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This. People act like anyone who goes through winter legitimately sits inside their house and does nothing for months on end. We're not depressed and we don't just do nothing for months on end. If that was the case, why are Scandinavian countries the happiest countries? And Canada is pretty high up on the happiness as well. They all get longer/worse winters than most of the US, but they do stuff that makes them happy in winter. Pick up a winter sport. Or embrace the beauty of snow. I don't see how it's any different than people in the coastal Southeast or Desert SW having to stay inside for months on end in the summer because it's too hot to breathe outside.
I moved from LA to NYC. I love the change of seasons. Summers are hot, but we take full advantage of them. We go to the shore, only frequent bars/restaurants with outdoor patios and rooftops. Have picnics in the parks. Do whatever you can think of outdoors. Fall leaves are pretty, but I honestly am not a huge fan of Fall. Winter is beautiful because I live somewhere that doesn't close down in winter. The city honestly comes quite alive. The lights and decorations everywhere, people visiting from all over the world, the winter markets and holiday events all over the city. There isn't much prettier than seeing a brownstone's steps covered in snow and the lights/wreaths wrapped up the handrail and over the doors/windows. My friends and I go to more restaurants that have indoor seating and serve heavier meals that we'd never think of eating in summer. We do indoor beer gardens that have heated and covered areas. We spend time cooking with each other. And even though winter is beautiful and can be fun in a different way, there's not much else that feels as great as that first warm day of Spring when you know it's finally warming up for good. The outdoor dining tables come back out. The rooftop bars reopen. The greenery comes back to the trees and the parks and feeling warm again is a really nice feeling.
TBH, those changes are amazing to me. Constantly experiencing the same weather gets really boring IMO. I mean yeah, you can do more outdoorsy stuff I guess. But to me it's a very stagnant life where nothing really ever changes. I get bored very easily I think, so having different seasons breaks up the year and makes time actually seem moving. It also forces my friends and I to take advantage of different seasonal activities and I do more here than I did in LA because I always figured "oh I can do that another time" in LA and I never ended up doing it.
100% your last paragraph. All of it. I tried to bold it, wouldn't let me lol. My in-laws in San Diego are always trying to get us to move out there … same weather all the time? That's so boring. NYC is so magical around the holidays. I always tell people winter is the best time to visit NYC.
100% your last paragraph. All of it. I tried to bold it, wouldn't let me lol. My in-laws in San Diego are always trying to get us to move out there … same weather all the time? That's so boring. NYC is so magical around the holidays. I always tell people winter is the best time to visit NYC.
The cold here is exaggerated. Yes, it gets below freezing, but it's not a common weekly or even monthly occurrence. Like once per winter. But wear proper clothing and you'll be fine. It doesn't get as cold here as it does in the Midwest/Plains. And there is a difference between cold/dreary weather with nothing to do, and cold weather in NYC with tons of life and decorations all around you. Life doesn't stop here like it does for other people.
Just the other night after the recent snow we got (which was minimal), it rained and everything turned to slush. So what? Wear boots. It's all about dressing appropriately. However, I saw numerous people in casual cloth shoes or leather work shoes. If you wear that when you know the weather is going to be bad, you get no right to complain about the weather. And if you live near the transit station, your time spent outside is minimal. Nobody goes on hour-long strolls through the city in -10 degrees with ice on the ground. But a normal day here is in the 20s-40s. Also when it snows, many employers allow you to work from home. Nobody gets to work from home when it's a heat index of 120 in the South.
if you aren't happy, move, but I doubt most people are spending most of their time on the couch watching TV. Life doesn't stop b/c it's cold
Big difference between staring at dead corn fields or being in the middle of a city with tons to do. There's a reason people continue moving to Minneapolis and loving it. And for all the bad press Chicago gets, people are still moving there constantly too. The cold winters are just a fact of life in those cities and you go about your daily life still.
This. People act like anyone who goes through winter legitimately sits inside their house and does nothing for months on end. We're not depressed and we don't just do nothing for months on end. If that was the case, why are Scandinavian countries the happiest countries? And Canada is pretty high up on the happiness as well. They all get longer/worse winters than most of the US, but they do stuff that makes them happy in winter. Pick up a winter sport. Or embrace the beauty of snow. I don't see how it's any different than people in the coastal Southeast or Desert SW having to stay inside for months on end in the summer because it's too hot to breathe outside.
I moved from LA to NYC. I love the change of seasons. Summers are hot, but we take full advantage of them. We go to the shore, only frequent bars/restaurants with outdoor patios and rooftops. Have picnics in the parks. Do whatever you can think of outdoors. Fall leaves are pretty, but I honestly am not a huge fan of Fall. Winter is beautiful because I live somewhere that doesn't close down in winter. The city honestly comes quite alive. The lights and decorations everywhere, people visiting from all over the world, the winter markets and holiday events all over the city. There isn't much prettier than seeing a brownstone's steps covered in snow and the lights/wreaths wrapped up the handrail and over the doors/windows. My friends and I go to more restaurants that have indoor seating and serve heavier meals that we'd never think of eating in summer. We do indoor beer gardens that have heated and covered areas. We spend time cooking with each other. And even though winter is beautiful and can be fun in a different way, there's not much else that feels as great as that first warm day of Spring when you know it's finally warming up for good. The outdoor dining tables come back out. The rooftop bars reopen. The greenery comes back to the trees and the parks and feeling warm again is a really nice feeling.
TBH, those changes are amazing to me. Constantly experiencing the same weather gets really boring IMO. I mean yeah, you can do more outdoorsy stuff I guess. But to me it's a very stagnant life where nothing really ever changes. I get bored very easily I think, so having different seasons breaks up the year and makes time actually seem moving. It also forces my friends and I to take advantage of different seasonal activities and I do more here than I did in LA because I always figured "oh I can do that another time" in LA and I never ended up doing it.
How long have you lived in NYC? Seeing you’ve lived your whole life in California a lot of this is just new to you, hence why you’re enjoying so much at this time. Not everyone, but most that grew up in Southern California and left eventually want to make their way back if they can. Maybe it isn’t the case as much for LA, as I can only speak to San Diego.
I too liked the change of seasons and everything they entailed when I went to school in Michigan, it was a factor in leaving San Diego. I will say as time wore on and I knew I still a couple of years to go things changed a bit. The novelty seemed to wear off and I missed being outside in nice weather year round. Whether it was watching my friend on tv at USC along with the Chargers in late fall and seeing everyone in T-shirt’s, or taking trips home and to Hawaii in the winter, I knew I had to get back.
All my friends, and many more I’ve met, that have left for school, work, or love, all came back, or would if their circumstances were different. Like I said it may be different for you, and I genuinely hope it is as you really seem to have found your place. All I want is for people to be happy in life, but a lot of this can be chalked up to being new and different, and don’t be too surprised if you change your mind down the road.
100% your last paragraph. All of it. I tried to bold it, wouldn't let me lol. My in-laws in San Diego are always trying to get us to move out there … same weather all the time? That's so boring. NYC is so magical around the holidays. I always tell people winter is the best time to visit NYC.
With all due respect, how can you know it’s boring if you never lived anywhere else in your life? At least when I comment on how the four seasons are overrated that comes from personal experience living in them. I think your husband would be a better person to comment seeing he’s lived in both. I know from previous posts you said he’d come back if he could.
With all due respect, how can you know it’s boring if you never lived anywhere else in your life? At least when I comment on how the four seasons are overrated that comes from personal experience living in them. I think your husband would be a better person to comment seeing he’s lived in both. I know from previous posts you said he’d come back if he could.
He wants to go back to SoCal b/c of his family, NOT the weather. He doesn't like cold but he does think the weather out there is quite boring … and I agree.
Varied weather is wonderful, IMO. I know it sounds silly, but it is. Today is gorgeously sunny and tomorrow is raining all day. It keeps things different and exciting. I love it.
Truthfully I find SoCal to be a bit 'brown' for my tastes … the colors here are so vibrant … everything is beautiful shades of green. I didn't see same type of greenery out west that I do here. The rain is what helps that for us.
Fall colors are truly incredible.
For all the people who love SoCal weather, there are many of us that don't.
NYC is not THAT cold. Most of the winter it's in the 30's which is not that bad. Occasionally it will get crazy low, maybe once or twice a winter we'll hit single digits, but really winter here isn't unbearable.
For me, I live in the suburbs, so the amount of walking I have to do is limited. Another posted alluded to this … it's cold for the second I'm walking from my front door to my car. Get in my car where it's heated. Park my car. Walk for the few seconds it takes to get from my car to inside my destination, where it's again heated.
Some people spend all winter doing outside activities. As long as you're dressed appropriately, it's totally bearable. 8 million people live in this city … and well, there is a reason for that.
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