sammyg

No clothes and spray them with water to cool them down every now and again -they love it!!!

spartacus

I DO I DO!!

Burbage

We don't have summer. We have a wet season, which is essentially our winter. In effect the time of year when you don't want to be doing too much outside.

Broad Shoulders

With newborns at that time of the year we used to just put a nappy on them, with a singlet then wrap them in a muslin wrap.

DadAgain

Theres no doubt that summer in Brisbane can be oppressive. This will be my 12th summer and although I've gotten used to them I still have days where I swear at myself for living in such a stupid climate! I'll agree the last couple of years have been pretty tame, but some of my first years were intense. 43C a couple of years back may have been hot (like standing in front of a fan-forced oven)- but its the weeks of 37C and high hummidity that get you, not the freak high-temp spikes that are usualy accompanied by dry westerly winds.

Overall it can be managed though by following a few simple rules:

1) Dont do ANYTHING energetic in daylight between November and March. If you need to get 1km down the road DRIVE, or take a bus. Dont walk (particularly if there are any hills involved)

2) If you need to shop - go to a 'proper' indoor mall (Chermside, Indro', Carindale etc etc ) - stay away from CBD where you have to walk outside from time to time.

3) Got to the cinema! Sitting still for a few hours in pleasant coolness can be a great way to unwind.

4) Dont be afraid to sleep with air-con on. If your house or unit is a hot one, leaving the air-con ticking over all night will keep you sane. Yes it might cost you a bit (our electricity bill is usualy about $300-400 more for the summer qtr than any other) - but $400 a year extra to guarantee sleep is well worth it!

5) Enjoy the storms! Brisbane has some fantastic afternoon storms. Watching the radar on the BOM website and feeling the relief as the days storm rolls over and clears the air is one of lifes joys. The lightening and hail shows can be some of the most genuinely awesome displays you'll see. Strolling around just after a storm while the air is still cool and watching the ground steam is great. Exciting stuff and I never tire of it.

Broad Shoulders

....alternatively move to a suburb near the sea where you get beautiful sea breezes, like Redcliffe or Bayside

The Crow

The mozzies here even bite through my jeans - can't believe it

Broad Shoulders

I think your body adapts. When I first arrived I made the mistake of playing tennis in the bush at night. It was floodlit, but because we were the only light in a 20km radius we used ot get all the bugs swarming towards us. Anyway I didn't bother putting on the repellent as I couldn't stand the smell of it. I got completely devoured. I had one particular bite on my calf that was litterally the size of my calf muscle and looked more like a massive welt. It was really painful and meant I couldn't walk on it for about a week.
For the first 5 years the mozzies loved me, but it seems these days they just leave me alone. Either that or my body has learned not to react to it.

DadAgain

and spend *how many* hours a week crammed on public transport crawling into the city? no thanks!

Insinc

I not not getting a great impression of Brisbane here.

My OH is having an interview for a job that will bring us there if he is offered the position. I'll have to start trolling threads to find out where is better to live, what is a must have (like AC & fans) what to avoid...oh crap

For anyone who's lived in Perth & is now in Brissie, in your opinion is it better or worse for climate?

The Crow

I live in hope then

spartacus

. . . and the place is wick with mossies and midgies eminating from the mangrove swamps the locals call 'beaches' . . .

Broad Shoulders

I wouldn't know, don't catch public transport. I drive in, which generally takes me 45mins in and an hour home.

ChocolateBabz

"Whilst summer maximum average temperates generally linger around 30C, the summer months have some extremely hot days. Sunscreen, hats and protective clothing is essential in Brisbane throughout summer and is highly advised throughout the year.."

If the above is true when it does get hot sit back and repeat 'At least I'm not in Houston', 'At least I'm not in Houston'. Seriously I don't remember a day below 35C since the beginning of June and it probably won't let up until the end of September ! My grass in now a lovely shade I like to call 'urine yellow' and I drive my car to the mailbox rather than coming back looking as though I just walked through a car wash.

Saying that tonight's low should be around 23C so I might go out and howl at the moon or something.

My sympathies are with you !

Broad Shoulders

haha. Yeah I must admit, those swampy mangroves get me too. I mean, who would want to live here?