Tom Brady Says 'You Won't Catch Me Dead Living in the Northeast' Again After Move to Tampa

Sportscaster Jim Gray Explains What Makes Family Dinners with Tom Brady & Gisele 'Comfortable'

Jim Gray’s new book Talking to Goats is available now

Tom Brady might have found his forever home in Florida!

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback told reporters on Thursday that he is "loving the warm weather" as opposed to what he endured during winters at his previous home base in Massachusetts, saying it's "a great feeling" to be playing football regularly in the South.

"It's amazing just to be at this point in the season and still be outside practicing. Today turned into a beautiful day, and I know we have a warm one coming up on Sunday," said Brady, 43, who will lead the 7-5 Buccaneers against the Minnesota Vikings this weekend in Tampa.

"I always came down to Florida late in the year," he continued of his longtime, record-breaking stint with the New England Patriots. "We always played the Dolphins, they were in our conference, and it was pretty tough to adjust to. Just being in it really prepares you for the heat, 'cause it definitely takes a toll if you're not used to it."

sports by Tampa bay Times/ Twitter

"But I've loved being outside every day," Brady added in the interview, shared by multiple outlets including the Tampa Bay Times. "I was a native Californian for a long time in my life and went away from it for about 25 years, and you won't catch me dead living in the Northeast anymore."

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

RELATED: Cam Newton Says Replacing Tom Brady as Patriots Quarterback Is the "Elephant in the Room"

Brady opened up about his family's move to Florida back in September on Dax Shepard's Armchair Expert podcast, discussing how his wife Gisele Bündchen and their children were adjusting to life at their Tampa Bay mansion, which he was renting from pal Derek Jeter.

"We came to Florida for the last five months and my daughter's like, 'Daddy, what are we gonna do for Christmas? What are we gonna do for Halloween? Is there Halloween in Tampa?' " he said of his youngest child Vivian, 8. (Brady and Bündchen, 40, are also parents to son Benjamin, 11, while the NFL star shares 13-year-old son Jack with ex Bridget Moynahan.)

"Every time we eat, we eat outside and it's like 85 degrees, [and] she won't eat outside with us. She goes inside the house," Brady explained. "She's like, 'Daddy, I do not like it this hot all the time.' "

"But for me, yeah, I like it hot every day now. I'm never going back to cold weather. I did 25 years of it," he remarked.

Matt Winkelmeyer/MG18/Getty Images Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen

RELATED VIDEO: Derek Jeter Lists $29 Million Tampa Bay Mansion He Rented to Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen

Derek Jeter Lists $29 Million Tampa Bay Mansion He Rented to Tom Brady and Gisele Bundchen

The former New England Patriots quarterback rented the waterfront property after signing with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers earlier this year

A source confirmed to PEOPLE on Thursday that Brady and his supermodel wife had recently sold their New York City apartment, located in Manhattan's TriBeCa neighborhood, for under $40 million.

The insider said that the couple still own another apartment in the Big Apple and added, "This was just downsizing because they're in Tampa full time and they're shopping around in L.A. as well."

As for Brady and Bündchen's West Coast house hunt, a real estate insider told PEOPLE that the pair is "thinking ahead," beyond Brady's football career.

"Tom will have projects based in L.A., and the people he's partnering with on his first project are also in L.A.," the real estate source said. "So the family is looking all over L.A. for a new home. They had sold the place they had there a few years ago. Gisele loves L.A."