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You kind of get used to it after a while. When it's over 92 and humid, though we hibernate or do the things I'll list below. For the most part, summer isn't from May through September. It's late June through August. Sometimes you get a good June and it's only July through August. And then you'll get those amazing days in those months that make you so thankful for the cooler weather (see: no humidity). This is what we do:
-Belong to a pool
-Splash pads
-Kids museums
-Shaded parks
-mall - we do a lot of walking around malls (and not buying stuff)

The best thing about the south is we don't get the harsh winters. There are very few weeks in the south when you can't be outside for an extended period of time. It is so nice. We do get ice, though and no one knows how to drive in ice. Everyone thinks their 4 wheel drive will work. So mostly people stay home when there's ice - to avoid the idiots.

We get used to it. Haha. There are indoor play areas but where I live it takes 30 ish minutes to get to any of them so it's not always convenient. We try to go out to play as early as we possibly can, always bring water and don't spend more than an hour outside. Or we go out for about 30 minutes after dinner. We have a splash pool but we don't use it daily. We were doing good until August hit, this month was brutal.

Haha I actually have the exact same reaction to how people live up north. How on earth do you survive the winter?!? I would die. All that bundling and unbundling and wet slush and more bundling and unbundling.....

Seriously though, we keep the AC on inside at home and play outside earlier in the day or later in the evening, unless we are at the pool and playing in the water. Plus, we typically have long springs and falls, so there is a good chunk of the year when the weather is perfect for being outside!

I'm in Midwest (great location/cost of living if you want to venture further west ) but we deal with the hot weather as well. We do lots of outings in the morning & lots of water activites in the summer. But honestly, you just get used to it! E is pretty resilient to it, I struggle with it more than she does.

So, we just moved to Austin. Come here!

We used to live in Nashville so I am already used to the heat. It is MUCH hotter here temperature wise but it is not as humid. I used to roll my eyes at the idea of "dry heat" but it really is a thing. I am pretty surprised how quickly I adjusted to 105 degree days!

Charleston in July is pretty different than Austin because it is a lot more humid. Not sure about Atlanta. I think it is not as hot but it does have humidity.

I SAH with LO now and I was really worried about this but is has mostly been fine. People usually do outdoor activities earlier in the morning. The playgrounds are hopping at about 8:30am and then everyone starts heading out by 10:30-11. I don't have a lot of "get up and go" though so we have gone to the playground closer to 11 some days and survived! LOs don't really mind and there is a lot of intentional shade for parents and kids. It would probably be different with an infant though, and if you want your LO to have lots of playmates and to meet other moms, the earlier the better.

We do kind of stay inside in the afternoon. That's fine with me though because LO takes a 2-3 hour nap from like 1-4. I do look at the forecast and the days it is going to be a little cooler (like 98! haha) we will run errands because it will not be miserable getting in and out of the car.

There are a lot of indoor activities. So far we have done the children's museum which is awesome and various story times. We also are in a couple different play groups so we will go to playdates at someone's home. There are tons of indoor bouncy places that are popular, but we haven't tried them yet because school has been out and I know they are overrun.

Splash pads are HUGE too. We go at least once per week. Lots of folks go to the pool frequently but LO is not really into it right now and I am not psyched about wearing my bathing suit But play dates are frequently planned at splash pads or pools. They stay busy until 8pm! In general I've noticed folks keep their kids up later here - probably partly because it is just summer and there is no school/preschool/work for parents that are teachers, and partly because you can enjoy going out and doing things outdoors as a family after 7pm.

We used to go for more walks in her push car in our old neighborhood - now the only time we do that is when DH takes her to get the mail when he gets home from work. We pretty much drive everywhere, even short distances, so that's a bummer. It burns a lot of gas especially with the A/C! I've been thinking for our budget we need to try to stay home one day per week or have a play date here.

@Mrs. Lion: @Smurfette: and all that shoveling!! Most southerners I know don't own a shovel or snow gear.

You do get used to it. Pools and AC do the rest when its too unbearable.

You just get used to it. I grew up in GA and moved to TX. I thought Ga was hot, but it's hotter here. It took me a summer to adjust. You have ceiling fans in every room instead of pretty lighting, park in the shade where you can, wear lightweight clothes, and expect to spend more money on your energy bill June-Sept. If I'm going to run errands I take water with me.

I hate being cold so I love having short winters. I don't know what I would do if I lived in a snowy climate!

@Mrs. Pickle: For some sadistic reason the builder of our house did not install a single ceiling fan! I am a little afraid to see our first energy bill, though we keep the A/C on 73 and I am pretty proud of that because I would prefer 68! We keep all the blinds completely closed all day which we've noticed keeps the house cooler.

@hilsy85: It's some of both. We live in a suburb so we would be driving most places anyway. But the neighborhood was built with a walking trail so we could go for walks to the playground, pool, or neighbors' houses. I still drive those very short distances! There is also a nice shopping area with a bunch of stores and restaurants (think Chick Fil A and Target) that is like a 2 minute drive and would probably be a 20 minute walk. Looking forward to trying that in the fall!

There are much more walkable neighborhoods in Austin but I don't know that I would be walking them in the summer. For example the neighborhood right by the children's museum is gorgeous and super walkable. But I still sweat pushing LO in the stroller from the parking lot...

I've grown up with it so I guess I'm used to it? We just do a lot of activities indoors during the summer or go to the pool (or set up LO's baby pool in the backyard). I think you would adjust pretty quickly. DH is from Chicago and it took him a summer to adjust but now he says he would never go back to the snow/cold!

@daniellemybelle: oh no. Ceiling fans are a MUST in the south! I remember seeing a show on HGTV once that had to have been filmed in Calgary and the sylist was all, "ceiling fans are the worst" while I sat there with ours cranked at highest speed. They really make a difference. We keep our a/c set to 78 on the hottest nights and it is perfect as long as we have our fan on.

I feel like when you live where it's super hot in the summer it's like the year basically got flipped. Up here in the north there's weeks where you basically can't spend much time outside, if at all. Days of 0 degrees, or even worse with the wind chill.

I long to live in a place where there's no snow, no disgusting sand and slush, and where we can spend time outside year round. Instead I live in Boston .

@Truth Bombs: ha. I do the same thing! From the PNW and only here in VA for a year. How quick things adjust!

We moved to Houston from Chicago last fall, and everyone has adjusted really well. You tough out August here the way you do February there - inside activities and patience. We spent so much time outside until June. We had park play dates even in February! Once the summer hit, our outside activities moved to mornings, evenings or splash pads and pools. We also spent this summer rotating between the library, indoor play spaces and museums. We also scheduled a two week vacation for half of August to beat the heat. It's really not easier or harder, imo, than the cold when it comes to kids activities and lifestyle. And I'll say, it's so much less work to do errands and grocery shopping in the heat than in the snow and ice!

@hilsy85: Southern cities are built on a/c. Many parks have deliberate shaded areas to help with the heat. There are lots of pools and splashpads. There are also a lot of indoor activities that you can do year round.

There are very walkable neighborhoods in almost every Southern city. If being in a walkable area is important to you, I'm sure you can find something that meets your needs.

I live in southern Louisiana. Something else to think about is the humidity. To me that's what makes it worse!

As everyone says, you do get used to it. I find Late July to August to be the most unbearable. We don't play outside as much those days. There are lots of indoor activities like bouncy places, indoor trampoline parks, play facilities, mall areas, etc.
The south may get a bad rap for lots of reasons but it does have some nice perks!

@regberadaisy: whenever I visit northern cities I wonder what the rush is! I can't speak for all the south, but I know that in New Orleans we tend to do things slower because we are soaking up every bit of life

@Mamasig: @daniellemybelle: I would freeze in your houses!! Haha. My husband runs hot and even he won't let it dip below 76. He hates seeing high electric bills, though. lol