Colder then Alaska today in Chicago...

Sounds crazy.

I don’t know how y’all northern states do it. Damn Houston winter seems cold enough for me.

 

My company is based in central WI. I'm surprised they're in the office today. It's currently -25 with a feels like of -50. I've been there when it was -18 but at least it wasn't very windy. That was the worst. Way worse than the heat here. Worse than the time I was in Vegas and it was 119. Hotel we stayed in didn't have a bar so we had to walk across the street. I'm a Texan. I don't own enough layers to make even that 100 yard walk not painful and avoid my beard freezing. It was interesting to experience it...for about 30 seconds. The rest was just awful.

I spoke to my cousin this morning who lives in Minneapolis. He was in the the process of thawing his main water line. I told him it was about 65 deg warmer here.

This is the discussion I have with people from up there. Yeah, it gets hot as hell here. But all we have to do is turn on the a/c. That's it. They have like 2 hours worth of stuff to do just to get out of the damn house every day for months. I might b**** about summer here...but it's still WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYY better than winter up there.

 

It's a frigid 51 degrees this afternoon in Houston and I'm freezing my balls off. Will winter never end?

 

I honestly have no idea how anyone living in the Midwestern/Northern states can say they would prefer even a typical winter over 100 degree summers. Scraping your car, shoveling snow, having to thaw water lines, making sure your heater is working, not cracking your head open just trying to walk to the car, etc. It all just seems like such a complete pain in the ass, and nobody can convince me that a handful of pleasant months is enough to counteract that misery.

 

Heat sucks but you can just go inside. Extreme cold requires planning and reaction. No thank you. I’ve lived in Houston for 37 years so I suppose I’m just used to it. But from September through April, outside of some shitty rain, it’s generally ok and sometimes pretty freaking nice. When it’s 65 and sunny in December, I sure am glad I’m not in Chicago.

 

City buses as shelter for the homeless? I mean I guess anything is better than nothing but those buses aren't insulated against extreme cold. Must be a horrible experience. Good luck to everyone trying to stay warm through this cold blast

 

I think it's more the electricity costs of blasting A/C all day, versus in cold areas, you can just huddle by the fireplace. In both situations, though, it's very difficult to run even the most simple of errands.

Also, this particular weather change is very atypical. I'm sure no one is saying they'd rather be in the north right now, over a 100 degree week lol

 

Colder "than"..

 

I’m sorry, but did u just say -60?!? Oh hell nah.

u will never catch me anywhere near places like Chicago, Toronto, or even NY until at least May or most likely June...fck that

 

Yup I’m here, two days off of work so far, one on the company and one sick day used.

 

I understand that this is an anomaly, but I'm saying even on a typical winter day in the North, you'd have to scrape your car, watch for ice, shovel snow, bundle up, etc. And while heating costs might not exactly even out against AC costs, it can't be too far off. Also, you can't ignore the municipal costs of salting roads, making sure bridge supports don't corrode, plowing streets so buses can get through, etc. A typical summer day in Houston is uncomfortable, but getting a gallon a milk isn't a huge ordeal like it would be in Buffalo, NY on a typical winter day.

 

You learn to adjust. I honestly can't stand the heat and humidity in Houston anymore. Every time I visit in Summer time, I really struggle. And its only going to get worse over the next few decades there thanks to climate change. If you bundle up correctly here in Minneapolis (outside of crazy polar vortexes where you should probably stay home), you'll be fine. The other stuff you cite can be remedied:

1. Put your car in your garage if you can. That actually keeps it warmer and minimizes frosting on your windows, along with snow shoveling.
2. I really don't mind snow shoveling, its good exercise.
3. The water line issue is largely a function of having a well designed house. Our basement is unfinshed so while the overall basement is colder, there aren't pipes that are stuck in a closet that might freeze because air circulates throughout the basement. Plus adding a little insulation around your pipes will do wonders.

Totally understand how someone from Houston would struggle to adjust. If you don't move here with a positive attitude about the cold, you probably will hate it to the point where you'll just want to leave. There are plenty of bitter people up here but I do live here by choice and while the weather is bad, there are tons of upsides. The economy is better here, schools are MUCH better than Houston, housing prices are lower, and summer is simply unbeatable. Even with the high taxes here, I still come out ahead on income which speaks to the really diverse economy here. In fact, one of my concerns with moving back to Houston is that my career wouldn't progress nearly as quickly there.

Also I'll just throw this out there, but we're way better off when it comes to climate change than Houston is. And in general, we don't really get natural disasters here (outside of this polar vortex which is still much better than a hurricane). Even our blizzards here aren't that bad because we don't have major wind.

 

The worst part is when you have 3 layers of clothes, a snow boots and you go inside a public place which is often 120 degree warmer which is literally the procsss of soaking in sweats.

In my 1st year experiencing the freezing winter, caught my attention how women wear tights underneath their skirts and they seemed to be fine, so I tried it but it wasn't warm enough

 

First off how dare you

 

I don't think you understand how fireplaces and cold weather and energy costs actually work.

 

Tell me more instead of just issuing a blanket statement?

 

"If it's cold, you can just huddle around the fireplace." Right?

 

If you ain't Texan you just ain't American in my eyes.

 

> invites poster to educate me
> realizes poster is useless.

So informative, such wow.

thank u, next