Is Winter 08-09 starting to wear at your psyche / soul?? (Milwaukee: how much, houses)

[EnjoyEP]

I like Milwaukee.

I was born here, am in my early 30s, and despite a run of about 4+ years of living in Albuquerque, New Mexico in 03-07, I have lived much of my life in this area. I loved Albuquerque as many of my CD Forum blathering posts can attest to, however, I yet moved back to the Milwaukee area...showing just how much I admire the city / region. Most of my family, relatives, and friends live in this area.

Having said all of that...

I am nearly losing it.

This winter is driving me to the brink. Seriously. I am not trying to be the typical CD Forum poster / drama-lover who moans about a "cold Midwestern climate" in yearning to live in a place like Las Vegas.

While admittedly I do quite a bit of moaning about our winters on the CD Forums, in "real life", I am not one of those that just sits around moping and making excuses and feeling sorry for themselves in the winter...heck, I would venture to say I spend more time outdoors than most people in this area as I run/walk 7 miles outdoors every day.

Having said that...

I am ready to nearly snap. I realize that in the 2nd week of November, we were still picking up days in the 70s/60s, so honestly, it has "only" been 2 months of winter. However, these 2 months have seemed like 2 years.

After last year's winter of hell with 100 inches of snowfall (and some brutally frigid cold stretches sprinkled in...anyone remember the Packers' NFC Championship game temps??) this winter I think is just triply unbearable.

We already have nearly-50 inches of snow that has fallen...since Dec. 1. Seriously, it is snowing so regularly and so often, people are just starting to give up on shoveling / snow blowing and just letting huge sheets of compressed snow (and soon-to-be-ice) build up. And I don't blame them.

And the cold, oh the cold. Rarely does a day eclipse 25 degrees, and the one day it got up to an amazing-for-here-near-60-degrees, it rained like mad all day (over an inch of rain in one day!).

I remember, we had to get a new (used) car in my household around Thanksgiving. We were out on the lot we ended up buying from just FREEZING (with our young kids freezing) with temps in the low-teens and respectable winds. And since then...it has just kept coming...and coming...and coming.

I am beaten down by the snow and the cold. I am sick of driving in the hazardous road conditions. I am sick of a thick layer of corosive salt/grime/muck stuck to my cars. I am sick of throwing on 3 or 4 layers every time outside. I am sick of shoveling every third day. I am sick of unbelievably high heating/electricity bills that just jab you in your heart.

Now, we hit this stretch where it is lucky to hit 0 and the wind chills just off the charts.

Folks...I don't know about you all...but I just almost can't take it anymore. The really scary / sad thing to me is that we aren't even half way over with winter here. We still have half of January, February, March, and a bit of April to go still. That is a LOT of time...and lot of potential snow, cold, etc.

What are your thougths? Are you getting there? Or are you still OK with it all?

I think my biggest thing isn't so much just physically being outdoors (I have learned the art of dressing in thick layers), but more the physical beating it is putting on my vehicles, the risks associated with harrowing drives in icey/snowy/slick roads consistently, the shoveling costantly required (but if you don't get to it on time due to timing of it and work comittments, people trample on it to form sheets of ice), the astronomical heating bills even if you bust your tail consistently to look for areas in which to save, etc., etc., etc.

And the seeming endlessness of it all. It would be one thing if this lasted for a week or a month, however, week after week after week after week...

[Andrea_Mamie]

LOL I so feel your pain.

I moved to California in October and came back in December for the Holidays. Unfortunatly, due to some of my typical bad F-in luck circumstances, Im still here.

I was SO excited to finally be away for the winter and not have to deal with it all. The has been awful, I will never, ever, ever, desire a white Xmas as long as I live.

Although, I tend to be more of a homebody anyway, I still just hate having to go out 20 min before I leave to start my car, scrape off the snow and ice, shovel it out, and drive through more of it?? NOOOOO Im putting my foot down.

lol Ive lost hope as well.

[CouleeGuy]

I love it, I grew up in IL and WI so I'm used to it. I love the snow, the season. The heating bills sucks each month. paying on two houses is concerning but in general, I don't mind it at all. I'll get antsy towards the end of the season for spring, until then I'll just do it ,snow blow, salt, shovel, I'll keep doing my neighbors also. I have fun with it.

[43north87west]

I'm staying in Arizona until March. December and early January were enough for me; I couldn't take it and left before I planned to.

[suecen]

Enjoy: My sentiments exactly! My main concern this year even more than others (and it's always been a concern) is the driving hazard. So many people are getting hurt in accidents; this morning there was a tv reporter that got into an accident!! Luckily he's okay but geez!! I know another girl that slid on ice before Christmas and ended up in the hospital with bleeding on the brain. I know - you don't want to be all doom and gloom but yeah it's getting to be too much. I'm really clean so I hate all the salt and dirt inside/outside my car and filthy garage!! Well the good news is we're halfway through January so all we can hope for is a speedy rest of the winter. Was talking to my brother in LA Sunday and he HAD to tell me it was 80 and sunny!! Those are the times I wish I weren't here. Oh - another thing (sorry!!), my girlfriend's little daughter broke her leg at school last week when she fell on ice on the playground!! HAVE A GOOD DAY EVERYBODY = spring eventually will come LOL!!

[Milwaukee Ronnie]

It seems like we usually alternate terrible winters with mild winters. It's like a deal with strike with Mother Nature: we'll handle a terrible, cold snowy winter, knowing that the next one will probably be better.

What's making this year so difficult is that we feel cheated. We feel like Mother Nature reneged on our deal. We had a horrible winter last year, and we were all expecting this one to be not as bad. But here we are in mid-January and we're getting hammered again with a really tough winter. We're all collectively shaking our fists at the sky pleading with Mother Nature to give us a break!

This week we're hitting rock bottom. Double digits below zero. That's pretty much as bad as it's going to get. So from here on out there only one way to go: up.

What keeps me going through trying winters is quite simple: the anticipation of spring. Sometimes I actually feel sorry for those who live in soft climates like So Cal, Florida or Texas. I feel sorry for them because they will never know the sheer joy of the first 70 degree day in April. There's nothing like that first nice day, when everyone uses any excuse to get outside and walk around in the warm sun. Everyone's got a smile on their face.

Only 10 more weeks and those warm days will come again...

[Angorlee]

not quite yet but by the middle of February I am starting to get ansy.(if you know what I mean). It helps to get out to a warm climate for at least a couple of weeks. but I don't see that happening this winter. But maybe things will change and I will get out.

[EnjoyEP]

Originally Posted by Milwaukee Ronnie

What keeps me going through trying winters is quite simple: the anticipation of spring.

Only 10 more weeks and those warm days will come again...

I will say this -

I attended opening day for the Brewers last year in early April - and it was sunny, 60 or 65 degrees...it literally felt like it was 90. It felt SOOOO GOOD. It was a euphoric experience / feeling (although very odd to be tailgating, grabbing sun, etc., next to giant albeit melting plowed snow mounds).

I do hear you here Ronnie. I remember probably the first real spring-like day we had last year in April...it was 60...things were melting crazily, it was sunny out...everyone was out and about. The zoo had a freebie thing going on that day and the lines to get there were insane - people just wanted to be out.

I did a long walk that day through the parkway in Tosa and west Milwaukee, as well as with my wife through Greendale. It felt like heaven.

This morning though...driving in the worst street conditions possible (a couple inches of snow and it was worse than driving in most blizzards) sure didn't help my mood any.

[43north87west]

Originally Posted by Milwaukee Ronnie

ISometimes I actually feel sorry for those who live in soft climates like So Cal, Florida or Texas. I feel sorry for them because they will never know the sheer joy of the first 70 degree day in April. There's nothing like that first nice day, when everyone uses any excuse to get outside and walk around in the warm sun. Everyone's got a smile on their face.

Funny thing though. Those people miss all of that great joy and euphoria of a nice spring day, but they also miss the misery and complication of the previous six months. They were golfing and barbecuing and boating all winter, and taking it for granted. It's kind of like losing $1000 gambling, but enjoying the $100 that you won. I admire people who see the $100 that they won, rather than the $900 loss. My mind doesn't work that way; I just see a net loss of $900.

Well, all this talk of weather has made me want to get out of the house. I'm going to take a quick dip then dry off in the sun.

[Andrea_Mamie]

<<but they also miss the misery and complication of the previous six months. They were golfing and barbecuing and boating all winter, and taking it for granted.>>

LOL nice try, but I will NEVER miss the cold, snow, ice, salt, sleet, snow shovels, gloves or staleness of winter.

I lived in Wisconsin all my life and never adjusted. Im stubborn and noone will ever ever be able to convince me of the benefits or glass half full view of it. Oh well, to each his own