We are fortunate that the lower level of our home is mostly below ground level, and maintains a temperature under 83F even without AC, no matter how hot it gets outdoors, as long as night temps fall below 80F. (my "cold stored" produce prefers below 65F, but that's not practical)
As city kids without AC, we often slept on a screen porch, then got up very early to do all the chores - the deal was if we finished by noon, Mom would take us, and cold supper, to a local beach and Dad would meet us there after work. As young adults with no AC, we closed our house up when the sun came up, then opened it after dark and used window fans to expel the hot air. On really miserable days, we retreated to the beach or local ice cream parlor to cool off at suppertime.