Tips for someone moving here from the South (Milwaukee, Madison: 2010, apartments)

[JLR29]

I moved to Ann Arbor from South Carolina (Charleston) 3 years ago. I am not sure how similar it is to Madison, but I think the comparison is apt. I interviewed in Sept and bought my house in late april, so I didn't experience the winter I had actually moved. Here are my observations.

It is so COLD. The First winter I was here, I felt like the cold was literally sucking the life out of my body, but if you buy a good coat and Hat and gloves and don't have to work outside, you will get used to it. By this past winter, I found myself wearing a lighter jacket most of the Winter.

The snow is fun for a while, but then gets old. My dogs love the snow. I liked it at first, but then having to shovel it became a pain in the butt. It can literally snow from late October to late April, although at the extremes it is rare and doesn't stick around long. Again, though, I got used to it. I bought a snow thrower. My dogs still love it and cross country skiing is not bad. I have learned to drive in it (a valuable skill). People here are much more used to dealing with it.

The worst part of the winter is the gray. I can take cold and snow if the sun is shining. 10 degrees seems MUCH warmer and more comfortable if the sun is shining. The problem is that it doesn't shine very much in the Winter and it can be a drag. This is the thing I have had the hardest time getting used to. I don't have SAD or anything, but six months of it can seem neverending.

What you get in exchange for dealing with this is fabulous summers. The summers in SC are unbearable. The heat and humidity are killers. It was obviously what I got used to, but I like this better. I can honestly say that there has not been one day in Michigan I have been 'hot'. I didn't realize the difference until I went back to Charleston last july. OH MY GOD, that is hot. I almost see it as trading a winter that you can't really go out in for a summer you can't go out in. If it weren't for the big difference in sunshine. I cannot reiterate how tremendous the summers are.

Bottom line, While I still do not like the winter I have learned to tolerate it, and I think we have had a bad couple of winters. So much so that we are about to make our next move and are considering Madison. Something I would have never said after my first winter.

I am interested what others think and if I am generalizing the weather in AA too much to Madison.

Sorry for being so long winded.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by JLR29

I moved to Ann Arbor from South Carolina (Charleston) 3 years ago. I am not sure how similar it is to Madison, but I think the comparison is apt . . .

. . . I am interested what others think and if I am generalizing the weather in AA too much to Madison.

I'd say the comparison is apt enough. If anything the winters in Madison may be a teeny tiny bit harsher (it's about 80 miles further north), but the degree of difference is probably imperceptible to someone who isn't extremely well-tuned to the subtleties of northern winters.

[chaosX5]

Originally Posted by JLR29

I moved to Ann Arbor from South Carolina (Charleston) 3 years ago. I am not sure how similar it is to Madison, but I think the comparison is apt. I interviewed in Sept and bought my house in late april, so I didn't experience the winter I had actually moved. Here are my observations.

It is so COLD. The First winter I was here, I felt like the cold was literally sucking the life out of my body, but if you buy a good coat and Hat and gloves and don't have to work outside, you will get used to it. By this past winter, I found myself wearing a lighter jacket most of the Winter.

The snow is fun for a while, but then gets old. My dogs love the snow. I liked it at first, but then having to shovel it became a pain in the butt. It can literally snow from late October to late April, although at the extremes it is rare and doesn't stick around long. Again, though, I got used to it. I bought a snow thrower. My dogs still love it and cross country skiing is not bad. I have learned to drive in it (a valuable skill). People here are much more used to dealing with it.

The worst part of the winter is the gray. I can take cold and snow if the sun is shining. 10 degrees seems MUCH warmer and more comfortable if the sun is shining. The problem is that it doesn't shine very much in the Winter and it can be a drag. This is the thing I have had the hardest time getting used to. I don't have SAD or anything, but six months of it can seem neverending.

What you get in exchange for dealing with this is fabulous summers. The summers in SC are unbearable. The heat and humidity are killers. It was obviously what I got used to, but I like this better. I can honestly say that there has not been one day in Michigan I have been 'hot'. I didn't realize the difference until I went back to Charleston last july. OH MY GOD, that is hot. I almost see it as trading a winter that you can't really go out in for a summer you can't go out in. If it weren't for the big difference in sunshine. I cannot reiterate how tremendous the summers are.

Bottom line, While I still do not like the winter I have learned to tolerate it, and I think we have had a bad couple of winters. So much so that we are about to make our next move and are considering Madison. Something I would have never said after my first winter.

I am interested what others think and if I am generalizing the weather in AA too much to Madison.

Sorry for being so long winded.

I couldn't pass up a response to this! I completely agree with how unbearable the heat can be............that's why we want out of NC!!!!

but..............of someone truly does not like the cold or does not seem to be able to bear it well they need to consider that a really cold climate may not be for them. I have relatives in WI, some love the weather, some hate it. It's the same in NC, some love the heat and some hate it. I think that to a certain degree its just your body. I have friends here in NC that are absolutely frozen below 55* and I just love 55* and below it's when I'm the most comfortable, and we'd love some snow (real snow, that is)


Thanks for letting me visit your forum! Ya'll have a GREAT state, very beautiful and very friendly. Hopefully there will be another family reunion soon and we'll get to drive up and visit

[rekuci]

my husband and i moved to madison from maryland 2 years ago. we didn't have functioning AC there and got used to sweltering in our southwest-facing furnace apartment. winter, aka at least october through may, is definitely brutal. and it feels never-ending. the worst is april, you start to lose hope. the summer's great ("except for the mosquitos") and you can make use of almost every weekend - although this JULY has been pretty chilly, coldest july ever supposedly, two days with highs in the 50s - we had to turn the heat on!!

winter is...
the feeling that you can't expose your hands to do ANYTHING outside for more than 5 minutes for 2+ months of winter without getting frostbite. sorry but you can't install windshield wipers or adjust bike breaks with gloves on!

worrying that your bus won't ever come and that you will stand on the street curb and FREEZE to death (and as I found out, you start to shiver uncontrollably standing 45 minutes in 6F without some sort of spacesuit), or that your bike will malfunction on the way to work...keeping an eye out for storefronts you could crawl into to avoid hypothermia. i carry chemical hand-warmers in my backpack "just in case". they can be stuffed in shoes. i never heard of "battery-powered socks" before moving here but now dream of one day owning such.

a dread to even drive anywhere for errands because it's so deadly freezing and your car will take too long to heat up acceptably. we've started taking vigorous snow-walks in a nearby park which helps with stir-craziness, but your time is inherently limited frostbitewise, usually with your feet.

it's like living on another planet in winter (hint: not mercury or venus), but you do get used to it, sorta. i get a sick enjoyment out of how extreme it is, sometimes you have to laugh (eg. snotsicles, frozen eyeballs).

it's a great city otherwise and in my opinion not a significant enough barrier to not take a good job opportunity.

[applesoranges]

You never get used to the winters here. They're horrible, no other way to put it.

[dlk33]

If you're considering moving here, check it out in the winter before you decide! We will be moving to the Greenville, SC area in about a year. We are done with the long frigid winters here. We've put up with it for over 20 years now. One of the main reasons we moved here was because we had not experienced snow, now we've had more then enough! I can understand that the southern parts of SC might be pretty darn hot in the summer, but it will be more comfortable in Greenville, SC. The mountains are close by & the ocean is less then a day drive away. Not only that, the cost of living is less, and the property taxes are much less. At least there in the summer, which only lasts a few months, we can make a point of doing outside activities early or late. In the winter here, unless you love winter sports, you pretty much hibernate for six months.

[Milwaukee City]

Originally Posted by applesoranges

You never get used to the winters here. They're horrible, no other way to put it.

I agree, winter sucks here. dark at 4 everyday, cloudy and windy and snowy. Life is too short to spend more than half your life in doors paying 400/mo for heat. People also forget all the up keep when it is winter. Constantly shoveling your sidewalk, driveway, brushing your car off every time you get in it to go anywhere. Don't forget every two hours to put salt your walk and drive way, oh digging out your car is fun when a plow "plows" you in a parking spot.

[Chelito23]

I too HATE the winter, snow, darkness, etc. However, those negative things we attribute to the Wisconsin winters are certainly character building. You are forced to excercise by shoveling, your endurance for cold is tested, scraping frost off the car is no easy task...but this extreme weather does bring people together, people tend to help their neighbors shovel...so yes there is a downside, a major one if you don't like the cold, but at the same time you do acclimate to it. If you accept the area for what it is, knowing that it is cold, it isn't bad. But if you think how warm it must be down south you will be miserable. If life gives you lemons, make lemonade. You will have area ski hills nearby, ice skating, hocky, cross country skiing, jogging, beautiful scenery and illuminated nights thanks to the snow. If you predispose yourself to how terrible it is "up north" in the winter, you are kind of casting your own fate already. Just come with an open mind and recognize that different isn't bad and if you really don't like it you can pick up and move away...

[why_so_much_racism]

Originally Posted by Family_Guy27

I've lived in SC all my life, but recently graduated and had a recruiter contact me about a job opportunity here. What would I be getting myself into? I really am not a fan of the cold nor am I used to it. How many months of the year does it stay cold?

well it's quite cold up here of course. we get a few chilly days in September, mostly 50s in October, November 40s,30s and the snow usually rolls in right before thanksgiving. December is 30s and 20s by Christmas. the average winter high temp ( dec -mid march ) is 25. that's if its a good winter. if its a cold one, we can have high temps of 10 or sometimes hovering around zero. someone said here that below zero doesn't faze us, that's not true, it freaks out us every time. but does life go on regardless? oh yeah. get your car out of the snowbank and go to work.

if you really really really dislike the cold, don't move here. that's the sad truth to it. i mean ok i was born and raised here, and i love how its a safe city, friendly people, but not over populated. i mean culture wise its perfect. my only beef with it is the cold. always has been. and if that's a major factor for you, then turn down that job offer. and give me your prospective boss's name and number cause i'm unemployed lol.

[pirate_lafitte]

Originally Posted by Drover

Seems "cold" is subjective. I wear shorts when it's 60 degrees outside, but I grew up around here so I'm used to it. For someone who spent their entire life in the south and doesn't like cold weather, I would guess that Madison is "cold" for at least five months out of the year, maybe even six. Here are some things to consider:

• The leaves are already off the trees by early November.
  
  
• It gets cold enough that UW students walk across Lake Mendota in the winter as a shortcut to class.
  
  
• Some years it gets cold enough to haul pickup trucks and ice-fishing shacks out onto the area lakes.
  
  
• Ten below doesn't faze the city, it just keeps right on going like it's another day in winter -- kids still go to school, people still go to work, etc. That's how common below-zero temperatures are -- everyone is used to it and the whole city just shrugs and carries on.
  
  
• Snow in April is not unheard of, though it will usually melt away within a day or two.

Someone with an open mind about cold weather might adjust just fine. Someone who dreads and/or loathes cold weather will probably have a tough go of it.

Walking across a frozen lake. Wonderful. Sounds like a winter wonderland.