Sigh...I love autumn but I absolutely loathe winter. September 1 makes me more

[grace0418]

melancholy every year. Spring is lovely and full of promise. Summer is fun even if it's hot. I get tired of the heat after awhile but having all the fresh local produce available, and not having to shovel, makes it more than bearable. Autumn is usually so beautiful and crisp. I love being able to cook and bake again, and not be so hot.

But man, winter comes along and I just want to cry. I know some people love it. Some people love winter activities and wearing sweaters and sitting by the fire. Not me. I hate winter more every year. I like those winter activities for the span of a long weekend maybe, if I'm not trying to do anything or drive anywhere.

I hate shoveling, I hate trying to get around on icy sidewalks and streets, I hate being cold all the time, I hate the lack of sun, I hate the lack of color, I hate the wind, I hate how difficult it is to do anything, how you have to alot 20 minutes extra just to get properly bundled up and dig your car or driveway out.

I really need to move somewhere with no snow. Chicago is not that place. :(

[Frosty1]

1. I agree

:cry:

[grace0418]

3. And you're in Minnesota, which makes Chicago winters look mild

in comparison. I feel your pain.

[Frosty1]

20. Not only am I in Minnesota

I am in northern Minnesota. Winters are fierce!:scared:

[Odin2005]

33. Here in Fargo when the temp gets above 0 we call it a heat wave!

:rofl:

[supernova]

2. I empathize with you

Even in NC, winter is really starting to bug me.

I don't like the lack of light, the grey colorless landscape, the need to wear too many clothes. I feel weighted down. I hate being cold all the time. Some days I get so cold I can only get warm through sitting in a hot bath.

I am ready for spring after the first good killing frost.

If I ever move, it will be to someplace even warmer.

[grace0418]

4. Oh, yeah, that feeling of never being able to get warm. Trying to work at my computer

With two sweaters, a hat, a scarf and fingerless gloves and STILL feeling my hands go numb...ugh.

The lack of light and the deadness of the landscape are so depressing. The longing for a real tomato, or a fresh peach.

I think I'll go make a tomato salad for lunch and savor the last few weeks of this. If I win the lottery I'm moving to Hawaii.

[Gormy Cuss]

5. I love winter, but even I got tired of dealing with snow and ice some years.

These days in NorCal I don't have real winter and it IS nice to have good traction for walking and no need to wear hats and heavy coats. I miss snow and crisp air but not shoveling and scraping ice.

May you find a way to locate some place where the climate suits you better.

[Gidney N Cloyd]

6. Same here. Chicago winters suck.

I hate them so much that when they used to run those commercials for different city events happening during the winter-- the ones with the bluesy female singer moaning about "The Winter De-li-i-ites"-- for the longest time I was sure she was singing "The Will t' Sur-vi-i-ive!" That made so much more sense to me.

'Round about late December all I want to do is crawl into a bottle and leave a wakeup call for April.

[grace0418]

8. LOL! I hate those commercials because I don't think there's anything delightful

about Chicago winters. I like your version much better.

January and February are so depressing. February is the worst. How can the shortest month of the year seem like it's a year long?

[MiddleFingerMom]

7. I was raised in Connecticut 'til I was 6 and Michigan 'til I joined the Army.

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My metabolism is such that I don't ever really feel the cold (I NEED a jacket when
it drops below freezing -- 'til then a long-sleeved shirt -- even a dress shirt --
and thin leather gloves to cut the wind are just fine).
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Humidity, however, KILLS me. During our 2-mile runs in Texas heat/humidity, the
guys in front of me would have a little triangle of sweat at the base of their backs.
I could wring my shirt out like a dishrag.
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Arizona winters (Tucson) are absolutely beautiful. Though it CAN drop to 20's or 30's
at night, during January and February days are 70 degrees and bright sunshine --
even the bloodless snowbirds who drive in for the winter are in T-shirts.
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That said, before I moved here, I had considered moving anywhere where they
would have fairly severe winters. Some of the things you mentioned (and many
others) make that very attractive to me.
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. Hot chocolate becomes a sacrament. Crackling fires a never-ending hug.
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. Oh, if I could but "b-r-r-r" again!!!!
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NO, LFP!!! I did NOT just yearn for "b-r-r-r-p".
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[Odin2005]

34. I'm exactly the same way! The cold doesn't bother me, but humidity makes me sick.

I feel icky if the dew point gets past 60F, even if it's only 70F out.

I grew up in a little town of 500 people NE of Fargo and I would often walk to school when it was 20F out with my coat unzipped, 20F feels positively balmy after having to walk to school when it's 20F BELOW!!!

[Roon]

9. Fall is my favorite but I enjoy winter too..

I hate summer, it's easier to escape cold than it is heat.

[raccoon]

10. Well, I live in SC and I'll never move anywhere hotter than here.

I can't stand our long, hot summers. When all you can do is stay inside with the AC, unless you're at a pool, lake, or ocean where you can stay in the water.

I hate it when you sweat and it never dries off.

Sometimes I fantasize about living somewhere real cold. But I guess if I lived where there was lots of snow, I'd complain about that too.

[Kat45]

11. I totally agree with you.

I live in the Boston area and I just want to hibernate in the winter. I get cold at the drop of a hat and have to wear tons of layers, which I find uncomfortable--and I'm still freezing. Fuel oil costs a fortune; I keep my heat lower than I'd like (though higher than some people do) and I still use a shitload of oil and am freezing all the time. I also freak out over driving in snow. I hate, hate, hate winter!

[grace0418]

18. Don't read post #13 then (no offense The2ndWheel).

I'm serious, the dread that welled up in me when I read that post is going to be hard to shake all day.

[Jamastiene]

12. You should move to central North Carolina.

We have something like winter here...kinda...I guess. Well, it's more like a really cold fall, if you really think about it. If (and that is usually a big if) it does snow, everything closes. So, you don't have to do any shoveling unless you just want to. I mean, it's not like we get more than a foot of snow at worst, but most of the time, it's more like 3 to 6 inches and that's just for a couple days a year.

Shoveling? :rofl: Down here, we don't do that. Nuh uh. It'll melt. That's quite ok with us. We'll wait. Close everything and we'll stay home for a couple days.

We have our government trained well on that point. They know they either close the schools when it snows or we'll keep our kids home anyway. So, they can waste a bunch of money to open the schools if they want, but the only ones who will show up are the kids who want perfect attendance.

Seriously, it is an entirely different attitude down here when it comes to winter and snow. You'd probably like a break from the shoveling.

[grace0418]

17. Where I should move and where I want to move is Hawaii.

I've been there twice in the last year and nowhere else on earth have I felt more like I belong (and I've been to a lot of places). I will find a way to move there someday, hopefully sooner than later.

[Jamastiene]

42. Of course, who could beat Hawaii.

I've only heard about Hawaii but from what I've heard, I'd love it too.

[Odin2005]

35. I'll, I love to make fun of you folks that close everything after 2 inches of snow!

2 inches is NOTHING in Fargo!

[Jamastiene]

41. Haha

We get to stay home when it snows. Y'all gotta work. Na na ne boo boo. You can make fun of us, but remember, we are nice and toasty warm at home while you do it. :evilgrin: :rofl:

[The2ndWheel]

13. Nothing better than an evening in the winter

Snowing, wind, and no cars on the street. If there is a car, it's moving slowly, and muffled by the snow. I could stand there all night and just listen.

I wish it got dark at 3pm. I love the angle of the sun come winter.

Those two big snow storms last year, it had one of the best mornings. A Wednesday or Thursday morning, whichever one it was, after the second 20-some inches, which fell on top of the previous 20-some inches from the first storm. 8 or 9 in the morning, barely a car in sight, tree limbs all over the place, power lines down, a few streets closed off. You could take your time and glide down what would normally be a very busy street at that time of day. The sky was a mix of blue and grey that I don't ever remember seeing before.

A winter like that makes the year worth it.

[MiddleFingerMom]

14. I had forgotten about the wonderful sound of the silence during hard winter...

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...as well as the sound of the faint crunch of snow under the tires of a solitary slow-moving car.
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Thanks. Those are wonderful images.
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[grace0418]

16. Your post just made me shudder with dread. I know what you're saying, and I understand

why you find it lovely, but for me that is as depressing as it gets. Dark at 3pm, 40+ inches of snow, grey skies...makes me want to just die.

[Odin2005]

36. IMO Christmas just ain't Christmas without snow.

A few years ago we had a warm, very dry December and there was no snowpack in Fargo until early January, it just did not feel like Christmas. The weather has been wonky ever since.

[MadHound]

15. Winter in the country is beautiful,

The quick winter sunset going down behind bare trees and snowy hills. The stark beauty of winter is breathtaking.

[grace0418]

19. I understand that intellectually. Sometimes when I go out after a snow and

everything is white and sparkly I do appreciate how lovely it is...for all of 30 seconds. Then I want to book the first flight to Hawaii. I'd be perfectly happy only seeing winter in photographs for the rest of my life. But unless I win the lottery in the next couple of weeks it looks like I'll be enduring another Chicago winter first hand.

[Urban Prairie]

21. I hate the heat and steamy humidity of the dog daze of summer

There is nothing more annoying that stepping out of my house or car into a blast furnace and begin to feel those first drops of sweat forming on my forehead. I have a malformed thyroid, and am very sensitive to temps above 80 degrees with medium to high humidity and no breeze. I can dress for the cold, but like most everyone who has experienced them, I also don't like sub-zero temps or single digits to twenties with biting winds...The "brr" months are finally here to stay for a while though, as well as the "airy" gloomy gray and very cold ones coming right behind them as well.

This has been the hottest summer that I can remember since '88 and my AC bills reflect that..sigh...

[Maccagirl]

22. Another winter-hater here

Despise it with every fiber of my being. I get so depressed thinking about slogging through another scraping-off-the-car window at 5:45am and then brooming 3-4 inches of snow after work .

So romanic.

So much fun and frolic.

[grace0418]

29. Ugh. Commuting and running errands in the winter is THE WORST. You don't have to shovel

heat, you don't have to scrape heat off your car. You don't get stuck in a heatbank trying to pull into a parking spot. You don't slip on heat when you're trying to walk down the sidewalk.

I'm not saying I'm a big fan of 90 degree weather with high humidity. But I'll take it over winter any day.

[TK421]

23. Fall is my favorite season, and I don't mind winter at all...snow melts

and no matter how cold it gets you can put on more clothes to keep you warm ( especially if you spend most of your time outside )...this is not so with Summer. You can't escape the heat if you're sensitive to it like I am, you are constantly looking for ways to cool off ( taking showers, going in the pool, running your AC until your electric bill goes through the fucking ROOF ) you can keep that nasty shit. Spring? It's alright, but that is just the prelude for high temperatures, high humidity ( sweating your ass off and constantly wiping sweat out of your eyes ) bugs ( wasps, fucking HORNETS in particular ), poison ivy ( none of this shit come wintertime, no sir-ee!), crazy people, higher crime rate ( yup!)

You see, the thing is..snow melts. Now, maybe I'm just lucky and the only thing I have to shovel out ( IF we get a good snowfall ) is our deck, which is large, but the stuff melts anyways with most of the morning sun and not even counting the rains.

I will gladly freeze any day over taking any more of this disgusting, vile, stinking heat...I've lived in Florida, you see, and I know what vile heat and humidity is all about. We in the NE were struck with an especially nasty summer, temperature-wise and humidity-wise, and I just can't fucking WAIT until this shit just ends...the last one that I remember being this bad was back in 2001 btw...

I've said it before, and I will say it again ( at the risk of offending some ) People who like this heat are bat-shit insane, and I really think something is wrong with your head if you don't enjoy the change of seasons ( i.e the drop in about 20 or so degrees in October, not September ) and just want this crap to stick around. That is just-plain-nutso

edited to add: I must emphasize that there is really no difference with September...it's just an extended August ( at least where I live )

[grace0418]

28. "you can put on more clothes to keep you warm"...Not true, sadly.

At least not on my face and hands. I work at home and in the winter I cannot keep my hands and face warm no matter what I do. I need my hands, I'm a graphic designer and I work on a computer all day. I wear fingerless gloves, a hat and a scarf but it doesn't stop me from going numb with cold. It makes it impossible to work some days, no matter how high I turn up the heat. But in the summer, I can turn up the AC and work just fine. I may be a little sweaty on really hot days but at least my fingers are functional.

Now, I'm not going to say I *enjoy* the insane heat and humidity of a Florida summer (only experienced it once or twice, my parents lived there for a few years). But I still think there is nothing more depressing than a long winter. At least in the summer you can still see sunshine and green things growing. You can get fresh fruits and vegetables. In the winter there is nothing, no sunshine, no green, no fresh food.

In the summer it may be a pain to go out and run errands because you're hot and sweaty. And that sucks, no doubt.

But running errands in the winter is a hundred times harder IMHO. First you have to spend 15 minutes before you go out anywhere getting all bundled up. THEN you have to warm up the car and clean off the snow, THEN you have to get out of your driveway or parking space (which may mean more shoveling). THEN you have to hope the parking lot of the store is cleared off and you're not going to get stuck when you pull into a spot. THEN you have to trudge to the store and hope you don't slip and fall (all while a horrible freezing wind is giving you frostbite). THEN when you get into the store, the heat is on full blast, which feels good for a few minutes until you realize that you're wearing 5 layers of clothing and you start to sweat and get all prickly. So THEN when you go back outside you're even more freezing because your clothes are wet. THEN you go home and try to get back into your driveway without fishtailing (or the added joy of trying to find a parking space that isn't caked with ice). THEN you try to carry your bags into the house without slipping on the sidewalk.

Ugh. I don't mind the change of seasons but I sure wish I could skip winter.

[madinmaryland]

24. Kicked and recommended! I HATE winter, and I live in Maryland.

[Curmudgeoness]

25. I could have written that. I start to feel depressed as soon as

the calendar hits September, just knowing what is coming. This has been a bugger of a summer, but I refuse to wish it over. I can hardly enjoy the beauty of fall.

[grace0418]

30. I know! I have such a love/hate relationship with fall. It's so lovely and crisp and

the temperatures are nice. But I spend all of it with that dread building in the depths of my soul. I don't know how many more winters I can take before I just lose my mind.

[Curmudgeoness]

44. Where should we move to? nt

[grace0418]

45. Oh I know where it's going to be for me. Hawaii, no question. Been there twice in the

last year and I feel a belonging there that I've never felt anywhere else on earth. I will find a way to move there someday.

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

26. not fond of winter either... too long I think

I live in Maine. I lived in Florida for a short while though and hated it. I love Maine even though I don't like winter.

[grace0418]

31. Yeah, I could probably handle it if it lasted from December 15-January 15.

One month around the holidays would be fine with me. Then spring and fall can fill in the rest of the time.

[applegrove]

27. I live in eastern Ontario and they are predicting a very warm fall. Maybe that means

winter will be mild?

[Odin2005]

32. I love the cold! It's invigorating.

Then again, I'm from the Fargo area, you HAVE to like the cold to live up here.

It's supposed to be 40F Saturday morning! :woohoo:

[Rochester]

37. I tolerate cold much better than heat

Winter isn't exactly my favorite, but I'd rather the weather be cold than hot. If I have to work outdoors, I'd rather it be 20 degrees out than 90. Ideal is in the 50s for working.

[zanana1]

38. I'm with you, Rochester.

Something started happening to my body in my 30's. All of a sudden, I was sweating if the temps went up to the 70's. Shopping became a miserable, embarassing activity because people tend to stare at a sweating, red faced woman. Work was ridiculous. I had to carry around one of those little fans all the time. Noone knows what causes it, or how to treat it. (It isn't menopause). It can cause problems at home because my husband likes it to be on the warm side. I like the thermostat on 61 degrees and no higher, so I have to use fans even in the wintertime. It sucks. Summer sucks. But when I go outside for a walk in the wintertime, I'm all set. That's my season.

[fizzgig]

39. the nights are starting to turn chilly and i love it

i don't handle heat well and am ready to start wearing my hoodies again. that said, winter is always an adventure here in colorado and i'm going to be hoofing it to and from work most of the time.

[Brother Buzz]

40. Seasonal Affective Disorder?

You should take a look at this- light therapy can help you feel better.
http://winterbluescoach.com/white-blue-green-light

(on edit- Oops- This is marzipanni-too tired to notice my hubby was logged on- :) )

[Curmudgeoness]

43. Actually, I believe I have SAD, and have tried the lights

to no avail. It has more to do with being cold for 6 months, getting so tired of looking at my sweaters, snow shoveling and cleaning the car to go anywhere. And I think a big thing is that I don't/won't get out of the house unless I have to (work). No walks because of ice and snow, no nature to see and hear. Just stall air in the house all winter. Grrrr.

But I am told that those lights will work for some people. Some swear by them.

[grace0418]

46. I tried light therapy, it gave me a headache. But I know for sure I have SAD.

There's no question. My whole family does. That's why 8 out 10 of my siblings have moved to the west coast. People always think I moved to Chicago from the west coast because I have so much family out there. As if I would ever do that!

[marzipanni]

48. I was reading about light therapy, and green light is apparently better

than the regular white light which can cause, as you experienced, headaches or discomfort in eyes. You are supposed to have the light above your eyes to simulate bright sky/sunlight because the receptors are in the lower back part of the eyeball.
Now the medical advice is to go out in the sun for 10-15 minutes a day with at least face and arms exposed so yor skin can synthesize Vitamin D.

[mnhtnbb]

47. We have friends who got so tired of winter (Nebraska) that this weekend

they are moving to the Dominican Republic.

I don't think I could live on an island year round. I'll be surprised if they aren't back
within 2 years.

I love Chapel Hill. I've lived in NY, NJ, CA, MO, NE and now NC. I just love it here.
Not crazy about the humid summers, but winter is quite bearable here. Occasionally we get a snow storm, or an ice storm, but the operative word is "occasionally".

Come on down to NC!

On edit: The spring and fall are FABULOUS here.

[grace0418]

49. I couldn't live on most islands that I've visited. But I could live

on Hawaii. And I will, some day.