Sept. 22 was the first day of autumn. When I picture autumn, I am first inclined to think of colorful leaves falling from the trees and a nice breeze and cooling off after a long, hot summer. Then I am smacked by the realization that I live in a place where fall is basically just summer round two.  

In Florida, there is no cooling off – at least not until the fall festivities are practically over. Things don’t actually get cold until December – if you consider an average low temperature of 54.7 degrees “cold.”  

In October, the average high is around 84 degrees, while in states with beautiful autumn weather, like Virginia, are at highs of 69. This makes fall feel more like a state of mind than a reality in Florida. Drinking warm seasonal drinks from Starbucks isn’t the same when the hot coffee feels like the same temperature as the outside air.  

It’s difficult to get in the mood for fall decorations and activities like pumpkin carving when it doesn’t feel like fall. Plus, all of the so-called pumpkin patches in Tampa are really just stacks of hay with pumpkins propped on top of them that you can choose from.  

In northern places on the east coast like Maryland, there are places where you can walk around in fields of pumpkins and choose one from off the vine. That’s what real seasonal activities should be like, but in Tampa we don’t have that option.  

One of the best things about autumn is making leaf piles and jumping in them with your friends, but in Florida there are no leaves to make a pile with. There is no beautiful change of colors with the season; instead there is only more humidity and heat.  

Cold isn’t necessary, but at least cooler weather would be nice. Every moment spent outside in Florida is another moment of sweating. There usually isn’t a breeze, and the air remains thick with moisture. If you’re lucky, you might catch a moment in the morning before the heat kicks in at full force. 

Another great aspect of fall that we miss out on simply because of location is the ability to wear cute, cool-weather clothes in the autumn months. While people in other regions are wearing sweaters and jeans or leggings, most Florida residents are out and about wearing shorts and short sleeves. 

Accessorizing in the fall can also be fun in most regions, with many options like scarves, hats and gloves. In Florida we pretty much never need these, even in the heart of winter, much less in fall. Items like boots and earmuffs are basically unheard of to Floridians. 

The reasons for Florida’s warmth are that it’s farther south than most states, located closer to the equator and surrounded on all three sides by water that makes it humid in addition to the heat in cooler months.  

While this allows residents to continue activities like going to the beach and swimming later in the year than most places, it hinders the seasonal experience by making fall months pretty much indifferentiable from other times of the year. 

The fact that the weather in Florida is the same for most of the year makes living here much less enjoyable than it otherwise would be. Some people like the fact that it’s always warm, but I am not one of those people.