Is the winter really THAT bad? (Minneapolis: to live in, food, pool)

[fashionguy]

Second that. This thread needs some of us Minnesota winter haters' perspectives as well. I don't know how people describe the winter here to OP. All I heard about before I came here is that the winter is long and freezing and there is strong wind. Every bit of that is true and it is far more miserable than I expected. There is hardly another major metro area with more harsh winters. You can argue that some places are not A LOT better but they are definitely not as harsh.

Originally Posted by Repubocrat

I don't care how much Minnesotans try to say that the winter is not too bad, it is HORRIBLE.

[knke0204]

The winter sucks, hands down. Its horrible.

From December to February, it is pure hell

[Mick St John]

Another winter hater here.
In all fairness, winter sucks in the whole northeast quarter of the lower 48. In Minnesota it's bitter cold and occasional heavy snow and ice. Elsewhere it's ice storms knocking down power lines and thunder snow. EVERYWHERE it's dirt, sand, salt, and more salt.
The closer I get to retirement, the more attractive desert southwest becomes.

[webzter]

10 year resident of Minneapolis... native of Upper Michigan before that. I know cold and snow.

Just my opinion, re, Minneapolis. There's not a lot of snow. So, you get a lot of cold without the huge snow benefit (really, if you want to snowmobile, you can for a bit but you really need to take those sleds north). Having been down in Indiana during a snowstorm, though, Minneapolis is much better at getting things plowed and keeping things open.

It's downright pleasant through November and then nature decides it hates you. If you have to be outside a lot (walking the dog, for instance) you'll fight the urge to jump in front of traffic come February. But, then it starts to warm by April and by August you'll be wishing for the cool of fall again.

Blizzards or heavy snow during rush hour are nightmares. I've had a normal 30-40 minute drive take 3 hours. Those are rare, though.

Downtown is connected by a nice skyway system so, if you work downtown, you can minimize going outside.

Winter is obviously tolerable enough, or we've all frozen enough brain cells, that we actually have nightly parades in the dead of winter downtown.

Plus, you don't know what being alive feels like until you take part in the polar bear plunge.

Oh, and my unofficial first sign of spring is a truck breaking through the ice on lake Minnetonka.

[Ghengis]

For us Royal Order of the Twenty-Firsters, end of winter occurs December 21st when the days start getting longer. Next month or two is a piece of (ice cream) cake.

[Milwaukee City]

Winter=frozen hell.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by Milwaukee City

Winter=frozen hell.

Wait -- what? The Cubs won the World Series???

[knke0204]

Originally Posted by drover

wait -- what? The cubs won the world series???

awesome

[rgb123]

Originally Posted by knke0204

The winter sucks, hands down. Its horrible.

From December to February, it is pure hell

December to February is no walk in the park.

But March and April (and sometimes MAY) are the months you start to go crazy...literally insane as the grip of winter refuses to cease while other parts of the country are having picnics and gathering wildflowers for several days in a row, while you keep hearing about the "last" snow of the season...oh wait, no there's gonna be one more. Oops. We went below zero...again.

It's never ending!! Winter should end in February. That is the way it should be, there should be a contract that March should be one constant thaw....not a back and forth until June!

[rgb123]

Originally Posted by JMS_9

Some people act like it's zero degrees with 10 feet of snow here from October - April.

Believe me, the myths of Minnesota winters far supersede reality. Is there a period of very cold weather? Yes. Usually for a week or so in late January/early February. Are there blizzards? Obviously. Just like there are thunderstorms in summer.

But it amuses me to the point of annoyance the way people make Minnesota winters out to be the single worst spot on Earth at any given time.

Define "cold" ---- that cold snap you are referring to is well below zero.

to many people, cold means below 50 or 60 degrees for a week at at time.