Tips for southerner moving to Pitt. (State College: dorm, winter, student)

[mike02]

Originally Posted by Tinare

Dr. Oz (also take with a grain of salt) on one of his shows said that everyone north of a line from Atlanta to just north of LA should take Vitamin D since basically nowhere north of there gets enough strong, consistent sunlight.

Denver, CO is north of there and receives plenty of sunshine and "intense sunlight." But, you're right about Vitamin D. I try to take advantage of the sun we get here as much as possible. There are obviously people here in Pittsburgh that work longer hours than me and spend a lot of time indoors... those people are probably the most likely to have Vitamin D deficiency.

[Tinare]

Originally Posted by mike02

Denver, CO is north of there and receives plenty of sunshine and "intense sunlight." But, you're right about Vitamin D. I try to take advantage of the sun we get here as much as possible. There are obviously people here in Pittsburgh that work longer hours than me and spend a lot of time indoors... those people are probably the most likely to have Vitamin D deficiency.

It's distance from the equator that is the issue, from the little I understand, not so much perceived sunshine.

[Sealtite]

Originally Posted by Picksburg Stillers

What does the cleanliness of streets have to do with the post I was responding to? Would you characterize Paris, London, and Berlin as being full of people with a defeatist attitude of "it is what it is"?

YES!!!! I WOULD!!!! Have you ever been to Europe????

[BrianTH]

At various times the people from Paris, London, and Berlin went about conquering as much of the world as they could. So I wouldn't necessarily use the term "defeatist" for these cities.

On the other hand, maybe you could say they are desperate for someplace sunnier . . .

[Picksburg Stillers]

Originally Posted by Sealtite

YES!!!! I WOULD!!!!

You would also have us believe that everything east of Pittsburgh is a dangerous ghetto, and that you can't get around the city without AWD/4WD in the winter, so I don't really give much weight to what you would say.

Have you ever been to Europe????

Yes, more than once, even. My wife's family lives in Crosby and Bristol, England. We visit them every year and always arrange visits to other destinations in Europe when we go over. We've been to every city I listed.

[Sealtite]

I'm not going to argue with you. If you wanna tell someone from the south to put winter tires on their car, move to Monroeville or Turtle Creek, and they'll be in good shape....that's you're choice. I only lived there for 33 years. Wtf do I know?

[BrianTH]

I've lived here many winters, and also in snowier places, including the Altoona area while driving back and forth regularly from Pittsburgh. I've never owned anything but a FWD car and been fine.

[Aqua Teen Carl]

I live on a hill and have a smaller FWD sedan. I tried to make due with all seasons and just ending up sliding all over the road, not being able to get in/out of my driveway onto the road and grinding my tires into nothing. I purchased some snow and have had no problems since.

To whomever asked, make sure to go by your gut feeling as your particular situation could be (where you live, what your car can handle etc.) as inaccurate advice could actually be dangerous in this scenario.

[Tinare]

I've lived in Pennsylvania for 46 years, 10 years of that in State College which gets more snow and is colder on average in the winter than Pittsburgh, and this will be my first winter with an AWD vehicle. (I needed the room of a small crossover SUV for transporting stuff and it seemed silly to buy the FWD model.) AND I've even survived winter with a rear wheel drive -- amazing, I know. So yes, I also agree that good tires are the most important thing and AWD is not necessarily necessary.

[mike02]

Originally Posted by Tinare

I've lived in Pennsylvania for 46 years, 10 years of that in State College which gets more snow and is colder on average in the winter than Pittsburgh, and this will be my first winter with an AWD vehicle. (I needed the room of a small crossover SUV for transporting stuff and it seemed silly to buy the FWD model.) AND I've even survived winter with a rear wheel drive -- amazing, I know. So yes, I also agree that good tires are the most important thing and AWD is not necessarily necessary.

^^ Is it sunnier in State College in the winter?