I heard a Brit say the other day it was scorching out. So I asked how hot it was, they said 25 degrees C. I laughed so hard I almost fell from my chair. Where I live it was 33 degrees at that time and had been 39 degrees earlier that week.
The problem with British heat is that it's very humid, which is a lot worse than a dry heat. I've hardly felt a dry European 40°, but anything over 27° at home (Sheffield) and I'm just flobbing about trying to cool down.
There's a small section of my brain that seems to be permanently reserved for mentally cheering whenever I stumble across someone from near where I hail from, even if I haven't lived there for many years now
The other commenter is right, but another problem is that our homes and cities are designed to trap a lot of heat in. So while it might say 25C on the weather apps, it can get up to 40C inside. Come to the UK during the summer and you will understand.
It's because you don't know how to manage it. For a short term, few hot days, the trick is to air all night and shut everything up early in the morning as soon as the temperature starts rising. Your house will trap cold just as well as warm. But British people think that open windows = colder so they mess this up every time. I lived in the UK for the last three summers, in a perfectly ordinary row house from the 70s. It was fine with normal heat management strategies that one would use in eg Germany. Yes, if a heatwave lasts a long time this strategy will start to fail, if you can't cool properly at night, but it works for at least three days of over 30°.
Nothing can convince me that northern European climate isn't the best climate for humans. It's nice to have warm summers and all but for the rest of the year I'll decide how hot I am thank you very much.
I really like having seasons. Seeing nature around you change every year is fascinating. Also there's nothing like walking home on a crisp snowy winter night. 23°C is around my upper limit for what's comfortable.
Do you mean the oceanic climate of France and England, because the ocean moderates the temperatures so winters aren't as cold and summers not as hot as the continental climates in the rest of northern europe.
Speaking as someone who grew up in a continental climate i would not say they're the best. Winters can be horrible and make you it so it's unbearable to be outside for more then 5 minutes.
In general ocean moderated climates are the best because they're much more moderate. Mediterranean climate is the best because of this.