The dataset I used was from 1 January 2001 to 1 January 2010 (sample). This was an easy dataset to work with as it is available in .csv format, and contains detailed daily data.

Unfortunately it doesn’t have Malta or Panama, so I will have to assess those separetely. I left Brazil assessment to a later date as I haven’t looked at which city would be most suitable candidate, yet.

The first metric I’m looking at is how cold it gets. I’m not overly concerned about outliers or degree of coldness. To build my Climate Ranking I started with the number of days each city has its minimum temperature lower than 5 degrees Centigrade, and maximum temperature below 15. This captures those days where the nights are frigid, and there isn’t even a reasonable daytime temperature to compensate for it.

Below results. It shows six cities on my shortlist, ranked by the number of cold days in a year in the past nine or so years.

Hong Kong is the clear winner with just over a week’s worth of cold days in a year. I was surprised to find that Madrid has almost five months of cold by this criteria. Then again, that’s little compared to Helsinki with two thirds of the year in miserable cold.

In the following posts I will compare Heat Index, inclement weather and Perfect Days, and finally put it all together in the final Climate Index.

• Madrid, Spain - my parents live in Spain and living in Madrid would enable me to visit them more. Although I’ve been to pretty much everywhere in Spain, I’ve never visited Madrid, something which I’ll fix this New Year as I’m taking my parents there for a long weekend. My current employer has an office there which would make moving much easier. Very pleasant people.
• Hong Kong – lived there in 1999, visited again in 2008 – still love the city. Nice people, cosmopolitan city. Faaaar away.
• Paris, France - Absolutely love the city and the French people.

Wildcards

• Montpellier, France - Employer has an office there, never visited the city, heard it’s… sleepy. Not necessarily a bad thing, but would need a visit to see just how sleepy.
• Brazil – up and coming nation, I like the few Brazilians I know. Climate should be agreeable. Never visited, don’t know enough about the country or its cities yet.
• Malta - supposedly best climate in the world, and I imagine finding a job in corporate finance would be a challenge – that’s pretty much all I know unless watching Bogart movies counts…
• Panama - should have better job opportunities in my field than many other places, supposed to be great climate. Visiting the region in the fall.
• Helsinki, Finland - going back to Finland is always an option, even with the crippling climate and absurd taxation.

Below the fold you’ll find some background information on me, and what you’ll find on these pages in the future.

I was born in 1975 in a small town in central Finland. Travelling has always been one of my big passions. I moved out of Finland in 1997, and have been on the road for most of the years since. I’ve lived in 5 countries (USA, Hong Kong, Kosovo and the Netherlands) and visited well over 30, some of which don’t even exist anymore due to geopolitical upheavals. I currently live and work in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

I have a Bachelors degree in Economics & Business from one of the top American educational institutions, and studied for my Masters in Finance & Economics in Holland. I currently work in corporate finance as a finance manager for a Fortune 50 company, and enjoy its trappings and spoils. I have background in the military as well. On my free time I watch movies, read non-fiction, lift weights, play games on my PS3, do travel photography and some occasional fiction writing. And I travel: next up is Hong Kong and Beijing in early August to see the Olympic Games and the Opening Ceremony!

While I like living in Amsterdam, I’m looking for something better. People often ask me what’s the best place I’ve ever visited – more on that at a later date -, and that has left a nagging feeling: why am I not living there, or somewhere even better? Somewhere with an agreeable climate and people, good career opportunities, pretty ladies and good prospects for building a family.

I have set a goal for myself to find a place to settle in permanently by the end of 2012. I welcome you to help me on that endeavor, or just to enjoy the ride!