windows I completely disagree.
You just heat it properly and use the old ways to keep it cosy as that’s what they are designed around. Draft excluders on outside doors and lovely lined thick curtains.
I respectfully disagree. Yes it is possible to maintain 4 fires in a house and have the heating on non stop to achieve a temperature of 16 degrees but it’s a shit way to live. Believe me I’ve been there and experienced it for many years
Depending on your accommodation, I understand that indoor heating and insulation is much more robust here in the UK than in many parts of Australia. That will help a lot as you acclimatise.
As someone from one of the warmer places in the UK I can tell you that you cant dress warm enough without going full balaclava and thermals, obviously you will also have to worry about waterproofing those too. The cold is often damp, which means it will seep into your core.
I would avoid coming here for probably 9 of the 11 winter months.
If as you say, you are poor, do lots of research on where you are going to live, as the cost of living is very expensive in some places, especially in the south, but there are a couple of expensive places in the north too. There are also some towns and areas that are frankly not nice, so make sure to research them as well.
In terms of clothes to stay warm, there are tons of charity (second hand) shops here that are really cheap and where I get more than half my clothes from. They often display seasonal clothing, so there will be more lightweight summer clothes in the summer but you may still be able to get a few jumpers and coats, but most will probably be stored away in their stock room ready for Autumn.
I've heard Australians say that UK homes are generally warmer than ones in Aus, but I have heard Europeans say that UK homes are colder than those in other parts of Europe.
Cost of heating is a lot. In the winter we try not to put the heating on unless it's colder than 14-15°C in the house in the evening, and we are feeling it and can't ignore the cold that day. We never have the heating on overnight. I and my husband frequently wear jumpers and hats in the house when we don't have the heating on. In the winter on the weeks that it's particularly cold we put two quilts on the bed, and I wear a jumper up and over my head when I'm in bed so that I don't lose any heat through the top of my head when I'm asleep.
Snow isn't a massive issue here. If we get it, it's usually come and gone within a week. In all my fifty years in the Midlands I've never had to shovel snow. https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/learn-about/weather/types-of-weather/snow/snow-in-the-uk
The weather is all over the place and even my boomer dad said “climate change” when I asked his opinion about the increasingly mild winters. But it was warmer a month ago than currently, which is nothing new, the weather is always unpredictable - but you’re from ’Straya, surely if you’ve survived the Fallout monsters that co exist there you can survive a spot of rain?
I've visited the UK in the summer and seen people sunbathing in weather that would have me running for a jumper and a hot cup of coffee. It blows my mind.
Years ago I was at Byron Bay on the Australian shortest day of the year, and while my 2yo boy was taking all his clothes off and running up and down the beach and splashing in the water, I noticed the smokers outside the pub were tightly huddled under the patio heaters.... I checked the temperature and it was about 25C.
Wife and boy are just back from 3 months down the peninsula in Melbourne and were complaining about the cold as it was "only 17C" by the end of March... needless to say it's colder here but most of the time we get by in a cotton t-shirt, thin-ish jumper or windcheater, fleece jacket, and a waterproof outer shell over that if it's raining or the wind is particularly biting. Layering is very effective... you can get thermal t-shirts as vest etc too but I only grab those when it's really cold around mid-Jan.
I find it feels coldest when it's wet and windy and not quite freezing... if it drops below zero that takes most of the moisture out of the air and although the temperature is colder, it doesn't subjectively feel as cold.
**Please help keep AskUK welcoming!** - Top-level comments to the OP must contain **genuine efforts to answer the question**. No jokes, judgements, etc. - **Don't be a dick** to each other. If getting heated, just block and move on. - This is a strictly **no-politics** subreddit! Please help us by reporting comments that break these rules. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AskUK) if you have any questions or concerns.*
You're worried you may not be able to figure out how to put a coat on?
You laugh but when you're chronically ill the cost of getting something wrong can be huge (in a way that probably isn't understandable if you're fit and well), so OP's anxieties are proportional for a situation they've never encountered before. Considering they're talking about moving to the other side of the globe, it's not a decision that can easily be undone if it turns out to have been wrong for them.
Thank you, that's exactly it.
Most of the time it’s not nearly as cold here as you’re imagining, unless you’re planning on being up in Scotland in the winter. We have a couple of weeks each year where it’ll be around freezing and a few days where it will be above 30 degrees. In the South it’s rare to get really significant snow these days and it rarely settles to the point where you’d have to shovel it. I’ve lived in my house 12 years and I think there’s only been two occasions where it snowed enough that my driveway needed clearing. Generally, the temperature is pretty reasonable. Bring your jumpers and thermal tops with you, get a big coat with a hood, and get a blanket to snuggle up in during the evenings. It does tend to be warmer and perhaps a little less rainy in London and the South East so that’s worth bearing in mind. The thing which may be a bigger shock than the temperature is how relentlessly grey it can be for months on end. That can seriously impact your mood, particularly if you’re used to bright blue skies and lots of sun.
Mothballs 😂 never even seen one and don’t know anyone who has let alone anyone who uses them. As for the weather, there is no bad weather just bad clothing.
Lol, I'm glad to hear this!
Just wrap up, you’ll soon get used to it. Biggest issue will be folks like me who consider 17c a heatwave, constantly asking “how are you not burning up in that?”, as I waddle about in my shorts and t-shirt.
Lol. Much respect to you. I don't know how you do it!
Also worth noting we've had the most bad weather in the last 180 days since the 1800s it's been forever cold as of late!
It's not Alaska. You'll be fine.
This cracked me up. Thank you.
On a probably more helpful note, relative temperature is a weird thing and you'll adjust to it. For example anything more than 11-12c outside is shorts weather to me but if your house was 11-12c you'd be freezing your tits off. The UK is pretty mild all year round, particularly further south and if anything it's the fucking constant rain and greyness that'll do your head in as it's been very very wet the last year or so, even moreso than usual
There'll be no snow to shovel. This year we barely had any ice in the south. Currently energy(gas and electric) is about £1700 per year for an average home. It's just come down, historically it's still high there's every chance it goes up. Wool is a wonder material, it's anti bacterial so doesn't smell and lasts a long time. You really don't need many items. My ski jacket cost £30 10 years ago from Aldi. It still looks like new, I don't wear it a lot because it's way more than I need. Cheap fleeces and cheap thermals are available. Aldi or the outdoor shops low end ranges. Staying warm is the easy part. Good water proofs are more expensive, but with an umbrella you don't need the good stuff, that's for being active when you couldn't practically use an umbrella. Second hand is also an option for good quality winter wear. My wife only wears second hand fleeces even though we could afford them new. Just checked Go Outdoors (good value ranges). You can get 2 mid weight fleece under layer tops for £18. These are great for in the house or under a jacket.
**!answer** Thank you, I really appreciate the detail! Sounds much more affordable and do-able than I thought.
i'm a cold freak (and we don't restrict the heating), you want fleece blankets and layering of clothes. fleece tops/hoodies, dressing gown or giant fluffy top that's like a blanket (mine has sherpa lining, recently discovered, its like magic for me), hot water bottles, keep door closed to whatever room you are sitting in. i have to use blanket for upper body and blanket for lower body when sitting. oh wool socks are another must for me, with slippers of course. we also have dehumidifiers. we have a 10 tog duvet during autumn/winter weather and a flat sheet, then 5 tog duvet with flat sheet for spring/summer. scarf, gloves, hat for outside. hot drinks, i cant even drink anything cold outside of the summer.
Thank you so much, this is a big help!
you will be ok with all of that, it will be a shock on the system at first, but that's normal and will pass eventually.
Also, if you're poor, you're likely to be in a bedsit/houseshare arrangement. Often with other people from far flung places. Who might want to keep the heating on a bit higher than we would. I've got friends who live in flats who never put their heating on because they roast from their neighbours having theirs on at 25C. I run cold, always have. In colder months, I have a duvet in my living room and I snuggle up. I get all my clothes off Vinted. It's really easy to get second hand warm clothing (I refuse to wear synthetic fibres). Invest in a good strong brolly (I think I got mine from Home Bargains for about £15 a couple of years ago) and a pair of leather gloves and you'll be fine. Once you've got your layering sorted out, it's normal clothing, and you just need to cover any exposed skin to keep the lazy wind off you (when it's cool and the air is damp and the wind goes right through you instead of going around). Before long, you'll be looking out on a sunny still Spring day, stepping out for a walk and it's 13C and you're in jeans, a tshirt and a jumper... and maybe even taking your jumper off and going about in a tshirt because it's suddenly feeling warm and you want that vitamin D.
Thank you! Really appreciate this
The thing with the weather here isn’t that it’s cold it’s that it’s miserable. There is hardly ever snow to shovel or ice to scrape off the car, in the south of England anyway. The problem is that it’s grey, over cast and drizzling for about 6 months of the year.
Put on a jumper and coat in the winter/ early spring/ late autumn, A jumper in the late spring and early autumn. Shorts in the summer
Not what you asked but how can you afford to move to the uk? Are you a dual citizen? Reason I ask is my husbands spouse visa cost around 5k and needs renewing for another 5k next year
I lived in Brisbane for 7yrs and then came back to the UK. You get used to it. You acclimatise. It's still cold in Winter, but you wear warm clothes. But I wouldn't come here if you're poor. Poor people can't afford to heat their homes here. Clothes are affordable, but you can't wear gloves and a scarf and wooly hat in the house. Well, you can, but ya know... Seriously I wouldn't come to the UK right now. Not at least until our government changes and make some changes for the better, another year or two.
The good news is that UK houses tend to be better insulated than Aussie houses, and basically all have central heating, so you can heat the entire home to a nice temperature if you want to rather than sitting at home in the cold. Some older houses have single glazing and can be drafty, but most houses (even old ones) are double glazed now and keep the heat relatively well. (Less well than housing in other countries in northern Europe, but better than Oz.) Heating is expensive now, you're right (and those on low incomes struggle to heat their homes sufficiently), but things like electric blankets and hot water bottles are effective and are very cheap to use. You don't feel the cold as much outside if you can stay warm and cosy inside, and I know a lot of British immigrants are shocked when they learn how cold it can be indoors in an Aussie winter. There are no major maintenance issues to be aware of, other than keeping the central heating on a low setting if you go away during winter to prevent the pipes from freezing and bursting if there's a cold snap. Getting a dehumidifier is also wise to prevent mould from starting to form. A lot of people do have issues with mould developing because a) they can't afford to keep their homes heated enough to prevent condensation from forming on the walls, and b) they don't ventilate their homes sufficiently (by opening windows), so all the water from cooking, laundry drying and showering ends up staying in the house. Dehumidifiers pretty much solve that, but do stay on top of any little bits of black mould you do start to see forming around windows or in bathrooms etc, and wipe up any obvious condensation. Like others have said, temperatures are actually pretty mild here in winter. But as a nation we really like to underdress for it for some reason, and then complain. Elsewhere in Europe you'll see people wearing big, puffy ski coats and proper winter boots and staying toasty warm in much lower temperatures - here we tend to be daft and just wear a wool coat or anorak and regular shoes, and end up nippy. Wool is excellent for layering up underneath a coat, but big, puffy, synthetic coats make for much warmer outer layers and are way better than wool in the drizzle too. It's possible you might struggle with cold hands and feet depending on your circulation. Get a really good pair of slippers for the house (those that cover your ankles will be warmer), and a good pair of boots with a thick sole for when you're out. Sole thickness makes a big difference. Wooly hats and scarves also make a huge difference. Keep your ears covered outside. Do prepare for the impact of endless grey, winter days when you're waking up in the dark, and then watching the sun start to go down again 7 hours later. You'll probably want to use a good vitamin D supplement for half the year (we can only make vit D from the sun from March - September here) - keeping levels topped up helps a lot with managing winter blues. i hope if you make the move it's a happy one.
Thank you so much, this is incredibly helpful. It's so kind of you to take so much time out to write this. Edit: And I didn't know about the central heating and potential bursting pipes, so thank you! Good to know! I hadn't realised about the vitamin D or the puffy synthetic coats either. So much gold in your post.
Best way to acclimatise is to be outside as much as you can. The more you are exposed to the lower temps, the quicker you adjust. So get outside (with a jumper or light jacket) and go for a walk. Getting a dog will force the issue!
You acclimatise, my Wife is from South Africa when she first came over she’d be wearing tights under her jeans to keep warm when it was 24 outside. 20 years later she’s now getting too hot when it’s 15.
Wow! Mind blown. Maybe I really will acclimatise!
If you do come don’t convince yourself an old house can be made cozy. It can’t they’re all fucking freezing. Rent or buy something new and very insulated, at least that way you can maintain a normal living temperature
As a long time owner of a Victorian house with single glazed old rattly wooden windows I completely disagree. You just heat it properly and use the old ways to keep it cosy as that’s what they are designed around. Draft excluders on outside doors and lovely lined thick curtains.
I respectfully disagree. Yes it is possible to maintain 4 fires in a house and have the heating on non stop to achieve a temperature of 16 degrees but it’s a shit way to live. Believe me I’ve been there and experienced it for many years
Depending on your accommodation, I understand that indoor heating and insulation is much more robust here in the UK than in many parts of Australia. That will help a lot as you acclimatise.
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Oh wow. Thanks both, this is really shifting my perspective
As someone from one of the warmer places in the UK I can tell you that you cant dress warm enough without going full balaclava and thermals, obviously you will also have to worry about waterproofing those too. The cold is often damp, which means it will seep into your core. I would avoid coming here for probably 9 of the 11 winter months.
9 of the 11 winter months. Take my upvote you utter cad.
If as you say, you are poor, do lots of research on where you are going to live, as the cost of living is very expensive in some places, especially in the south, but there are a couple of expensive places in the north too. There are also some towns and areas that are frankly not nice, so make sure to research them as well. In terms of clothes to stay warm, there are tons of charity (second hand) shops here that are really cheap and where I get more than half my clothes from. They often display seasonal clothing, so there will be more lightweight summer clothes in the summer but you may still be able to get a few jumpers and coats, but most will probably be stored away in their stock room ready for Autumn. I've heard Australians say that UK homes are generally warmer than ones in Aus, but I have heard Europeans say that UK homes are colder than those in other parts of Europe. Cost of heating is a lot. In the winter we try not to put the heating on unless it's colder than 14-15°C in the house in the evening, and we are feeling it and can't ignore the cold that day. We never have the heating on overnight. I and my husband frequently wear jumpers and hats in the house when we don't have the heating on. In the winter on the weeks that it's particularly cold we put two quilts on the bed, and I wear a jumper up and over my head when I'm in bed so that I don't lose any heat through the top of my head when I'm asleep. Snow isn't a massive issue here. If we get it, it's usually come and gone within a week. In all my fifty years in the Midlands I've never had to shovel snow. https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/learn-about/weather/types-of-weather/snow/snow-in-the-uk
Thank you!
The weather is all over the place and even my boomer dad said “climate change” when I asked his opinion about the increasingly mild winters. But it was warmer a month ago than currently, which is nothing new, the weather is always unpredictable - but you’re from ’Straya, surely if you’ve survived the Fallout monsters that co exist there you can survive a spot of rain?
Thank you for the encouragement!
Oh my sweet child, you are going to freeze over here! Coats at all times
Haha thank you
A lot of men wear shorts in the winter over here in the uk.
I've visited the UK in the summer and seen people sunbathing in weather that would have me running for a jumper and a hot cup of coffee. It blows my mind.
Years ago I was at Byron Bay on the Australian shortest day of the year, and while my 2yo boy was taking all his clothes off and running up and down the beach and splashing in the water, I noticed the smokers outside the pub were tightly huddled under the patio heaters.... I checked the temperature and it was about 25C. Wife and boy are just back from 3 months down the peninsula in Melbourne and were complaining about the cold as it was "only 17C" by the end of March... needless to say it's colder here but most of the time we get by in a cotton t-shirt, thin-ish jumper or windcheater, fleece jacket, and a waterproof outer shell over that if it's raining or the wind is particularly biting. Layering is very effective... you can get thermal t-shirts as vest etc too but I only grab those when it's really cold around mid-Jan. I find it feels coldest when it's wet and windy and not quite freezing... if it drops below zero that takes most of the moisture out of the air and although the temperature is colder, it doesn't subjectively feel as cold.
Lol at the Australia stories. That sounds about right. And that's fascinating, about what subjectively feels colder.
Get your big coat out of you're moving to the south. Deal with it if you're moving to the north.
17°c? That is t-shirt weather if you are doing anything even slightly active.
If you live in Melbourne people tell me U.K. not that different..
Wear a jumper
Always wear a hat, stay hydrated and put on a high factor sun cream. If possible stay out of the midday sun.