Where to live?

[Wheezy123]

My asthma is so serious I'm considering moving where I live. My triggers are mould, damp, cold. I live in Gillingham Dorset. Anyone else moved due to asthma with same triggers and if yes, where to?

[emmasue]

St Osyth, Essex claims to be the driest place in Britain. However, your best bet is probably to move abroad. Find somewhere with low humidity. I wonder if Australia would be good? I too struggle with damp weather. I grew up in Pennsylvania and it was very hot and humid there. They also had ragweed, of which I am deathly allergic. At least here in England there is no ragweed. The damp doesn't help though. I thought about New Mexico or Arizona, but apparently ragweed has got there as well. I wonder if they have ragweed in Australia!

[Hidden in reply to emmasue]

Australia has different allergens (different plant species etc) so it would be an unknown quantity.. I was always told that it was not a particularly good place for asthmatics. I do have an asthmatic friend who moved there four years ago; he reported that his asthma was about the same as it always had been. He moved to the east coast area - north of Sydney.

[emmasue in reply to Hidden]

When I came to England from America, things improved for the first 10 years. After that, my symptoms got worse again. I don't get as ill in August anymore (ragweed), so at least I don't have that! I guess it doesn't matter where you go, there will always be allergens.

[mrolyver in reply to Hidden]

I lived in Sydney, Australia (Hills District area) for 3 years and I actually believed I was miraculously healed from asthma while I lived there because I was healthier than ever before. Keep in mind I am a Brazilian, who lived in India and now live in London, and always struggled with allergies, sneezing and wheezing in all these latter countries, but Australia had an overall clean environment and balanced weather that I don't remember even having a flu more than two times in 3 years there. I wonder if there are places in the UK or in Europe like that???

[Hidden in reply to mrolyver]

I suspect it depends on what your triggers are:-). You were fine in Sydney, this friend of mine has yet to notice much difference living where he is to the north of that city (he’s lived there for three and a half years now). Obviously the climate and conditions suited you well, but that isn’t going to be the case for everyone. Also bear in mind that Australia is a vast country (most of the continent of Europe would fit inside it) and there will some climatic variation depending on where you are. I’ve never stayed in Australia, though I have been to New Zealand (admittedly only for a few weeks). I didn’t notice any real change in my asthma whilst I was there. Granted it didn’t get any worse, but it wasn’t markedly better either.

You mention Europe. The Alpine region of Switzerland is renowned for the quality of its air and the Alps in general have a reputation for convalescing that goes back over a hundred years. I went to the French Alps (not far from the Swiss border) a couple of days after being discharged from hospital where I’d ended up for five days with pneumonia aggravated asthma. It was quite by chance that we were booked to go skiing just one week after I was admitted to hospital. The junior doctors were, I think, astonished when my consultant said ‘yes’ when I asked if I could still go (turned out he was a keen skier himself) but he obviously thought it was a brilliant place to go. The one proviso was that I should take things carefully and not do much skiing for the first couple of days (unlikely anyway, I was a novice skier). We were only booked to go for one week. I went out looking (I was later told) very pale, and generally rather fragile, and came back fully fit and glowing with health:-).

[Hidden]

Hi I don't think you will find anywhere in Britain where there is no mould, damp or cold! I live by the seaside (I didn't move there for my health) but find my asthma hasn't got any worse since I have lived here (20 years). Maybe the seaside is healthier? x

[Jokir007]

Hi I was once told it was better for Asthmstic to live at the coast it was better for them not so sure how true this is?

I too have been contemplating a move, but wasn't so sure where - had considered Dorset being a coast line 🤔 Food for thought now!

[O-T-]

High there, I moved simply to a better flat (downsized but it had hard floors)and found as a consequence my breathing improved greatly (after a few months and a new air purifier). I had struggled for years in bad flats to the point of total apathy and eventually moved for other reasons than asthma. It is too easy to rely soly on meds and feel we have to push on otherwise as though we haven't got differing needs to non-asthmatics. I read in someone's biography (Zappa or Schoenberg) that in the US a move yo a different climate zone made a difference.

It probably matters more what lifestyle you live and the environments you occupy most often than where in the country you live - some nice places have bad pollution levels along particular streets - I think there's a database on it.

That being said, I would also be interested to know if there are better or worse locales for asthma sufferers, thanks for the post.

[Rachel-M]

I've been considering a move too. Bristol area is not good for asthma. I aways do better by the coast. I'd been considering Dorset too. Used to live in Canada and terribly allergic to ragweed. My specialist there advised moving to Texas - warm, dry heat. There is probably something in this idea as I always find my asthma is much better abroad in hot places.

[bowbelle]

Apparently ragweed is present in Europe and expected to spread here. I am moving out of London - rental prices and pollution being the two main reasons. Going to Southend.

[starveycat]

I read somewhere that it's better not to live in a valley as the air does stagnates as when on a hill the wind blows the stale air away just a thought 😊

[Hidden in reply to starveycat]

I've heard (and experienced) that too. My understanding is that that is one of the reasons why living in the Bath valley is often so bad for asthmatics.

I was also bad when I lived in Bristol. The best I've ever been was in the south east. I didn't live on the coast but I did live within ten miles of it.

[KaylaP in reply to starveycat]

My hospital specialist is always telling me that moving to the vale of York was not the best idea (and it did correspond to worsening of my asthma). I did live in East Anglia before and was surrounded by pollen allergens which was not good either.

[risabel59]

It's a good topic, I was told by one consultant to move to a desert island!! If I wanted my asthma to improve. Lols 😂. Not exactly possible with two small kids. However now kids are grown we are going to do some long sailing trips and I am always much better at sea. As long as don't pick up a virus.

[mrolyver]

I lived in Sydney, Australia (Hills District area) for 3 years and I actually believed I was miraculously healed from asthma while I lived there because I was healthier than ever before. Keep in mind I am a Brazilian, who lived in India and now live in London, and always struggled with allergies, sneezing and wheezing in all these latter countries, but Australia had an overall clean environment and balanced weather that I don't remember even having a flu more than two times in 3 years there. I wonder if there are places in the UK or in Europe like that???

[Paradigm]

Oxford is not a good place to live - the nurse I had there told me it was notoriously bad for allergies/asthma. I moved up to Edinburgh, Scotland right on the beach and found my hayfever is almost non-existant. My asthma seems worse though and has been attributed to the move (but then, previously I've not been to appointments when things are bad so who knows).

[FurryBonbons]

I moved from the city void of asthma symptoms to a semi rural town in a valley in Yorkshire, then seemed to develop asthma after a few years. Have to regularly use an inhaler and my airways always feel stuffy and blocked. I was told that living in a valley, the air can't circulate so it's really bad for anyone with airway issues. I think it could be not being used to the native crops. Am moving out of the valley thankfully. I also noticed that whenever I holiday away from here I don't need the inhaler especially near the coast, as the air always feels clear. Yes mould is a steer clear, keep rooms dry where possible, use a dehumidifier which will help keep microorganisms and mould down.