Buffalo bound from Idaho - winter dress questions (Hudson, Springs: buy, schools) - City-Data Forum

skistone · 11-04-2010, 06:37 PM

OK, I have read numerous threads here but still have a couple of questions about winter dress. Any help I can get is appreciated.

How should I dress my third grader in the winter? Do jeans and a good jacket along with snow boots cut it during school? Of course we will throw a beanie and gloves on him but does he need more?

And as far as my dress goes for business. I know that there are lined casual dress pants out there. Is this overkill? Right now my plan is dockers or slacks depending on the schedule for the day.

jblake78728 · 11-04-2010, 06:54 PM

I wear basically the same kind of winter clothing I wore in Colorado Springs so I imagine whatever you are wearing in Idaho will be fine here. For the kid a good winter jacket, gloves, scarf, toque, snow boots & jeans will be fine. Snow/ski pants are also good if you let your child play outside in the winter. Most of the winter we will have temps in the 20's & low 30's. We will have times when it will be near 0 for a few days at a time but that isn't how it is all winter or anything. When the winds are blowing off Lake Erie it will feel a lot colder though.

BuffaloTransplant · 11-04-2010, 08:57 PM

I taught in grade school almost 30 years . Most kids showed up in jeans and tees or sweaters. Girls who wore skirts wore legwarmers. Most kids still wore winter boots at gr. 3 or carried a second pair of sneakers; all (with common sense) wore a hat and gloves and a scarf.

IMHO, a good warm parka with a hood and an extra pair of gloves stuffed inside in a zipper pocket are always a good idea -- kids lose things. If they lose their gloves, hat, mittens -- and have a hood and extra gloves -- they are fine. Leaving an extra sweater at school or in a bookbag is always good, since schools generally heat up in the am and let it cool off and then heat again at lunch . Chances are your kid will ride a bus or you will take them to school -- I wouldn't worry. I would definitely have extra sneakers (old ones) left in school just in case the feet got wet... wet feet are horrible for kids, any age.

Your clothes? Are you riding a bus to work? If not, you don't need anything special. If I wore a skirt, I wore high boots and a long coat. If I wore pants to work, I wore a 3/4 length parka. I always had extra clothes in the car, just in case of bad weather. My husband taught as well and work black jeans ( he managed to get away with it) and a shirt ; and a parka for outside

Believe me, it isn't as bad as people make out. I am sure if you survive in Idaho, you won't find it much different here.

skistone · 11-04-2010, 09:15 PM

First couple replys are encouraging. The image I have been given is that Buffalo in the winter is like living in an sub-zero ice box where once the snow starts it stays, winter driving is more dangerous there than riding a unicycle on ice and any exposed skin will freeze in seconds. If it is like Colorado then we should be fine. I lived through the last few blizzards that CO got with no issues.

I will take heed on the spare clothing for my son and make sure he is always going to school with spare clothes, shoes and undergarments. Thanks!

jblake78728 · 11-04-2010, 10:46 PM

I will add that Colorado does tend to warm up more & melt the existing snow a few times over the course of the winter. In Buffalo the majority of the snow stays until March but that doesn't mean it is 10 below zero all winter it just doesn't usually get to 50 (which tends to happen quite often in the front range of Colorado).

Winter driving really comes down to you & your experience. The crews in WNY do a very good job of keeping up with the storms & keeping the major roads cleared.

choosing78 · 11-05-2010, 08:18 PM

I've only been to Idaho a few times but I used to live in Buffalo and now live in Colorado. I live in the Denver metro and can tell you compared to the Denver/Boulder area, Buffalo will seem frigid and a little depressing. About half the amount of sunshine, much colder in fall/winter and humidity can be extremely uncomfortable in summer (compared to West). I don't know what the temps in Idaho are right now but it was almost 80 in Denver today and is supposed to be 75 tomorrow. Without even looking at weather.com I would bet it is at least 30-40 degrees colder in Buffalo. Windchill factor, lake effect snow, black ice are all terms to get used to.

choosing78 · 11-05-2010, 08:19 PM

oh I forgot to add get ready for salt stains along the bottom of your pants and on your shoes.

BuffaloTransplant · 11-05-2010, 09:57 PM

skistone, you will hear tons of pluses and minuses here about "Buffalo winters"... the point is to come and just expect to learn how you can put it to your advantage. This place is truly a learning curve - on how to dress, how to drive... and on things like what heating costs and how to be practical and have food in the pantry in case of a blizzard. Having spent the first 18 years of my life down by NYC, I honestly can say I came here, didn't change much ( well, yes, we all wore jeans in college -- think late 1960s ) and I really still have not. I think you will be fine. Common sense is going to serve you well.

For driving, plan on going to an empty, icy, badly plowed parking lot and driving and braking and getting the feel of how your car handles. You will learn more from that than anything and feel more secure on the roads. Then snow and black ice won't seem intimidating. Another thing about cars -- we keep a snow shovel, a brush with a scaper on it, blankets and sweatshirts and gloves and hats in the car. It hasn't ever happened to us, but we'd be better off stuck with them than without. Also some granola bars. Just another "better safe than sorry".

I remember what people scared me with when I was moving here. Now, it looks like a warm spot when I see the temps at many, many degrees below us in northern Canada near Hudson Bay

JH6 · 11-05-2010, 11:23 PM

Buy a good waterproof winter coat, gloves, and hat.

I like Columbia products myself, and dress the kid in layers. Look for a thinsulate logo on the gloves, and buy one with the most grams of material that you can find. I have had cheap gloves that are just not adequate for these tough winters. A good pair of gloves is a necessity.

Most winter hats are OK, just cover those ears and you will be OK.

A good pair of waterproof boots is a must also, and good socks.

Dry feet are a necessity!

jblake78728 · 11-10-2010, 09:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by choosing78

I've only been to Idaho a few times but I used to live in Buffalo and now live in Colorado. I live in the Denver metro and can tell you compared to the Denver/Boulder area, Buffalo will seem frigid and a little depressing. About half the amount of sunshine, much colder in fall/winter and humidity can be extremely uncomfortable in summer (compared to West). I don't know what the temps in Idaho are right now but it was almost 80 in Denver today and is supposed to be 75 tomorrow. Without even looking at weather.com I would bet it is at least 30-40 degrees colder in Buffalo. Windchill factor, lake effect snow, black ice are all terms to get used to.

I talked to a friend of mine tonight who lives in Colorado Springs, he said its in the 30's with a chance of snow in the forecast from now through the weekend ............... meanwhile its been in the mid to high 50's all week in WNY & we may hit the 60's the next few days.

IMO humidity in the summer in Buffalo is really a non factor since the temp rarely gets above 85 degrees. I can count on 1 hand how many days I would consider uncomfortable since Ive been in NY (about 5 years), granted I moved here from Texas where it actually gets hot.