I run cold.
If I’m in a room with a lot of people and I’m comfortable, I assume that the majority of the people in the room are somewhere between a bit warm and uncomfortably warm.
This is part of why living in Phoenix is a good choice for me (though the ridiculous amount of air conditioning in public spaces in the summer is an argument against).
Some people run hot.
We’re just different. It’s OK.
I have one or two friends whose temperature comfort zones do not overlap with mine at all. I have quite a few friends whose comfort zones do overlap, but not by a lot.
But the argument I hate is “Well, when you’re cold, you can always put on more clothes. You can’t keep taking clothes off when you’re hot.”
The implication is that by adding a potentially infinite layer of clothes, I would no longer be cold.
Except I don’t buy shoes in multiple sizes to accommodate a variety of layers of socks.
Even with careful planning, I don’t think I could get more than three layers on my legs (stockings or tights under leggings under pants). There have been a few occasions where three layers was insufficient.
More tops than that would be possible, but there are limits.
In all of the above scenarios, the under-layers are the ones that would need to be added for cold (and then eliminated when the ambient temp is warmer), which requires a bathroom or other private space to change and time to do it.
I don’t carry unlimited layers with me in order to be prepared for every temperature occasion. I don’t even carry with me limited but versatile layers. I bring a sweater. (I also keep a sweater and a sweatshirt in the trunk of my car.)
Even if I had a pack animal with me to carry everything I’d need to be prepared for all temperature occasions (would that be considered a service animal? Restaurants and airplanes are some of the worst…), this doesn’t take into consideration parts of the body that aren’t typically covered by clothes: hands, neck, face, ears.
If I’m going to be outside in a cold place, I can prepare for those things, and I can cover them. And I do. (But only if I know or suspect it’s going to be cold. No cold-weather pack animal means sometimes it’s colder than I expected and I’m unprepared.)
But I don’t bring hats and mittens to meetings at work. Or to restaurants. Or to bed. Unless I’m camping.
I do wear scarves sometimes, even if I don’t need a jacket. My neck gets cold. If you’re a knitter or crocheter and want to make a scarf, I’ll happily be a recipient. My current one is a lovely long, thin purple one. Perfect for chilly-but-not-freezing, and made from yarn that doesn’t scream “it’s snowing!” which is nice for both indoors and out. I like to fold it in half and put the loose ends through the loop.
But even if I’m wearing all of those things, my nose is cold.
Outdoors, I can cover it with a scarf. Indoors…?
I’ve seen ads for some little nose cover thing. I can’t imagine very many scenarios when I would want to wear one of those. They look ridiculous, even for me.
OK, all that said, I understand that it sucks to be hot, especially in dress clothes. Even as one who runs cold, there are times that I’m hot. (Summer temps here are always over 115. That’s hot. And as a traveling teacher, I get in my car that’s been baking in the sun multiple times a day. No shortage of hot.) And I’m OK with wearing an extra layer (ONE extra layer) indoors to accommodate people who run hot.
I’m not saying that being cold is worse than being hot. I’m just saying that “just put more clothes on” argument is stupid.
</rant>