Travel Blogger Daily Post: No Air Conditioning In Southern California Beach Houses

The Pacific Ocean Breeze Is Often Cool Enough – But Not Always

By Kevin Wilkerson, PubClub.com Travel Blogger

When my friend in the hot high desert area northeast of Los Angeles invited me to his house for a weekend party in July, I quickly accepted for a couple of reasons.

One was because, well, he’s a friend and secondly he lives on a golf course. But one of the compelling factors was that I knew he would have air conditioning. That would be such a rare treat I could not pass on it.

Now many of you might find it unusual to drive 2 1/2 hours just to spend a day and night in a house with air conditioning but when you live where I do, it’s an “ahhh” moment that’s worth the effort.

When I first moved to Southern California, naturally I gravitated toward the beach. And when I was looking for a place to live I was shocked to discover that no places for rent have A/C. Being from the South, I found this impossible to believe, but it was consistent from place to place.

Everyone said the same thing: “you don’t need air conditioning here.”

And you know what, for the most part that’s true. The weather here is incredible. It’s sunny 325 days a year and usually 75 degrees.

There’s a near-constant cooling breeze blowing off the Pacific Ocean and because Los Angeles is actually a desert and not a tropical climate, it cools off at night. And you had better always have a sweatshirt or light jacket with you, even in July and August.

In fact, it’s colder a lot more than it’s hot (many old places, like the house I’m in now, also don’t have heat).

But there are times when the sun beats down and the breeze quits blowing and not having air conditioning is a real discomfort. With no A/C, there’s no relief because many businesses don’t have it, either.

You should know this as a traveler because your hotel room may not have it, either. You

So when presented to be in air conditioned comfort, we often jump at the chance, even doing some things that on the surface may seem crazy to outsiders, and that is to leave the beach on a busy Saturday July to go to a place called Victorville.

Ahhh.

Cheers!