<p>Shorts are lovely to wear when the house is too hot. We used to have a wood burning stove and it would easily get to 80+ in the house.</p>
<p>However, i can understand what their going through. I went from florida to montana and i froze my butt off that first winter. Grandma forced us to keep it at 62 and no amount of clothes helped.</p>
<p>If you’re paying for your own heat, that’s really wasteful of both resources and money (and I’d be ****ed about the money). My parents are similar to yours, though; we generally kept the heat at 62 during the day. I don’t have a lot of patience for people who have to crank the heat and wear shorts all winter. I think it’s very reasonable to suggest that they try wearing long pants, a sweater, and slippers and see how they feel then. I’m not saying people should freeze, but one does not need to be able to wear shorts all through the winter.</p>
<p>barrons must be in an area very much unalike where I live, in the land of the highest electric/gas rates in the country. 60 in the house at night and no more than 65 during the day. One of my sons goes to school in a very cold part of the country and he is having this same “war” with his roommate. Roommate cranks the radiator heat way up high and when he leaves the room, my son turns all the heat off and opens the windows if need be.</p>
<p>You have been well-advised to compromise. I wouldn’t expect them to agree to 64, but 68 or so seems like a normal, warm temp to me. Good luck! You are not alone in this!</p>
<p>I agree this is a big issue… I like it cooler as well, perhaps in the mid 60s. If I get too cold then I use a blanket on the couch or on my computer or in bed.</p>
<p>Turning the temperature up at night makes no sense to me…</p>
<p>"Turning the temperature up at night makes no sense to me… "</p>
<p>No, that’s when you pile the blankets on. 
And this shows how everyone has different frames of reference. I grew up in New England I like sleeping with four blankets.</p>
<p>It is legitimately a money issue, though, given the cost of heat. I wouldn’t be paying one quarter of that heating bill.</p>
<p>
I agree with that.
You only have a few options - </p>
<ul>
<li>Convince them to compromise to something all of you can live with. You say you’ve tried this and it hasn’t worked.</li>
<li>You haven’t said how the sleeping arrangements are. If you can manage to have your own room then you can block off the heater in it and open a window. Since this is an obvious solution you probably are sharing a room. See if you can rearrange so you can have your own room if your apt allows it.</li>
<li>Convince them to use electric blankets when sleeping and a space heater when sitting at their desk for localized heat without heating up the whole place.</li>
<li>Finally, get more compatible roomies but make sure you discuss this point before committing to them.</li>
</ul>
<p>I don’t know where your roomies are from but I’ve noticed that some Asian countries in particular overheat rooms like crazy and a lot of the people seem to always be cold if it’s much less that 80 or so.</p>
<p>No No NOOOOO… This advice is all wrong! It is unhealthy to live and sleep in temperatures above 66 degrees. This invites bacterial growth, and is just plain stifling. The ‘cold’ roommates can put on more layers, electric blankets, etc. Turn the damn heat down!!</p>
<p>Edited to Add: This is even worse than my classic rock/alternative music roommate dilemma of the 80’s. (…almost)</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I say 58 degrees is an unreasonable temp. However, your roomies should be willing to compromise enough to wear, say, sweatpants, socks and houseshoes around the house.</p>
<p>And I wear socks to bed in the winter. What’s wrong with that?!</p>
<p>If this is the first, second, or heck even third winter that the tropical people have dealt with they are still on a learning curve. Worse yet (from their perspective) they are living with a “native” whose lifestyle is quite different from theirs. In their minds wearing shorts and flip-flops all year at home is what is normal. Bundling up to go out of the house, or even to cope with campus life in a strange, cold place is one thing, but inside one’s own home, one expects to live the way that is “normal”. Much as they are probably cooking food that resembles what they ate in their home country, speaking their native language, and generally doing their best to replicate a semblance of “normality” in this new location. Just as anongrad is trying to replicate a semblance of his/her own personal “normality” by cranking down the heat.</p>
<p>How long until winter is over in your parts anongrad? Can you deal with the tropical temps in your house until then, or do you need to find a new place to live NOW? I know that shorts and flip-flops are weird for you in February, but if you put yourself into a beach-side mentality you may be able to survive until spring.</p>
<p>It seems to me that the roommates already compromised, and there are two of them and one of you. That’s kind of the bottom line, I think. I suppose you could ask them to pay more toward the heating costs, but that probably won’t promote friendly relations. Can you close the door to your bedroom and close the heat to that room? Other than some minor adjustments like that, it seems to me that your real choices are to just put up with it or find different living arrangements.</p>
<p>LOL Barrons.
I find it odd that they want the house warmer at night, usually that is when it is cooler in a room.
And no one is asking them to wear outdoor clothes inside, rather to wear long pants and long sleeves.
I do think the temps you like are low. So compromise is necessary, and everyone needs to make adjustments. You will have to wear lighter clothes in the apartment and use minimal blankets at night. They can wear some heavier clothes and use a heating blanket at night. </p>
<p>Do you pay for the electric bill in your apartment?</p>
<p>Having been through this with the tropical relatives, I totally get the business of wanting the temp up a bit at night. During the day when you are moving around things feel warmer, but once you are in bed and your metabolism slows you will be more sensitive to the ambient temperature. If the roomies aren’t comfortable under a pile of blankets, can’t sleep well with socks on, and feel weird with flannel sheets or heavy P.J.s they are going to want the thermostat up a bit at night. Which makes me think that a couple of space-heaters for their rooms could do the trick.</p>
<p>What’s with the pile of heavy blankets? One down comforter - light and fluffy - much better.</p>
<p>I’m totally sympathetic. We keep our house at 62. If I’m cold, I put on a sweater, like a rational person. Your roomies need to realize that they are NOT living in the tropics, and dress accordingly. They need to acquire bathrobes and comforters.</p>
<p>My S sublet a room in an apartment with a very nice guy from Thailand, and it was exactly the same deal. He kept the heat cranked up into the high 70s all the time, and wore shorts, a t shirt, and flip flops. Luckily, S had the ability to turn off the heat in his bedroom, and it was a short term deal. I suggest you find a new living situation. I’d agree to a compromise in the 66-68 range–I realize that our house at 62 is colder than most people would like–but that’s it. They are squandering natural resources and money.</p>
<p>What would the high heat defenders here say if a New Englander like me went to live in a tropical climate and insisted on wearing wool socks, long pants, and a sweater every day then demanded that the AC be turned down to 62 to accommodate me? That is precisely the equivalent of what they are doing.</p>
<p>I think those of you that like temps on the cool side are not truly understanding people that are always cold. Now, I don’t mean grad students roommates that are under-dressing. What I mean is if you have the temps in the 60’s I would still not be warm in a long sleeve shirt and a fleece sweater (that’s what I’m wearing now and our thermostat is set at 68), I would need at least one more layer and really should one be expected to layer up that much indoors? At night we have soft throws and I’ll curl up in one to watch tv (layered up) or read a book, while my husband will only have a long sleeve shirt on. At night the heat goes down to 65 and we sleep with multiple blankets including a down comforter. </p>
<p>There should be a compromise, but perhaps the most reasonable is for the heat to go down at night for sleeping. Electric blankets are great too.</p>
<p>I’m curious about those of you who think the roommates “need” to get used to colder temperatures, wear sweaters, use blankets, etc. Why do they “need” to do those things? As I mentioned above, they are in the majority, and were willing to compromise to a certain extent. Certainly, keeping the apartment warmer is a luxury, and the OP doesn’t agree with it.</p>
<p>^I think Consolation answered that in post #34. Heat costs money! I’m wearing a jacket in the house right now. No big deal.</p>
<p>Maybe the roommates have plenty of money.</p>
<p>Wearing jackets doesn’t help me, although I do it. Beyond a certain temperature, the cold sets into my fingers, which decreases their mobility. However, I find that the small ceramic heater I purchased for not much money at Home Depot keeps me comfortable without bothering anyone else. If I put it in my room for a little while before I go to bed, the room is comfortable for me when I get in with my heated mattress pad. Visitors often think that I’m a freak (which I am) for walking around with my little pet heater, but that’s ok. It works in our house where I am in the minority.</p>
<p>kathiep- I do know cold, I am always cold. I am anemic, and can’t get warm most of the time. We have made certian accomodation in my house. I have a small propane fireplace that I built into my little 8x10 office so I can close the door, crank it up, and get the temp as high as I want it without blasting my family out of the house. I have an electric blanket on the bed that has dual controls on it. I have a jacket to wear around the house that is very warm and comfortable and can be tossed in the washer. I have long sleeved things I wear under my shirts to keep me warm, and I have thick socks. I do not expect that the other people in my house would have to suffer just so I can be “comfortable”. Truthfully, I can be chilly when it is warm outside. </p>
<p>I would expect that anyone that came from a tropical climate would realize that they may have some adjustment to the temp in a cooler climate. Honestly, that is one of the reasons that my son went south and would not agree to look too far north. He wanted better weather! </p>
<p>If they do not pay for electric, then the space heater in the rooms is a good compromise. If they do pay for electric, something less expensive else would make more sense, like the electric blankets.</p>
<p>zoosermom- I have some of the microwave heat-up gloves to use to get my hands warm. They really help to get deep heat into my joints. And i have found that wearing the long sleeved UnderArmor undershirts really helps keep the heat in and me warmer. They are thin enough that they do not add a bunch of bulk like thermal underwear does.</p>