I’m looking at relocating to somewhere in the Midwest. This guy’s location descriptions are both interesting and amusing.
“As I was filling up that last test cup, I thought to myself, ‘it must be cold in North Dakota.’” 
Spent 5 winters in very northern North Dakota (30 minutes from the Canadian border). I’ve experienced -60 with windchill.
Here’s my “How cold is -60” story. Because the thing is, once you get to about -25, your body runs out of ways to express to your brain how cold things are. -30 feel like -40, because it’s just goddamn cold. So you go by external measures.
One day, at -60, my wife and I went to Burger King for lunch. I parked RIGHT outside the door. After we eat our meal, I fill up my drink: large diet coke, no ice. We gather at the door and I say “Ok, on 3, we’re going to run to the car”, because it’s f**king cold and you don’t want to be outside any longer than you have to be. 1-2-3 GO! We get in the car…and my drink is frozen SOLID. Straw is stuck in it and everything. I just throw it out the door and drive away.
“Bullsh*t” you say, but consider this: the freezing temp of water is 32 degrees ABOVE zero. -60 is 90 degrees BELOW the freezing temp of water. Yeah: stuff will flash freeze.
And all that having been said, I dig the cold and snow. It makes me feel alive. But I dislike the inconvenience of snow. I hate how weekend plans can get canceled because of weather. I’ve lived in places that were unbearably hot, but I never had to cancel a trip because it was too hot. I HAVE had to cancel plans because of a blizzard. Also sucks when you had your car’s block heater plugged in overnight and it STILL won’t start in the morning.
4 Likes
I live in western NY and it gets decently cold here in the winter, nothing too crazy. I love ice fishing so I look forward to the cold, but not the snow. Snow is an inconvenience more than anything.
Shoveling snow in the morning to get out of the driveway… Shoveling snow after work to get back in the driveway… going 10mph on the expressway because people don’t put snow tires on their cars etc… Not the most enjoyable thing.
My parents and grandparents each have a cabin up north in the Adirondack mountains, about 30 miles south of the Canadian border. It can be a consistent -10 degrees for weeks at a time and dip well below that at night. One night in particular it got down to 45 below zero… keep in mind this is a cabin with no running water, no electricity, no plumbing or any other amenity… Using the “bathroom” was quite interesting to say the least.
One thing I love about it being THAT cold is how crystal clear the air is. At least where I am from, and when we spend time up north in the winter, the sky is insanely blue with essentially no clouds, and the air is super dry and clear, it seems like you can see forever. It’s really cool.
Edit: also, taking night hikes through the woods with the moon as your flashlight. So bright and intense, and I’ve been lucky enough to see the northern lights multiple times. Absolutely mind-blowing.
3 Likes
Cold: yes; Snow: depends.
As it’s been pointed out, snow can be (and is) an inconvenience to downright nuisance. However, once the tedious removal portion of it is over, or I do not have to do the removal, I like to go play in the snow.
3 Likes
100% my answer
I like it, but where I am from (Minnesota), it seems like it is half the year. I would like it to last 3 months and be done. It just keeps going. @T3hPwnisher had it worse in ND. I have been to Fargo and Grand Forks in the winter, and it is noticeably colder and windier (far fewer trees than most of MN in those areas, and also pretty flat).
3 Likes
I want to point out that I haven’t really ever experienced temperatures much lower than 1 degree Celsius (33 F), which might be different than the definition of “cold” some of you have.
That being said, I love the cold and winter. I like the cozy feeling you get at home with the heat on and heavy clothes. I love not sweating as soon as I move a step. I love the atmosphere you have in the months of late October and November, leading up to Christmas. I look forward to this time of the year all the time—in fact I am right now. Can’t wait for it.
Sure, the constant rain of the winter can be a pain, and the snow is only really nice until you need to actually do something that involves getting out of your house. But yeah, for me the benefits far outweigh the negatives of the cold season.
2 Likes
Where I am from if it is 33F and January or February, many will skip their coat, as it is considered warm outside for the time of the year. If it gets to 40-45F in the winter, many people will be seen out in shorts.
5 Likes
I remember being outside for recess as a kid in a t-shirt because it had gone up to 3 degrees C. I pretty much still feel that way. 65F is comfy, but a little warm if I’m doing something.
2 Likes
Spent 12 years in Wyoming. What he fails to mention is that the wind can blow in excess of 60 miles/hour and when is 10 degrees ambient the windchill can easily get down to -50 or more. They close the interstates there when deemed unsafe and pretty much every year somebody wanders off from a stranded car and dies in the snow.
Here’s a good video
1 Like
Wyoming ground blizzard. I have seen plenty, especially over Elk mountain.
1 Like
Oh yeah! That’s where that video is from, Elk Mtn.
I worked for the State and drove everywhere. Crossed the Bighorns in a blizzard many times.
2 Likes
Maine is reasonably cool and temperate - only 2 months out of the year are a moist 90F. Jan Feb it hangs out around -5 to 30. Other than losing power during blizzards it’s kinda nice to hibernate.
1 Like
A big plus is that so many things I don’t want around me can’t survive the cold.
1 Like
I love it down to -10. After that recreation becomes tough. +10F is perfect: ice and snow aren’t slick, recreation is still fun and easy, snow is fluffy and everything looks frosted.
I moved my life to an area specifically for quick access to snowy mountains so I REALLY like deep snow. Heavy snow falling with big flakes and zero wind so all sounds are dampened is one of my favorite things ever.
2 Likes
It is really beautiful. And goes well with coffee or whiskey, so win-win.
1 Like
That’s exactly what it’s like in the White Mountains up this way.
2 Likes
I’m in one of the Top 10, and love it. Not because I particularly dig 7 months of winter, but because I adore the easy summers and the fall, which has already started to hit. I like winter okay - it’s a hassle on work days mostly, when you have to keep digging your car out and your fingers and lips don’t work after a short walk, but a blizzard-y weekend is an absolute delight, both for staying home being cozy and for going out to play in fresh snow.
And this. Which includes people.
2 Likes
When my family still had a farm years ago…i got acclimatize to working in cold weather. Fast forward 20 years working in a foundry environment im 100% acclimatize to heat. So when winter comes around cold weather cuts through me like a knife.
2 Likes
I loved the snow/cold back when I lived in the USA. Unfortunately it doesn’t snow much in Aus (aside from ski-resorts up in the mountains, and they’re fairly expensive to visit). There is one town in Aus that receives regular snow (dinner plain).
I prefer snow absent of Gusty winds. The wind-chill factor during blizzards can make it very difficult to walk around/take in the beautiful scenery.
Freezing rain would’ve been my favorite type of wintry precipitation due to the environmental aesthetic induced, but walking around outside/driving in freezing rain is highly hazardous.
We had some sleet this year, that’s a pretty rare occurrence. I don’t handle temperatures above 75 degrees (around 24 degrees Celsius) very well, which is difficult as it can get very, very hot in the summer.
Ideal temperature for me is around 30-35 degrees Fahrenheit. I can’t fathom being in -60! I think -13 was the coldest I’ve ever been exposed to.
When travel is concerned, I’ll generally go out of my way to reach colder destinations.
1 Like