Still harsh winters in that part of the world

So ? A home with a fireplace and a stocked pantry.. My view of the cold is that you can always put on more clothing . When it gets hot ;there is only so many you can take off.

Obviously you haven't heard of air con and swimming pools, what I find is I can't get warm even in a heated house, you reach that stage right now it is cold and this is only autumn and we haven't seen a frost yet