Hate snow...family in IL...what to do? (Chicago, Aurora: crime, home)

[cobolt]

Originally Posted by NYrules

And if you mean how you get to wake up to gray skies day in and day out, then when it actually is sunny outside, it is so darned cold out, that after being outside for a matter of minutes your boogers which have now ran out of your nose and blew off to the side to your cheeks thanks to the howling winds which also causes them to freeze to the side of your face as you dig your car out of 6 inches of gray/brown slush, or if you're lucky enough you can do it on those nice sunny days where it is so cold outside that your once slush has now frozen to a solid grayish concrete type state that you now get to try to chop at with your snowshovel, while looking around at the leaf-less trees, listen to basically no birds as they have all fled south for the winter, and have your hands go numb from being so cold that they crack and finally begin to bleed, then yup you're right on, its magnificent! Gosh I can't wait.

My isn't it magnificent? Look at the fun everyone is having. I love how the van in front of the bus takes off and rear ends the car in front of him. LOL!
YouTube - Blizzard in Chicago

Yeah...that brings back some yucky memories. Probably why I decided to whimp out and not move back to Chicago. It isnt' for everyone.

[chicken.or.the.nugget]

someone said that there was snow from thanksgiving to march back when you were a child
I can imagine that there may have been more snow but isnt that an exageration/or u r remembering a couple particular years
wasnt 2007-2008 one of your snowiest years? i know it was here in toronto. We had our first snowstorm american thanksgiving, and then it melted 2 days later but by the second of december we had another one. It stayed through all december (plus we had a massive one on the 17).

We had one on new years day but it melted and then would snow again and melt within 3 days or so for like all of january. We got a huge snowstorm feb. 1 and then most of it melted by the 5th. But by the morning of the sixth it was blizzarding and by the seventh there was over a foot. And then a weak later we had another one! Plus every couple days would snow like an inch or so in the beginning!!! it was our snowiest feb ever. March 3rd or so we got another one. And then around the tenth we had one that was like 10 inches!!! So this year in toronto snow lasted from about thanksgiving to a lil after Easter. But this was our third snowiest winter ever and toronto is colder/snowier than chicago on average so it is really unlikely that snow would always last from when you said.

[Steve-o]

Originally Posted by NYrules

And if you mean how you get to wake up to gray skies day in and day out, then when it actually is sunny outside, it is so darned cold out, that after being outside for a matter of minutes your boogers which have now ran out of your nose and blew off to the side to your cheeks thanks to the howling winds which also causes them to freeze to the side of your face as you dig your car out of 6 inches of gray/brown slush, or if you're lucky enough you can do it on those nice sunny days where it is so cold outside that your once slush has now frozen to a solid grayish concrete type state that you now get to try to chop at with your snowshovel, while looking around at the leaf-less trees, listen to basically no birds as they have all fled south for the winter, and have your hands go numb from being so cold that they crack and finally begin to bleed, then yup you're right on, its magnificent! Gosh I can't wait.

Frick man, thats the longest sentence Ive ever read. Not to mention that youre "showcasing" only the coldest of the cold days. Most winter days are not even remotely that cold, which needs to be pointed out.

Just think... some places in this country are already in the teens at night and have had a few snowfalls, even some rather significant ones. And here we sit in short sleeves and shorts today.

[NYrules]

Originally Posted by Steve-o

Frick man, thats the longest sentence Ive ever read. Not to mention that youre "showcasing" only the coldest of the cold days. Most winter days are not even remotely that cold, which needs to be pointed out.

Just think... some places in this country are already in the teens at night and have had a few snowfalls, even some rather significant ones. And here we sit in short sleeves and shorts today.

Well we are not alone in this totally bizarre weather. While we are basking in this strange more or less heat wave, areas that also are typically completely miserable too by now are also enjoying being able to head out to the polls in shorts and a t-shirt like Indianapolis, Detroit, Minneapolis, Madison, just to name a few which in all my years of living here, I have never seen. This is really just weird at this point, but I do love it! Not only are we very warm with September like warmth, but also 3 TOTALLY sunny days in a row???!!! Even Tom Skilling said last night how unusual it is to have 100% possible sunshine meaning sun from sun up till sun down in Chicago with no clouds anywhere in sight. I think in all honesty I can count on one hand how many times this entire year I have seen Chicago get a strech of 3 consecutive fully sunny days like we just had. There's too many variables to cause clouds around here (the lake, heat islands causing rising air, fronts, etc) So fully sunny days...They just don't happen here. This is truly a year to remember for polling around here. Like the media is saying, we are making history today. Ain't that the truth... Three sunny days in a row here. LOL

[Fishtacos]

Originally Posted by Drover

This isn't a pragmatic question where one can weigh the pros and cons of various regional idiosyncrasies. It sounds like there are some deep personal considerations involved in your decision that can't be resolved by polling a bunch of strangers in a chat forum. You need to decide which you need more right now: a climate befitting your needs and preferences, or the support of your family. That's not a question we can answer for you.

I stopped here and agreed.

[Steve-o]

Originally Posted by NYrules

Well we are not alone in this totally bizarre weather. While we are basking in this strange more or less heat wave, areas that also are typically completely miserable too by now are also enjoying being able to head out to the polls in shorts and a t-shirt like Indianapolis, Detroit, Minneapolis, Madison, just to name a few which in all my years of living here, I have never seen. This is really just weird at this point, but I do love it! Not only are we very warm with September like warmth, but also 3 TOTALLY sunny days in a row???!!! Even Tom Skilling said last night how unusual it is to have 100% possible sunshine meaning sun from sun up till sun down in Chicago with no clouds anywhere in sight. I think in all honesty I can count on one hand how many times this entire year I have seen Chicago get a strech of 3 consecutive fully sunny days like we just had. There's too many variables to cause clouds around here (the lake, heat islands causing rising air, fronts, etc) So fully sunny days...They just don't happen here. This is truly a year to remember for polling around here. Like the media is saying, we are making history today. Ain't that the truth... Three sunny days in a row here. LOL

Ive seen several days this year w/o clouds. Not sure about consecutive cloudless days, but several w/o a single wisp of a cloud. Of course its impossible to get the whole sky in a picture, but this should help... And yes, these are all taken on different days. In fact, MANY days this summer I was wenching come sunset time because there were no clouds in the sky to give off any color. Im a sky watcher, what can I say?


http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee208/illinoisnative/NASCARinSTC.jpg (broken link)







http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee208/illinoisnative/IMG_1758.jpg (broken link)

[Venom]

Originally Posted by NYrules

And if you mean how you get to wake up to gray skies day in and day out, then when it actually is sunny outside, it is so darned cold out, that after being outside for a matter of minutes your boogers which have now ran out of your nose and blew off to the side to your cheeks thanks to the howling winds which also causes them to freeze to the side of your face as you dig your car out of 6 inches of gray/brown slush, or if you're lucky enough you can do it on those nice sunny days where it is so cold outside that your once slush has now frozen to a solid grayish concrete type state that you now get to try to chop at with your snowshovel, while looking around at the leaf-less trees, listen to basically no birds as they have all fled south for the winter, and have your hands go numb from being so cold that they crack and finally begin to bleed, then yup you're right on, its magnificent! Gosh I can't wait.

My isn't it magnificent? Look at the fun everyone is having. I love how the van in front of the bus takes off and rear ends the car in front of him. LOL!
YouTube - Blizzard in Chicago

Those days don't last more then three in a row. They are rare just like a heatwave is rare.
not an everyday occurence.

[michsnowlvr]

Originally Posted by chicken.or.the.nugget

someone said that there was snow from thanksgiving to march back when you were a child
I can imagine that there may have been more snow but isnt that an exageration/or u r remembering a couple particular years
wasnt 2007-2008 one of your snowiest years? i know it was here in toronto. We had our first snowstorm american thanksgiving, and then it melted 2 days later but by the second of december we had another one. It stayed through all december (plus we had a massive one on the 17).

We had one on new years day but it melted and then would snow again and melt within 3 days or so for like all of january. We got a huge snowstorm feb. 1 and then most of it melted by the 5th. But by the morning of the sixth it was blizzarding and by the seventh there was over a foot. And then a weak later we had another one! Plus every couple days would snow like an inch or so in the beginning!!! it was our snowiest feb ever. March 3rd or so we got another one. And then around the tenth we had one that was like 10 inches!!! So this year in toronto snow lasted from about thanksgiving to a lil after Easter. But this was our third snowiest winter ever and toronto is colder/snowier than chicago on average so it is really unlikely that snow would always last from when you said.

I dont live in Chicago, I live in southeast Michigan, but know a lot about climatology/weather of the Great Lakes, and yes, last year was unusually snow in the southern Great Lakes. Chicago saw 60.3" of snow at Ohare airprort for the 7th snowiest winter on record (records date to 1885)...Detroit, MI saw 71.7" at Detroit Metro Airport, the 4th snowiest winter since records began in 1880.

The misconception that winters were snowier in the "old days" is a common but false one. We all remember the fun days of playing in the snow as a kid, but dont remember the days we just sat in the house lol. There have always been thaws in the winter.

[gypsystar]

Wow, thank you for all the reponses...especially the ones suggesting that I should consider living at a halfway point- great idea! I will definitely look into that. I have to say that I already feel so much closer to "home" now that I am in FL...LA seemed a million miles away. I don't really like to fly, so being within driving distance would be important. I'll look into everything - thanks!

[Drover]

Yay, yet another Chicago thread devolves into weather argument. Good thing too since there's such a dearth of those around here.