Tom Brady is still associated with New England after playing for the Patriots for nearly two decades. The snowy weather there prepared the quarterback for all weather conditions. But Brady wasn’t always used to the cold. The California native grew up in San Mateo south of San Francisco. The first time Brady got a taste of snow was in college when he spent four years at the University of Michigan — and he didn’t even bring a winter coat.

Tom Brady’s childhood in the Bay Area

Brady was a guest on an episode of Dax Shepard’s Armchair Expert podcast early in the NFL season. He spent part of the chat discussing his early life. The QB described himself as being “a little bit soft” while growing up around three sisters in the Golden State.

One reason Brady chose to attend Michigan was that it was far from his home. He wanted to become more independent so he “needed to go away from home” and “needed to grow up” because he was a “California kid.”

Brady’s big move to Michigan

After high school, he moved to Ann Arbor. Since Brady grew up in the Bay Area, he was used to only needing a light jacket in the winter. Needless to say, he wasn’t prepared for living in the Midwest. He told Shepard that he felt completely out of his “comfort zone.” Brady even admitted that when he got to Michigan he “didn’t even own a winter coat.”

Brady recalled that his roommate gave him his first jacket. And Brady wondered what he needed it for. When January came, and the temperature fell into the teens, Brady’s reaction was “f*ck this.” He says Californians think the weather is good every day, without much rain and low humidity. You can take advantage of outdoor activities and, according to Brady, “Your whole world existed in California.” Then he got to Michigan for school. He said, “You have like four months of good weather.”

Brady’s big move to Tampa

Brady’s most recent big move was from Foxboro to Tampa after he signed with the Buccaneers in free agency over the offseason. Brady and his family — which includes his three children, aged 7, 10, and 13 — have been down there for much of the year. So far, he’s enjoying it.

The QB says they eat outside often. The temperature is often around 85 degrees when they do — and that’s how Brady wants it to remain. He says he “like[s] it hot every day now” and he’s “never going back to cold weather” because he “did 25 years of it.” Brady’s kids don’t feel the same way, though. They’re used to Boston weather; his two younger kids were born there even. They’re not as enamored with the warm weather in Florida.

He shared a story with Shepard about his daughter asking him what they’ll do for Christmas and if there is Halloween in Tampa. When the family eats outside in the warm weather, she doesn’t join them, preferring to stay inside. Brady said, “She’s like, ‘Daddy, I do not like it this hot all of the time.'” But if her father does like the warm weather, she should get used to it. She’ll have to put up with it at least until she goes to college.