Northern neighbors...

[threecrazykids]

We use our grill all winter long, too.

Oh we grill all year long too...but I have friends down south who it's their "norm" to either have a BBQ or beach seafood boil on Christmas. I wouldn't associate that as a normal Christmas activity...but that's cuz it's too damn cold here to do it! LOL

 

[ReneeA]

I'm originally from the Mackinaw area of Michigan. Moved to Detroit right out of college thinking it would be at least slightly warmer...nope. It's just as cold. There's less snow here, but more wind and ice. My goal is to keep on moving south until I never have to shovel snow again. I really have a hard time with the cold...if it weren't for all of our family being in MI, I'd be south right now.

 

[SaraJayne]

'Cause the alternative (living down south) isn't very attractive.

I love all four seasons and could never live somewhere that you have one season all year long.

It's our "normal"...and an everyday part of life (at least in the winter).

 

[Mickeypooh99]

Looking out my window right now is very pretty. The trees are all covered in pretty white snow. It looks like a picture.

I still hate it. Its cold. The sun doesn't come out for days. I don't want to leave the house. I hate putting on boots, coat, gloves etc. I hate when the snow gets dirty and slushy and doesn't look pretty anymore. I don't know how we make it through the winter every year. My major goal in life is to be able to winter in Florida or some other warm place when my DH and I retire.

It would be strange not to have snow at Christmas, but I think I would get used to it fast.

 

[Nie0214]

Love snow. =)

We pay taxes on our cars that goes directly to the city for snow plowing (and summer road repairs). They do a great job. Oh, and it's easier to walk to the store in the snow than drive there.

 

[kirbydog48]

I know some people can't fathom this, but I love winter (and also love when it ends, LOL!!). I love when you know a huge snowstorm is coming. Make a big pot of something, light the fire, watch a movie or read. It's the best. We have someone plow our d'way, and we also shovel a ton, but it's great exercise. I also love it when the sun comes out and everything is cold and clear and sparkly. The kids make snow forts and have massive snowball fights, and go sledding. In our town we have a beautiful town green next to the fire station. They flood the green so kids can skate there(keeps them off the lakes); we're having a bonfire there this weekend, and usually 3/4 of the town comes. I also love that I have a trip to Sanibel to look forward to in April!! So you see, it's a love/dislike relationship. We also have years to build a collection of the right outerwear, which is key. Gotta go snowshoe now!!

 

[jenm2878]

I love skiing and sledding, and the cold really doesn't phase me. The thing that bothers me the most is the gray skies. In Cleveland, save for a few random days of sunshine, it is cloudy and gray from November until April. It's enough to make the most perky person homicidal.

I keep saying we're going to move south, but I honestly don't think I could handle the heat and humidity of summer. Here, we don't wear jackets until it's in the 40's, and my DH and I find it unbearably hot when it gets over 85. We'd never make it through a Florida summer!

 

[MIGrandma]

We've dealt with it all our lives. But as we get older (we are in our early 50's now) we're getting more and more tired of "dealing with it."

We got about 6" of new snow overnight, but it's still windy so it's blowing and drifting. Once the wind goes down DH will have to plow out the driveway (with the tractor, it has a cab so at least he stays warm) and several other driveways of relatives and landlords (we farm some other people's land for them). And there is the shoveling of the porches, and putting the salt out, etc.

I hate driving on snowy, icy roads so I pretty much just hibernate during the winter, only getting out when absolutely necessary and sometimes even then I wait until DH can go, so he can drive.

I don't think it will be many more years before we start spending a good part of the winter somewhere warmer, and snow free.

 

[tigercat]

I like the colder weather. I don't like really hot weather as I run a little hot anyway. Sometimes the snow is a pain but in the last couple of years we have been getting less and less snow. The one thing is though that when spring starts to come we roll our windows down and enjoy.
tigercat

 

[Doe]

I love the snow but this is the first winter where both my husband and I have talked about the idea of being snowbirds when he retires. Yesterday as I got out of my suv I stepped onto ice and next thing I knew I was laying on my back, expletives flying out of my mouth, looking up at the sky. I think the ice is far worse to deal with than the snow.

Pros: white Christmases , it's really beautiful, 4 seasons, snowmen, snow days, the dogs paws don't get muddy because there's two feet of snow between him and the ground, etc..

Cons: bad roads (seriously, some of the city roads look like gravel roads from the amount of gravel they put down in the winter) potholes (from all the plowing), having to make sure your sidewalk is plowed, navigating the icy driveways, parking lots without falling on your keester, etc..

We're lucky that 3 of our awesome neighbors have snow blowers and 1 neighbor has a "cat" machine that he loves to get out and do everyone's driveway. Every winter we tell them they don't have to do it but these guys love their snow blowers and a couple of them will do the sidewalks in front of about 8 houses. I think it's a guy thing.

Here we only have snow days if there are blizzard like conditions, or ice. Temperature and snow don't get the kids a day off. We've woken up to a foot or more of snow and temperatures around 15 below and school was still on much to the kids disliking!

 

[Deb in IA]

You get used to it.

Thick coats, mittens, gloves, hats, scarfs, boots. Dressing in layers. Scrapers for cars. Emergency kits - flashlights, blankets, bottled water, high energy foods - for the car. Always travel with fully charged cell phone and at least a half full tank. Drive slower in bad conditions. Slow down for turns. Allow for plenty of stopping distance from the car in front.

Our temp today is 2, with wind chill of -17.

And I saw a kid going to school in shorts.

 

[MichelleVW]

You get used to it.

Thick coats, mittens, gloves, hats, scarfs, boots. Dressing in layers. Scrapers for cars. Emergency kits - flashlights, blankets, bottled water, high energy foods - for the car. Always travel with fully charged cell phone and at least a half full tank. Drive slower in bad conditions. Slow down for turns. Allow for plenty of stopping distance from the car in front.

Our temp today is 2, with wind chill of -17.

And I saw a kid going to school in shorts.

Not everyone gets used to it...that's why I now live in Texas!!! I grew up in the north and have lived in two of the coldest places in the U.S. and I never got used to it!

 

[Becky2005]

Lately, it doesn't appear to be the case here in the Chicagoland area.

That said, having grown up here I can't imagine decorating for Christmas when it's above 60 degrees. I would feel like I was in one of those Christmas stores that it open all year long.

It was the most bizarre storm we have had. My road is a school bus route, so I'm used to being woken up by the big snowplow trucks at 2 AM while the big snow is going on, not the case this time around. City pick-up trucks were out doing the plowing and the road still was snow covered when the school busses went by. I wasn't even 100% sure they had plowed at all. It was surreal compared to how it has been in the past. To top it off yesterday afternoon my daughter left with the school for Central IL Theatre Fest. YIKES. All I kept hearing about were how slick the roads were and lots of people sliding off the road yesterday. UGH.

All I can think is our city made cuts or something bizarre but they were clearer sooner in the past. Of course, our school didn't close either, so we had the busses out in the dark on the slippery snow covered roads.

It would be weird to be warm at Christmastime.

 

[MamaLema]

I am Canadian but I HATE winter! Everyone says you get used to it, but i find myself more sensitive to the cold every year.

I hate cleaning the snow off the driveway and the car. I hate cleaning up puddles from my children's boots. I hate putting all my kids gloves on the heating vents to dry. I hate getting ready to leave in the morning 20 minutes early so the kids can put all their winter gear on.

In all my negativity, I have found just one advantage to winter - you can go grocery shopping, and then if you feel like going to the mall afterward, you don't need to worry about any groceries going bad in the trunk

 

[pansmermaidzlagoon]

if it is what you grew up with, it isn't that big of a deal, I guess.

I grew up in upstate NY where we get the lake effect off Ontario.Winters in the 60's were worse than they are now - as far as snowfall. We had larger snowfalls and I remember going days when the only thing that moved down the road (a major road - not a back road) was a skier (or later years, a snowmobiler). Probably the same storm, but I have pics of my dad with the shovel and snow up to his head!

I could have escaped all this for college, but choose to spend my freshman year on the shore of Ontario and then moved upstate close to Canadian border where snowfall was lower, but so were the temps!!!

this past weekend we got 4 ft in a couple days and the roads were maintained the entire time. DH was kept busy with the snow blower, but school and everything went on as usual. We were amused at our first "major" snowfall in MD, a couple inches and people were abandoning their cars in the road!!!

When DH is away, I don't even mind shoveling the snow as long as it isn't so bad you have to turn around and do it again within hours!!!!

I love the snow for Christmas, love the seasons, love a pretty snowfall, etc. After about late Jan., I am ready for spring!!!!

 

[Carly_Roach]

Because of budget cuts in our area, they've stopped salting the roads!

Same here. They've not only stopped salting as much as they used to, they don't plow as much either. There's just no money for it.

I got up this morning and checked out the local news online. I saw tons of school closings even though we'd only gotten about 5 inches. It didn't make any sense to me until I got out on the roads (left 30 minutes early just in case). BOY! Was it pitiful for the roads to be so bad in the capitol city! I could only imagine how bad the side streets and country roads would be if they were only semi-plowing the main roads.

How do you people who live in the underworld survive the summers?

Exactly. It's all relative. The way I feel, I can always put on more clothes and shiver to keep warm. In the summer, you can only take off so many clothes and then you're naked and miserable. There's nothing more that can be done except cold drinks, a/c, or some other cooling mechanism.

Here we only have snow days if there are blizzard like conditions, or ice. Temperature and snow don't get the kids a day off. We've woken up to a foot or more of snow and temperatures around 15 below and school was still on much to the kids disliking!

Yeah, that's the way it used to be around here before the money dried up.

You get used to it.

Thick coats, mittens, gloves, hats, scarfs, boots. Dressing in layers. Scrapers for cars. Emergency kits - flashlights, blankets, bottled water, high energy foods - for the car. Always travel with fully charged cell phone and at least a half full tank. Drive slower in bad conditions. Slow down for turns. Allow for plenty of stopping distance from the car in front.

Bingo. Plan, plan, plan and then allow even more time to get there. It's just something we factor into our daily living. Those that don't....well, you typically see them being pulled out of a ditch somewhere as you crawl by at 25mph.

 

[DisMN]

I hate it here...........

m..m..m..m..m...m..me too. Hate it, absolutely hate it. Detest is more accurate actually.

they announced it is supposed to go into the mid 20's this weekend!!!!!!!!!!! In the 70's is average for this time of year!!!

Oh how I long for it to get up to the mid 20's!! LOL Minus 20 is average for this time of year here.

Did I mention how much I hate this?

I'm originally from the Mackinaw area of Michigan. Moved to Detroit right out of college thinking it would be at least slightly warmer...nope. It's just as cold. There's less snow here, but more wind and ice. My goal is to keep on moving south until I never have to shovel snow again. I really have a hard time with the cold...if it weren't for all of our family being in MI, I'd be south right now.

I cringe at the thought of travelling over the Mack bridge or how about that dang ice bridge to the island this time of year. Holy cow I can't even imagine how they survive the island drive! (on snowmobiles no less! YIKES!)

Looking out my window right now is very pretty. The trees are all covered in pretty white snow. It looks like a picture.

I still hate it. Its cold. The sun doesn't come out for days. I don't want to leave the house. I hate putting on boots, coat, gloves etc. I hate when the snow gets dirty and slushy and doesn't look pretty anymore. I don't know how we make it through the winter every year. My major goal in life is to be able to winter in Florida or some other warm place when my DH and I retire.

It would be strange not to have snow at Christmas, but I think I would get used to it fast.

Yeah I agree it's pretty. I can see *pretty* in a picture though...don't have to have it in my face. The lack of sun is horribly depressing and everything else you mentioned makes me emotional right now so I may have to go lay down for a bit.


I kid, I kid.

Sort of.

Not everyone gets used to it...that's why I now live in Texas!!! I grew up in the north and have lived in two of the coldest places in the U.S. and I never got used to it!

Have lived in the cold for 54ish years and if I'm not used to it by now I never will be. One of my biggest life dreams is to live somewhere warmer than here.

I am Canadian but I HATE winter! Everyone says you get used to it, but i find myself more sensitive to the cold every year.

I hate cleaning the snow off the driveway and the car. I hate cleaning up puddles from my children's boots. I hate putting all my kids gloves on the heating vents to dry. I hate getting ready to leave in the morning 20 minutes early so the kids can put all their winter gear on.

In all my negativity, I have found just one advantage to winter - you can go grocery shopping, and then if you feel like going to the mall afterward, you don't need to worry about any groceries going bad in the trunk

Isn't it awful when the negatives far far far outweigh the positives? I honestly hate cold winters. I live to experience a warm one.

 

[loveWDWalways]

I despise Winter so much. I absolutely loathe it and you don't even know how much I wish I lived in Florida. I love it so much there. 2009 Winter was horrible. I believe we had record snowfalls that year. This year it's slightly better but the same dangers are still there. You clear the driveway and it's full again before you know it. People have to get to their jobs and can't stay home just because of the snow and there are cars in ditches or spinning out of control everywhere you can see. Right now, green grass and flowers and gardens and beaches seem like some kind of fairy tale that you enjoy knowing about but you know it won't come true (at least until Mid April here!). The ice on the roads is very tricky, especially at night, and even with the best of cars, sometimes it's just difficult to even stop the car. Everything looks nasty and gross and I miss seeing people walking/jogging, going to the pool, the farmer's market, etc.

I have such a fear of driving in this weather that a lot of times I'll have to put off getting things from the store until the roads are completely devoid of any snow, even if it's just a dusting. Of course, my parents will make the trip to the stores, and even have had to drop me at class on many days, but I should be able to do this for myself. I've already had two incidents (2008, 2009) on the Winter roads and I hate it.

OK, I needed to vent! Thanks for listening.

 

[mic&min]

I hate it here...Every year at this time I ask myself why I live here ((

 

[lillygator]

I hate driving in the rain, I am sure my nerves would be shot if I had to drive in snow. Just seeing pictures from the storms and the cars in accidents on the interstates is enough to scare me off. Postcards and pictures are gorgeous when it's like a blanket over everything.

I recall going to Ohio and seeing Christmas trees growing everywhere - I was stunned, not sure where I thought they grew, but I'm used to palm trees.