# The "living in cold places" advice thread - share yours! **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 22, 2020, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-living-in-cold-places-advice-thread-share-yours/928663 "2020-12-22T17:19:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 11
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2021, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-living-in-cold-places-advice-thread-share-yours/928663/201 "2021-01-05T22:50:10Z")
> [@Ulfreida](#): > > I never did that again. I’m glad to hear this. Just recently, someone had their windshield cave in from a piece of icy snow that let loose of the truck in front of him. He was bloody from superficial glass/ice cuts, but due to many factors, he wasn’t seriously hurt. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2021, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-living-in-cold-places-advice-thread-share-yours/928663/202 "2021-01-05T22:55:29Z")
I didn’t read the whole thread, just came to tell y’all about this thing I saw on YouTube. It’s a Japanese low table with a heater installed in the underside of the top. You drape a big ol’ comforter over it, tuck your feet under, and live in utter coziness. Apparently cats really like to sleep under it, too. It’s called “kotatsu.” They come in all sizes-- for the whole family or just for one or two people. I want one. I know my cats want one. [![](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/58fd82dbbf629ab224f81b68/1580374659620-2HKIFNE3HQRDWWMHCOWV/ke17ZwdGBToddI8pDm48kK6xQKGD9tHZJt3N0T2sm_wUqsxRUqqbr1mOJYKfIPR7LoDQ9mXPOjoJoqy81S2I8N_N4V1vUb5AoIIIbLZhVYxCRW4BPu10St3TBAUQYVKcLUyxEhW5TrfdnZKrXzDAD4SaBxIbSQWXWzwQ_5W8ZhdyQn0KDvBq_eDYjIF7LHdO/family-kotatsu.jpg) ](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/58fd82dbbf629ab224f81b68/1580374659620-2HKIFNE3HQRDWWMHCOWV/ke17ZwdGBToddI8pDm48kK6xQKGD9tHZJt3N0T2sm_wUqsxRUqqbr1mOJYKfIPR7LoDQ9mXPOjoJoqy81S2I8N_N4V1vUb5AoIIIbLZhVYxCRW4BPu10St3TBAUQYVKcLUyxEhW5TrfdnZKrXzDAD4SaBxIbSQWXWzwQ_5W8ZhdyQn0KDvBq_eDYjIF7LHdO/family-kotatsu.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2021, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-living-in-cold-places-advice-thread-share-yours/928663/203 "2021-01-06T00:59:47Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Cool. That’s exactly the system used on jet airplanes. The windows are electrically heated by invisibly fine wires. Then again, windshield cost, and replacement cost, is almost immaterial in that business. > > That’s exactly the system I’d like to see available on cars in the US. My Jaguar has a heated windshield. I assume it’s heated by invisible fine wires. You can kind of see them if the light hits it just right. I keep in it the garage, so I haven’t had a chance to really test how good it is. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2021, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-living-in-cold-places-advice-thread-share-yours/928663/204 "2021-01-06T02:57:04Z")
Another mini-threadjack, but … does any of this resonate with you ? > **[2018 Jaguar F-Pace: Heated windshield option may drive you crazy - Autoblog](https://www.autoblog.com/2017/09/29/2018-jaguar-f-pace-heated-windshield-option-may-drive-you-crazy/)** > > Only for those with a strong dislike of scraping windshields. [whether that’s your model or not …] ---
**Author:** ![gkster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gkster/32/14107_2.png) [@gkster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gkster)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2021, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-living-in-cold-places-advice-thread-share-yours/928663/205 "2021-01-06T04:22:50Z")
Having spent a cold January in Japan, I can vouch for the kotatsu! They have all sorts of warming gadgets, including heated toilet seats. ---
**Author:** ![kitap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b9e5f3/32.png) [@kitap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kitap)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2021, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-living-in-cold-places-advice-thread-share-yours/928663/206 "2021-01-06T04:29:58Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > I didn’t read the whole thread, just came to tell y’all about this thing I saw on YouTube. It’s a Japanese low table with a heater installed in the underside of the top. You drape a big ol’ comforter over it, tuck your feet under, and live in utter coziness. Apparently cats really like to sleep under it, too. > > It’s called “kotatsu.” They come in all sizes-- for the whole family or just for one or two people. I want one. I know my cats want one. > > [https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/58fd82dbbf629ab224f81b68/1580374659620-2HKIFNE3HQRDWWMHCOWV/ke17ZwdGBToddI8pDm48kK6xQKGD9tHZJt3N0T2sm\_wUqsxRUqqbr1mOJYKfIPR7LoDQ9mXPOjoJoqy81S2I8N\_N4V1vUb5AoIIIbLZhVYxCRW4BPu10St3TBAUQYVKcLUyxEhW5TrfdnZKrXzDAD4SaBxIbSQWXWzwQ\_5W8ZhdyQn0KDvBq\_eDYjIF7LHdO/family-kotatsu.jpg](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/58fd82dbbf629ab224f81b68/1580374659620-2HKIFNE3HQRDWWMHCOWV/ke17ZwdGBToddI8pDm48kK6xQKGD9tHZJt3N0T2sm_wUqsxRUqqbr1mOJYKfIPR7LoDQ9mXPOjoJoqy81S2I8N_N4V1vUb5AoIIIbLZhVYxCRW4BPu10St3TBAUQYVKcLUyxEhW5TrfdnZKrXzDAD4SaBxIbSQWXWzwQ_5W8ZhdyQn0KDvBq_eDYjIF7LHdO/family-kotatsu.jpg) Your cat has probably ordered one. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2021, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-living-in-cold-places-advice-thread-share-yours/928663/207 "2021-01-06T15:26:00Z")
> [@DavidNRockies](#): > > Another mini-threadjack, but … does any of this resonate with you ? Mine is an I-Pace. It is probably the same technology. Honestly, I don’t notice it at all. (for those who didn’t click on the link, the author expressed that he would not be able to get past the distraction of the wires in his windshield on a Jaguar F-Pace.) On the other hand, I don’t live in a snowy area, my car is kept in a garage, and the defroster works very well. So, I don’t personally need this accessory very often, if at all. I’m sure some day I’ll have a chance to put it to use, but it’s not a daily thing in the winter like it might be in Montana or Chicago. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2021, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-living-in-cold-places-advice-thread-share-yours/928663/208 "2021-01-06T16:24:15Z")
> [@kitap](#): > > Your cat has probably ordered one. Hmmm… I thought it was suspicious when I came in this morning and she was sitting on the computer keyboard… B-b-b-but she looked so _innocent_. ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2021, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-living-in-cold-places-advice-thread-share-yours/928663/209 "2021-01-06T16:35:43Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > I thought it was suspicious when I came in this morning and she was sitting on the computer keyboard… B-b-b-but she looked so _innocent_ . Don’t they always? ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2021, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-living-in-cold-places-advice-thread-share-yours/928663/210 "2021-01-08T06:36:52Z")
> [@Gorsnak](#): > > I live in Saskatchewan where we don’t typically get huge amounts of snow, but winters are long and cold. Extended periods where roads are covered with hard-packed snow or ice are common. Modern winter tires are imo some sort of black magic. It’s true, they still slide around in extremely slippery conditions. But at the worst of times, which in my experience are those extended -30C cold snaps where there are slight dustings of snow packed onto the street surface, too thin to plow to but too substantial to get driven off by traffic, modern winter tires provide _some_ traction where all-seasons slip around like bacon on a buttered non-stick frying pan. At those temps all-seasons are rock hard and just don’t work at all. > {snip}Whilst I’m sure the OP will disagree, Michigan just doesn’t deliver much in the way of properly cold weather, even in the UP. 🙂 I’m honestly not sure if I’d bother with Nokian Hakkepeliittas in Michigan, but you won’t catch me driving in winter in Saskatoon without them. Here in Lethbridge, Alberta, we don’t get tons of snow and it’s not nearly as cold as Saskatoon (my hometown), but the chinooks give us ungodly thaw-and-freeze cycles. We get just enough snow so that it gets packed down solid, then a chinook comes around and melts some of it, and then it freezes again, except it’s not snow now, it’s six inches of ice. I will never willingly drive without winter tires here. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2021, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-living-in-cold-places-advice-thread-share-yours/928663/211 "2021-01-08T06:39:59Z")
Regarding moisturizing in winter, I lotion my feet every morning before I put my socks on, and use vaseline on my hands and lips before I go to sleep at night. Cold weather is hard af on your skin! Don’t forget to hydrate when you’re exercising outside in winter, too! You’re still going to sweat a lot. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2021, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-living-in-cold-places-advice-thread-share-yours/928663/212 "2021-01-08T06:50:40Z")
> [@kitap](#): > > Your cat has probably ordered one. Unfortunately when a cat gets on a keyboard it produces results that only other cats can understand. The cat could only have successfully ordered one if it came from a supplier run by other cats. Dogs, OTOH, operate keyboards with great success and even know how to spell most of the time. Evidence is this post. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2021, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-living-in-cold-places-advice-thread-share-yours/928663/213 "2021-01-08T06:58:16Z")
I had a kotatsu in my bedroom when we lived in Japan but I was not allowed to use it since the usual method of heating back in the day was a very small hibachi and the very idea gave my mom the wiggins. I did use them at other people’s houses and they really are one of the most civilized things imaginable. I’ve also used a bath tub that had a fire underneath the big metal tub with cedar floorboards and a low seat under the water. That was sybaritic in the extreme. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2021, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-living-in-cold-places-advice-thread-share-yours/928663/214 "2021-01-08T12:42:43Z")
\<_swoon_\> Sounds heavenly. The hibachi does sound iffy, not just because of fire hazard, but what about the potential for carbon monoxide poisoning? When I was a baby (1950-ish), we were stationed in Japan, and my father told me about an episode on a train where it got so cold that people started burning tubs of charcoal (probably in hibachis) to keep warm, until people started passing out. Finally someone figured out the problem and threw the tubs off the train. Apparently my mother and I narrowly escaped suffocation. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2021, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-living-in-cold-places-advice-thread-share-yours/928663/215 "2021-01-08T19:33:19Z")
Well, in a traditional Japanese house there was likely enough air exchange to keep you from dying, what with shoji walls and all. By the time houses got way more airtight they came up with less scary methods of keeping warm. I’ve definitely considered having a proper tatami room with kotatsu incorporated into a house though my knees are less forgiving of kneeling now that I’m old and decrepit. Maybe a detached tea room/meditation space. Since I’m dreaming, might as well go for it! ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2021, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-living-in-cold-places-advice-thread-share-yours/928663/216 "2021-01-08T22:30:25Z")
> [@Gorsnak](#): > > Nokian Hakkepeliittas Hockey Pucks! My favorite. But they are darn expensive down here in the States. Unless I become a pro rally driver to write off the expense or win the lottery, it’s Blizzaks in the winter for me. And now without a job, it’s worn out all-seasons, which is scary. ---
**Author:** ![lel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8797f3/32.png) [@lel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lel)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2021, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-living-in-cold-places-advice-thread-share-yours/928663/217 "2021-01-08T22:40:48Z")
I’m going to guess the “first year is the worst” advice has already been given. Items in the car will do weird things in the cold just like they do in heat. Sodas explode from freezing instead of overheating, but the end result is bad soda. If you have the time, try to keep snow off the vehicle while the storm is going. It’s so much easier to get off 3-4" rather than 10" of snow. Learn to recognize heavy snow, light snow, snow with a layer of ice, and giant sheets of ice that look like snow. You won’t be able to tell them apart at first, but with experience you’ll learn. Most of all, have fun. I left Arizona for Massachusetts a bit more than two years ago and I don’t know if I could handle the heat anymore. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2021, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-living-in-cold-places-advice-thread-share-yours/928663/218 "2021-01-09T00:30:40Z")
> [@SmartAleq](#): > > . I’ve also used a bath tub that had a fire underneath the big metal tub with cedar floorboards and a low seat under the water. That was sybaritic in the extreme. Want! I got a toto toilet seat that’s mostly a bidet, but it’s also a heated seat. I love it. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2021, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-living-in-cold-places-advice-thread-share-yours/928663/219 "2021-01-09T01:57:53Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > I got a toto toilet seat that’s mostly a bidet, but it’s also a heated seat. I love it.- I also have a bidet seat that’s heated (though not the high _end_ toto 😉 ), and when I’m out in the world and have to use an ordinary, ice-cold toilet seat, it’s a shock to my tushie! _Watchoo doin’ to me??_ ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2021, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-living-in-cold-places-advice-thread-share-yours/928663/220 "2021-01-09T13:51:38Z")
My Wife have been living at altitude in the Colorado Mountains for 30 years. We have a lot of experience with snow and snow tires. We will now only buy either Nokian Hakkepeliittas or Bridgestone Blizzaks. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-living-in-cold-places-advice-thread-share-yours/928663.md?page=10) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-living-in-cold-places-advice-thread-share-yours/928663.md?page=12)