You mentioned the north-south divide within countries. That is kind of interesting because it varies so much which part is the developed and which one is the underdeveloped. E.g. the Northern part of the US is typically more developed than the Southern part. Yet in Britain the South is more economically prosperous than the North. Yet if you go back to the industrial revolution it was kind of the opposite.

In my native Norway, the South is much more developed than the North, but in Italy it is the reverse.

I guess you could say climate is mentioned in these various smalltalk conversations but it is always understood in a kind of racist way. The assumption is that northern climates produced smarter people rather than understanding that northern climates give big advantages to the people living there.

It is always taken for granted that southern climates somehow make life easier and thus if people don't have major success in southern climates it must be because they are lazy or inferior. It is somewhat bizarre given how we know through history the reason why Africa was colonized so late was because European would die like flies when they put their foot on African soil before the 1800s because there was so many tropical diseases to content with.

Parasites, tropical diseases, too hot to work, too little water. Really hot areas are not nice without modern technology to make it nice: Air condition, mosquito nets, modern medicine etc.

I complain a lot about the cold and darkness in my native Norway but I remember visiting my brother in Thailand during August once. I remember the heat was almost paralyzing. I couldn't think straight or have the energy to do almost anything. Of course I know you get more used to it. My brother was not as bothered by the temperature as me.

I still would prefer to live in a warm country, but that is only because I know modern conveniences make it nice. And I probably wouldn't want to live in the hottest areas. Spain is as far South as I am willing to go I think.