All my life I’ve lived in warm climates. Houston Texas, and now Tucson Arizona.
I’ll probably be moving to a colder climate (not Alaska, but maybe Colorado or Pennsylvania).
Please give me some advice on dealing with snow, driving on ice, how to keep warm, what pieces of clothing I’ll need, etc.
Can a a person who has spent 35 years sweating learn to love shivering?
In a word, no. If you like warm weather, all you can do is make yourself less miserable in the cold. I lived in Colorado, up in the mountains. The snow is DEEP, the temperatures are LOW and the winter is LONG. Denver itself has a pretty short season, and not to extreme, but it’s still winter.
Rule 1: You cannot look beautiful and stay warm at the same time. Ugly winter clothes are the only way to survive. You’ll need boots, gloves, hat, scarf, warm coat, long johns (if you spend any time in the outdoors) and lots of body lotion and chapstick.
Rule 2: Driving is slower and scarier on snow and ice. Learn to take it easy and you’ll be fine. Get a house with a garage if possible, because digging a car out is never fun.
Mountain snow is beautiful. Take lots of pictures!
Just don’t eat the yellow snow; you’ll be fine. I lived in Antarctica for six months and it never got so cold that a fleece sweatsuit and gortex outer suit wouldn’t keep me warm.
Don’t do it!!! As a Canadian, I gotta tell you, the heat is the only way to go.
Native Californian transplanted to Minnesota, here:
Layering can also be your friend. Some people have luck with just a shirt and heavy winter coat, and others wear a t-shirt, button-down shirt, sweat shirt, light jacket, heavy jacket… that way they can add and remove articles of clothing as the temperature changes. If you’ve only got your shirt and a heavy coat, you’re find so long as it’s either room temperature, or freezing. In between, you’ll either sweat or freeze.
Be careful cleaning your windshield at the gas station when it’s cold. If you get the windshield washer fluid on your gloves, they’ll be ruined (the liquid will be whatever temperature the outside is).
When there’s ice on the ground, walk like a little old lady. Take little baby steps and watch where you’re putting your feet. If you fall, fall straight down and don’t try to catch yourself; if you do, you’ll probably end up hurting yourself more (unless you’re one of those types who has studied judo or jiu jitsu and knows how to fall). I always seem to fall on stairs, however, and they never taught that in judo, so I end up getting hurt.
If there’s been an ice storm, rather than killing yourself trying to scrape the ice off your car, start it up, turn on the heaters full blast, and go inside for another cup of coffee. Let the heaters melt it off.
I live in Pennsylvania now, and have lived in Minnesota in the past.
Learn to layer your clothes. Over your blouse/shirt, wear a sweatshirt/sweater, then your coat. (Repeat sweaters as needed.) Make sure your socks stay dry, or change them frequently to avoid immersion foot. Earmuffs and a scarf are essential to keep your face warm.
Depending on where you’ll be living, you’ll need the following:
[ul]
[li]Good, warm coat, preferably a few sizes large (see layering, above)[/li][li]Nice, thick socks. Lots of them.[/li][li]Boots with a good tread. I took a nasty spill on ice and haven’t really recovered.[/li][li]Scarf and earmuffs[/li][li]Thermal underwear/pantyhose (wear under pants. Skirts? Don’t make me laugh. ;))[/li][li]Good gloves[/li][li]Umbrella[/li][/ul]
Don’t buy cheap. Seriously. Frostbite can be a problem in the colder climates, and good clothing can make all the difference.
As for driving, take yourself to a large, empty parking lot and practice. Don’t be afraid; panic causes accidents. Or, if you’re really squeamish about driving in snow/ice, take public transit to work.
Robin
I went from San Diego to Sacramento.
Now, instead of it being 65 in the winter, it’s more like 55!
BRRRRRRRRR!
Corollary from a native Wisconsinite:
When you have a choice between walking on (1) a smooth, but possibly or obviously icy sidewalk and (2) the unshoveled yard snow on either side, take the snow. You’ll get a little snow on your shoes/boots, but the traction will be a lot better. This is especially true after an ice or sleet storm, when the smooth sidewalk will be slippery, but the snow will have a nice crunchy crust on it.
Go out to a big empty parking lot (without light poles) and practice getting into and out of skids. (Hint: Turn the wheel in the direction that the back of the car is going.)
Keep extra boots, socks, mitts, a blanket, etc. in your car. You never know when you’ll get stuck in the middle of nowhere wearing inadequate clothing.
Northern Californian in Michigan.
It’s not so bad. People keep waiting for me to break or something, but I don’t mind the cold so far. Don’t let them freak you out.
PS: Scarlett is right about the ice. We had freezing rain last night. First time I have experienced this brand of weather. Anyway, I took one step and fell on my ass.
Hey, my grandparents were in Sacramento and Merced. I dreaded Christmas at my grandparents’ house like nothing else, because they put me in the guest bed out on the three-season porch, ignoring the fact that Christmas isn’t in one of the three seasons. When I was a kid, it just wasn’t cool to wear a warm coat, even if the temperature got down to 45 degrees. I froze my ass off every day at school, waiting for the library to open so I could go in and get warm.
I hate you, Bearflag70. I just want you to know that.
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I’m joking, but seriously, I am very bitter about not having been born where it doesn’t ever get cold. I have no stronger desire in life than to move someplace warm and make my life there. Do you absolutely have to move north, autz? If so, can I have your life? 
My advice…
Buy PANTS!
Lasr summer we had 35 days in a row where it was hotter than 105.
You still want my life? It’s a very sweaty life.
I find that the key to not feeling miserable is to wear long underwear. All the time once it gets cold. Generally speaking, I don’t spend a lot of time outdoors in the winter, but going from car to house or car to work or whatever can really make me pissed off when I get that blast of frigid air under my clothes. So a layer of underwear right up against my skin goes a long way towards preventing that from happening. And they keep me toasty inside as well.
“Cuddle Duds” are great for wearing under women’s clothes–they’re not chunky thermals, they are like lingerie material with a brushed underside. Target now has their own knock-off brand, too.
I also take my footwear very seriously. Good slippers are a big help for inside.
Good sturdy boots are key. Insulation isn’t absolutely necessary (especially they’re big enough to accomodate some thick socks) but they absolutely must not leak. Nothing is more miserable than cold, wet feet.
Mittens are warmer than gloves.
For my money, wool beats synthetics hands down (unless you’re going to get the really expensive high-tech stuff.)
Also, get a longer coat. The more of your butt and thighs that are protected from the wind, the better.
And remember, it’s easier to stay warm than to get warm. Even if you’re just going for a short walk, put on your gloves and hat. After you’ve been out walking a while, you can take them off if you’re too warm–but if you just dash off with a bare head and hands, and you get yourself cold, putting on your hat and gloves won’t help much.
A good rule of thumb for motoring, I’ve found, is to allow for double travel time during winter storms. For instance, whereas it usually takes me half an hour to commute to work, I’ll plan for an hour’s drive in moderate-to-heavy snow. And, of course, extra time beforehand to start the car and melt away the ice and snow.
A broom will come in handy to brush the deep snow off your car, and is also useful instead of a shovel for porches, stairs, and walkways, if the snow is light and powdery.
Blankets, boots, etc. have already been mentioned as items to keep in your trunk; I’d also suggest keeping your gas-tank no less than half full – you may need the fuel to keep warm if you’re immobilized in a blizzard somewhere. Hardware stores will sell special dig-out shovels that take up little space, but are useful for dislodging your tires from drifts and snowbanks.
But don’t worry overmuch – except when going downhill, where you can’t be too careful. Stick to about a three-mile-per-hour speed limit and ride your brakes if you’ve got automatic transmission.
*NEVER!!!
Oh boo freakin’ hoo. Talk to me next January when you’re soaking wet and digging your car out of a snowbank with your window-scraper because the handle of your shovel broke off.
Snow sucks. Sunshine for me all the way.
From my relatively warm point of view, cold weather seems nice and romantic.
Building snowmen, getting rosy cheeks, skiing, curling up by the fire.
Whereas when it’s 109, all you can do is go inside where it’s air conditioned and wait for fall.
I moved from Hawaii to Washington state. Here, it’s 46º. Back home, it’s 81º. So you can see the difference in temperature I’ve had to adjust to.
So far, it’s been easy. I have long sleeves tops on all the time, which is no big deal, as I liked and often wore (light fabric) longsleeved shirts back home.
It started getting cold in November, at which point I couldn’t lounge around in a shirt and shorts anymore. At present I’m wearing a t-shirt, hooded cotton jacket, and thick sweatpants. I’m not what I’d call warm, but I’m not uncomfortably cold. Occasionally, I’ll put on a pair of socks if my feet get cold, but I don’t really need them.
Going out after sunset is fun. A coat or jacket is absolutely necessary, as are long pants. I really wish I had flannel-lined pants, of any kind. Jeans alone don’t cut it. I have silk underwear, which helps a little, but I could be warmer when I wear them. I also have gloves, as my hands tend to get cold easily.
Recently I got some all-weather boots from Land’s End, and I love 'em. My feet stay warm and dry, and I don’t worry about slipping on the wet ground as much. (I’m a klutz, so I worry about it to some degree all the time.) I recommend getting similar footwear.
It’s not that much colder at night than it is during the day, so I’m pretty comfortable wearing light sweatpants and a t-shirt to bed. [TMI] Heck, sometimes I pass up on clothing altogether and am happy under my thick comforter. [/TMI]
I understand it’s supposed to get colder in January. We’ll live. We’re not using the heater now, so even if it does drop another 10-20 degrees, we can crank it up and be comfy.
I think you can learn to enjoy the cooler temperature, but it’s not something you can force yourself to do. I came here wanting colder weather, and I got it. Still, sometimes I curse Mother Nature for causing my fingers to go numb.
There are lots of good things about a colder climate. Consider, for five months of the year, things that want to eat you or your house die or hibernate. We don’t have fire ants, killer bees, turtles the size of Volkswagons, or alligators up here.
Unless the weather falls into the teens or below, sensible dressing will get you through. (We’ve invented this thing called “central heating”, after all.) Colder than that, and you do have to plan ahead – make sure you’re not caught outside unprepared (e.g. stalled car miles from nowhere).
I’d say a primary consideration should be in selecting a place to live – make sure you get a reasonably well-insulated house with a good furnace. Two hundred year old Colonial houses look quaint and charming, but it’s no fun shivering in the drafts. (Ask me how I know…)
Four-wheel or all-wheel drive cars are a godsend if you don’t like shoveling driveways. They are not, however, magic carpets. Snow and ice make it hard to stop. Frost on windshields makes it hard to see – give yourself an extra five minutes to deice and defrost on nippy mornings.
Depending on your point of view, colder climates can be fun in a sartorial sense. In the summer, anything but shorts and a tee-shirt is an imposition. In the autumn/winter, you can wear sweaters and dress up a bit. If you’re a guy, you can hide a multitude of fashon-sense sins under a warm wool sweater.
And yes, although romanticized somewhat, there’s a lot to be said for the building snowmen, skating on ponds, sledding down hills, XC skiing, splitting wood, and roaring fires way-of-life. If it has to be dark and wintry out, snow at least helps you enjoy it.