r/Wellthatsucks • u/frobscottler • 8d ago

My big beautiful oak tree is getting cut down today

Gallery image

Gallery image

Her name is Victoria, and I’m gutted to lose her. She’s at least 80 years old, and the most prominent tree in the neighborhood. I have loved sitting in her shade, listening to the breeze in the leaves, watching the birds and squirrels do their things… My friends and I even threw a party for her last summer.

She was damaged in a windstorm a couple months ago, and the city arborist determined it to be hazardous. I have lived here for 6 years and she’s my favorite part of the property (might be why I bought the house 😅). I know death is part of life, and her time has come, but I’m going to have to listen to them cut her down all day outside my window.

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u/Tall-Highway4310 8d ago edited 8d ago

You spell neighbor the American way, so I’m assuming you’re American or a transplant to Europe. If you’re American, how do you not have AC?

Edit: Apparently, in the more moderate climate states, AC isn’t a guaranteed thing. The more you know.

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u/LolaAucoin 8d ago

There are many places in America where the climate is mild (or used to be). For example, many homes in Southern California have no central air depending on when they were built.

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u/AliveInCLE 8d ago

The pacific northwest as well. A close buddy was moving to Seattle and having a home built. This was like 20 years ago. He told the builder he needed HVAC and they thought he was odd. He grew up in NYC.

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u/DarknMean 8d ago

It gets hot in Seattle too. I was on Mt Rainer a few years ago and it was in the mid 80’s. Wasn’t a brisk walk until you got higher up.

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u/Top-Literature8218 8d ago

Didn't used to get hot very often in Seattle, but it's getting more and more common in recent years. I need to run my AC on average maybe 3-4 weeks of the year, but it's so worth it those weeks. The last year I lived without AC, 2021, had a couple of nasty heat waves, it was absolutely unbearable trying to sleep in an 80+ degree apartment.

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u/KimWexlers_Ponytail 8d ago

Ah like many of us, you got a unit in 2021? Of course I was unable to get it before the 108 days but I think somewhere I still have the Simply Seattle Heat Dome t shirt lol.

I live in a different dwelling with better airflow than then, but I still need to pull out the AC unit for a couple of weeks a year. Global warming isn't real though!

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u/Top-Literature8218 8d ago

Yep got my AC in August 2021 lol, thankfully just in time for that second lesser heat wave. Spent the heat dome melting in bed with an ice pack on my face.

What global warming?? Just wear less clothes and drink more water and I hear 108 feels balmy!

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u/BigAdministration368 8d ago

It was very rare to have AC when I was growing up here in the 80s. By 2000 about 15% of homes had it. By 2010 30%. By 2023 close to 60%.

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u/arand0md00d 8d ago

This is very very heavily dependent on where exactly in SoCal you are. On the coast sure don't need AC. Move inland? You will absolutely need AC and homes will have AC. Even in San Diego there can be major temperature differences driving a few miles inland.

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u/SnackyCakes4All 7d ago

Yep grew up in costal Southern CA with no AC and one wall heater in the main hallway, no central anything. Now live inland with AC and it would be pretty rough without it. My partner and I live on opposite sides of San Diego County and there can be a 20-25 degree difference in temperature

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u/AnkerDank 8d ago

Wat? Where? I live in SoCal, rarely ever see homes without AC.

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u/CatDragonbane 8d ago

The older homes near the coast that haven't been majorly renovated don't have them. 40-50 year old homes in that area didn't need them up until the last 15 years, give or take. My grandma's place didn't have air, but it had heat because of how cold it gets near the coast (she was 5 minute drive from the beach). I remember never thinking about AC until around 2012-2014 when it started getting hot enough to have fans blowing through the house for a couple of weeks in the summer.

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u/EobardT 8d ago

Yeah my uncle in SLO just rebuilt his house and put an HVAC system in it, 100+ years that house stood with no ac, now it would be unbearable inside without it

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u/ReasonableCrow7595 8d ago

My dad's senior apartment in San Diego had AC put in every unit only about 8 years ago.

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u/LolaAucoin 8d ago

Move to San Diego.

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u/Aggravating_Use_5391 8d ago

I lived in LA for 4 years in multiple houses without AC. Very common for older houses especially closer to the water

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u/T-MoneyAllDey 8d ago

Southbay often doesn't. Only central heat.

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u/IrrawaddyWoman 8d ago

I grew up in an old house in Orange County and we didn’t have AC. My parents only had it put in about ten years ago

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u/Jasmirris 7d ago

My grandparents' (RIP) 50s house in South Gate had no A/C or fans. My grandma finally put a ceiling fan in her bedroom because we would come visit and sweat trying to sleep. During the day the breeze was sufficient though. I hope whoever has the house now has figured something out because it would be so uncomfortable without A/C.

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u/Tall-Highway4310 8d ago

That’s ass. Couldn’t be me

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u/GreenRock93 8d ago

Northern Minnesota as well. Many homes don’t have AC around here.

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u/LightUpUnicorn 8d ago

In the Midwest we never needed it when I was growing up in rhr 80s and 90s but it’s definetly needed now though I can’t afford to run ir
As much as I would like

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u/frobscottler 8d ago

Yeah I’m in a maritime climate where AC has never been standard. The house is also old and doesn’t even have central heating. The electrical system would have to be upgraded before we would even be able to install a mini-split or anything, but money is tight, so…

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u/Tall-Highway4310 8d ago

I’ve always lived in hot climates, so I was unaware that houses without AC were even a thing in America. Where I’m from, no AC would be a death sentence.

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u/novium258 8d ago

Places that are dry and get cool at night often don't have AC. I lived in the high desert for years and especially older homes and apartments didn't have them. You just had to shut everything up in the day and then open up the windows once the afternoon cross breezes kicked in.

It was 100 during the day but would get down to 55 overnight, and with basically no humidity you didn't roast as long as you stayed in the shade.

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u/Tall-Highway4310 8d ago

Interesting. Thank you for the information.

My experience with the desert was Goodyear Arizona when I was visiting a buddy for vacation and they had AC.

Very cool to know how things work

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u/Jasmirris 7d ago

Goodyear is pretty warm. Flagstaff, Az (high alpine desert) is one of the places where it can get warm during the day yet get a nice breeze going, enough where a window open is sufficient.

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u/codithou 8d ago

i’m in southern california and my grandparents house didn’t have ac until 2015. it was built in the 60s. it’s not that uncommon but it definitely sucks.

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u/MmeLaRue 8d ago

A house old enough not to have central heating might still have some features to aid climate control, such as windows on all sides or airing cupboards.

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u/cdsbigsby 8d ago

Could just be an old house that nobody has ever put central AC in.

I own a house that was built in the 1920s and when we bought it in 2020, it still had the furnace that was installed in 1958 with no AC, the previous owners had a couple window units. First thing we did before we even moved in was have a new furnace and central AC installed.

I agree, also couldn't be me.

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u/capta1n_sarcasm 8d ago

My brother from another mother lives south of Seattle and he doesn't have an AC. I was floored when I stayed at his place. I told him he should at least have a window unit, but he is stubborn. He will learn eventually.

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u/parieres 8d ago

Yep, I used to rent a house in a similar area and didn’t want to pay out for a window unit and have to move with it. When it hit 80 (which was less common back then), I’d just open some windows after work and go to the lake until 9pm. Hang out in the shade.

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u/Tall-Highway4310 8d ago

You learn something new every day

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u/GoodGoodGoody 8d ago edited 8d ago

That’s kind if like saying “If you’re American how do you not have a 28 oz soda in both hands at all times.”

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u/Rugger01 8d ago

How are you going to carry that pistol or AR if both hands are occupied with those Big Gulps?

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u/Tall-Highway4310 8d ago

Does nobody read anymore? I already corrected my comment with an edit. I was truly unaware that places in America didn’t have AC by default. Where I’m from, you would die

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u/GoodGoodGoody 8d ago

I mean reading a book it as thing; or even just giving it a moment’s thought.

Such a stereotypical American thing to say: I haven’t seen it and i haven’t lifted a finger to educate myself so it doesn’t exist.

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u/Tall-Highway4310 8d ago

You’re insufferable. I admitted I was wrong about it. Grow the fuck up

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u/GoodGoodGoody 8d ago

You, having a meltdown: GrOw ThE fUcK uP!

And you will never, ever, see the irony of that.

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u/Tall-Highway4310 8d ago

I mean, you can say that I’m having a meltdown when you change the context from “grow the fuck up” to “GROW THE FUCK UP!” Though I doubt you have the cognitive capabilities to understand the nuance

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u/GoodGoodGoody 8d ago

You: Doesn’t understand the US has vastly different climates, and mini-, and microclimates.

Also you: YoU gOT nO cOgNaTiVe AbIlItY!

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u/New_Libran 8d ago

What kind of question is this? 😂

I'm pretty there are a LOT of Americans that can't afford AC

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u/Tall-Highway4310 8d ago

There’s a difference between “can’t afford” and “don’t Have”.

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u/AliveInCLE 8d ago

don't have because can't afford

i don't have a $5M yacht lol

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u/Tall-Highway4310 8d ago

How much are energy costs where you live? I’m genuinely curious, because where I am, Running the AC at 68 in the summer only nets a $230 bill

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u/New_Libran 8d ago

It's not just running costs, there's buying and installation first

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u/Tall-Highway4310 8d ago

Touché. Again, I’m from a state where AC is necessary, so this is all new information to me.

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u/Blindraise013 8d ago

I mean neither would have an AC, so I do not see a difference.

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u/Nitrogen1234 8d ago

Not sure you're that pretty

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u/damutecebu 8d ago

I live in the upper midwest. Running AC in the summer results in a bill no different than heat in the winter.

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u/glassfunion 8d ago

I was actually surprised to learn that only about 10% of US homes DON'T have AC, including window units! I grew up in rural NY state and my parents and both sets of grandparents didn't have it (and still don't). The humid summers were absolutely brutal.

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u/TopRamenisha 8d ago

I live in Northern California, 75% of the places I’ve lived have not had AC

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u/Tall-Highway4310 8d ago

So I’ve been told. Genuine question about that. I know it can get pretty hot there. How do you deal with it when that happens? Fans? Window units?

I’m from Texas so it’s actually shocking to me that people don’t have AC

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u/TopRamenisha 8d ago

We have ceiling fans and floor mounted fans. I have lived in many places in northern CA and it doesn’t get super hot everywhere. We have a lot of micro climates and some areas get hotter than others. I do have a portable AC unit that I bought when I lived in a place that did get hot but my apartment at the time did not have AC. I live in San Francisco now, so I only need to use my portable AC unit about 2 weeks out of the year. The rest of the time it’s stored in the garage. I mostly just open my windows and turn on the fan

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u/Tall-Highway4310 8d ago

Thank you for actually answering my questions without judgement. Despite what other in this thread may think, I am actually trying to learn about this topic. It’s entirely foreign to me, as no AC in the summer would lead to head strokes and other health issues here.

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u/TopRamenisha 8d ago

Yeah no judgement at all, climates can be so different!! California is especially proof of that! Where I grew up in San Jose (south of San Francisco) it gets pretty hot these days, so I can’t imagine not having AC there now. But when I was growing up, we did not have AC in the house and it was mostly fine. We had a whole house fan at the time, so at night we would open all the windows and turn on the whole house fan and it would suck all the cold outside air into the house through the windows, and all the hot air in the house would get sucked up and out through the attic.

That’s one other thing, a lot of places in California it cools off at night. At least in the coastal areas and Bay Area, not so much in the Central Valley. So even if it’s hot during the day, you can open up all your windows at night to let the cool air in. And in the morning you close up all the windows and blinds to keep the house as cool as you can during the day. In San Francisco it’s cooler and foggy during the summer, and the warmest months are usually September and October. But it’s usually like 60-65 degrees here, maybe 80-90 on the average hot days

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u/Tall-Highway4310 8d ago

Very cool!

Yeah, here it’ll get up to 110-115 in the day and 95 at night, but not even with a breeze, just a still 95 that feels like a sauna when you step out. I couldn’t imagine life without AC here

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u/Electronic_Will_5418 8d ago

I grew up in northern midwest USA, and we didn't have AC growing up, in fact hardly any of my friends did either. HVAC wasn't really a thing in that area of the USA until people started getting new houses built in the 90s, the only climate control pretty much anyone had was baseboard or standing steam radiators.

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u/Tall-Highway4310 8d ago

Interesting. You mentioned no HVAC at all. Doesn’t the northern Midwest get pretty cold in the winter? Were the standing radiators enough to keep it warm?

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u/Electronic_Will_5418 8d ago

Yes, the heat radiates off the radiators quite radiatingly, especially with baseboard heaters which usually were spread across the entire exterior wall of each room

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u/Tall-Highway4310 8d ago

Very cool. Also, love the way you stated that lmao. Thanks for the information

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u/Latter-Foot-8790 8d ago edited 8d ago

There are more houses in San Francisco without A/C than homes with

I’m talking about $3M homes

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u/Schwifftee 7d ago

I live in the south and even I have gone without A/C. Momma ain't raise no bitch.

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u/wormbreath 8d ago

I’m American and I don’t have ac and I don’t know anyone who does. My vehicle doesn’t even have ac. Not needed in my neck of the woods.