Top 10 Reasons NOT to move to Chicago? (Humboldt: gated, deal)

[ForYourLungsOnly]

No, I believe the data I retrieved that from was looking at totally sunny days, no clouds at all. Also, Pittsburgh averages about 40 inches of rain a year, compared to Chicago's 38. Not a huge difference in rainfall, but thats not the point. I'm trying to say that the weather is over-hyped because it really isn't that worse, if at all worse, than other American cities like Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Buffalo, Phili, etc., so one who is planning on moving to Chicago from a city with fairly similar weather (like Pittsburgh) shouldn't let Chicago's weather be the reason they don't move there, unless they are looking for a city that stays warm all year (which obviously isn't Chicago).

[Fishtacos]

...And this isn't a thread comparing Chicago and Pittsburgh or Chicago and the Great Lakes Region. There is a big country and World out there. To many people, from many places...weather becomes a big topic when discussing Chicago(or some similar weather places too)

[SJaye]

Originally Posted by tonythetuna

The wind makes the temps colder here.

No, the wind makes it feel colder. A 25 mph wind will not make water freeze at 33 degrees. 20 degrees and calm is the same temperature as 20 degrees with a 20 mph wind. One is somewhat unpleasant, and one is downright nasty!

[citylove101]

I agree that the thing about the weather that makes Chicago so awful isn't the cold or the snow (after alm, you knew it was a sake when you oicked it up), but the terrible cloudiness, which goes on day after day after day in the Great Lakes region. Its vastly different than in NYC, where even when it gets numbingly cold its still, many times, sunny. But the weeks long overcast in Chicago winters is defintely a no-no for me.

Haven't read all of these posts but I'd also guess that if no one has mentioned it, there is one other big negative about moving to Chicago. One is the state of the public schools, which I know has been discussed in other threads here. If you have school age kids the CPS will give you pause beforemoving here and you might pick a suburb or pay for private schooling.

[grapico]

Originally Posted by citylove101

I agree that the thing about the weather that makes Chicago so awful isn't the cold or the snow (after alm, you knew it was a sake when you oicked it up), but the terrible cloudiness, which goes on day after day after day in the Great Lakes region. Its vastly different than in NYC, where even when it gets numbingly cold its still, many times, sunny. But the weeks long overcast in Chicago winters is defintely a no-no for me.

Haven't read all of these posts but I'd also guess that if no one has mentioned it, there is one other big negative about moving to Chicago. One is the state of the public schools, which I know has been discussed in other threads here. If you have school age kids the CPS will give you pause beforemoving here and you might pick a suburb or pay for private schooling.

I've never noticed week long cloudiness in Chicago... it is actually moderately sunny and doesn't get much lake effect snow like the eastern side of the great lakes. Around SF and the Pac NW for instance it is farrr cloudier.

[MannheimMadman]

Originally Posted by grapico

I've never noticed week long cloudiness in Chicago... it is actually moderately sunny and doesn't get much lake effect snow like the eastern side of the great lakes. Around SF and the Pac NW for instance it is farrr cloudier.

Actually, I remember it was late Dec 2009 when I read an article in the Trib - We went 12 or 13 straight days without seeing the sun/sky. It was overcast/snowy/cloudy for that long.

But yes, PNW is much, much cloudier. Very depressing.

[grapico]

Originally Posted by MannheimMadman

Actually, I remember it was late Dec 2009 when I read an article in the Trib - We went 12 or 13 straight days without seeing the sun/sky. It was overcast/snowy/cloudy for that long.

But yes, PNW is much, much cloudier. Very depressing.

Yes... up there it is 6 out of 7 days with clouds from Oct - April. I am pretty sure Cleveland/Detroit/Erie/Buffalo get it noticeably worse as well.

As far as winters go... if it bothers you I would live in a more western area... It is noticeably colder by the lake and near downtown. I've lived in both areas. Those lakefront hi rises come with a nice view, but also an extra dose of wind chill.

[Drover]

The temperature actually tends to be 5 to 10 degrees warmer by the lake than in outlying areas.

[css9450]

Originally Posted by MannheimMadman

Actually, I remember it was late Dec 2009 when I read an article in the Trib - We went 12 or 13 straight days without seeing the sun/sky. It was overcast/snowy/cloudy for that long.

We also had some sunny days during that month, but perhaps they were just prior to the period you're taking about.

On the other side of the coin, we had a LOT of sun in January and February 2009; not every day but for quite a few. January 10 was a big exception as that was the day we got our heaviest snow, but by noon in the 11th it was clear out. Sure some days saw snow overnight but sunshine the next day for at least a portion of the day.

[ajolotl]

The NWS has a specific definition. I don't recall the details but read about it once -- has to do with fraction of time a specific spot experiences sunshine based on constant flux measurements.

It might be that the metric is flawed, but it's more likely that you got too small a window of data to see the big picture.

Originally Posted by Drover

And how does one define a "sunny day?" A day when there's never a cloud in the sky? What if it's overcast for an hour or two and then sunny the rest of the day?

I didn't find the climate between Pittsburgh and Chicago to be materially different. That goes for amount of sunlight.