A Brit possibly moving to Chicago - Should I?

[PerseusVeil]

Originally Posted by chet everett

When we do get blasted with a polar vortex or a paralyzing layer of snow that takes days to clear from the streets that is one thing. Proper clothing and healthy respect for the limits of how much frozen water weighs on the end of shovel is something you learn before frostbite or a heart attack.

The other aspect, of days of sub-freezing temps and weeks with scant daylight is quite another. Some stores / restaurants, even cocktail lounges just shut down. The once bustling streets are deserted. Even little kids, the perennial non-stop fountains of energy, get lethargic. A sort of regional depression sets in, along with widespread pallor among everyone that does not hit tanning salons or have dough to vacation in a sunny climate.

It is not something that happens every year, but in those that it does it is not easily shaken off.

Yeah, it kind of is. The city was back up and functioning shortly after the blizzard we had last February. The L didn't even stop running, unlike NYC that closed down the subway in fear that they were going to get the same amount of snow Chicago eventually got.

The polar vortexes are tougher, but temperatures recover. It's not like we spent a month at sub-zero temperatures the last time it happened. Temperatures climbed after a few days of extreme cold.

The rest of the time it's business as usual, and stores, bars, and restaurants are still full of people. This winter is also currently predicted to be a mild one.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by PerseusVeil

Yeah, it kind of is. The city was back up and functioning shortly after the blizzard we had last February. The L didn't even stop running, unlike NYC that closed down the subway in fear that they were going to get the same amount of snow Chicago eventually got.

That was kind of insane. I waited in line at a Korean market in KTown in Manhattan the night before for at least 45 minutes just to pay for some food. The line literally snaked through the entire store. It was kind of silly in hindsight, but everyone thought it would be the storm of the century - I guess for long island it was.

[PerseusVeil]

Originally Posted by marothisu

That was kind of insane. I waited in line at a Korean market in KTown in Manhattan the night before for at least 45 minutes just to pay for some food. The line literally snaked through the entire store. It was kind of silly in hindsight, but everyone thought it would be the storm of the century - I guess for long island it was.

Didn't it end up only snowing a few inches as well?

I did get a kick reading about it on various Chicago websites though. The media thought it was hysterical that NYC basically melted down for nothing.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by PerseusVeil

Didn't it end up only snowing a few inches as well?

I did get a kick reading about it on various Chicago websites though. The media thought it was hysterical that NYC basically melted down for nothing.

In Manhattan - yes. Manhattan barely got anything. However, I had coworkers further out on Long Island in cities like Stony Brook who worked from home because they got dumped with around 20 inches of snow. I think some parts of Queens and maybe Brooklyn got a ton of snow too, but Manhattan basically freaked out for nothing. I went to bed thinking that the storm would just hit later and when I woke up it was pretty funny to see what happened. It reminded me of growing up in Minnesota - although we got tons of snow/cold, there were so many times when they'd forecast 8+ inches and we'd end up with 1 or 2. Sometimes they'd call school off the night before because of it because the news was saying how it was supposed to be bad.