We need to get something straight folks (Milwaukee, Green Bay: appointed, transplants)

[berries]

I read a lot of threads of people thinking about or actually making the move to WI, and they always ask about the weather. People from lets say california or texas or even missouri or Illinois, and they say are going to move to central or northern WI and fondly remember as a kid at grandmas having snow and thinking it will not be so bad. The last few winters have been mild, but it gets cold and snowy and you will not see the sun for somethimes a month and when you do it means a big snow just left and it is sub zero an sunny. I think people need to realize this before they make the move and assess if they can handle a week below zero, the fun of stating a car that no longer even sounds of this earth. I know many think it will be fun, but it can get old and where I live I know alot of people move here, go through two winters and they can not wait to get out!!. If you like the winter activities, then you really do have it made, If you like to ice fish, hunt, ski, or snowmobile, or drink...you will always have company. If you like art festivals and and strolling the town with nice shoes on, you may be disappointed. Just a little reality check for those contemplating the move... and remember, when it gets cold....that is when you property taxes are due!!! Right now it is 85 and on tuesday the high is supposed to be about 48

Cheers

[sunflower53072]

Very true. I live in southern wisconsin where it is a bit more mild We gets lots of small snow storms that are just enough to make driving a pain and often unpredicted. When the sun does come out it usually means a cold front has come thru and it is often below zero. If you have never experience below zero, to me it means it is painful to be outside at all. When it warms up to 30 degrees you will see people with their coats unzipped in comparison. The springs can be late here as well. Snow on Easter seems to happen often. It can be a long and gray winter. On the positive side things don't shut down here for snow and cold unless it is a blizzard which are fairly rare. Kids go out for recess and walk to school, unless it is below zero. People complain if there is not enough snow for cross country skiing or snow mobiling. It is the only place I have lived where people complain if there is not enough snow.

[Alexis03]

It depends on your area people are planning on moving too...the northern area is colder than the southern and there is more to do in western than eastern parts of the states. Make sure people check out the local Chamber of Commerce before you make any final decsions.

[escapetacoma]

Originally Posted by sunflower53072

When the sun does come out it usually means a cold front has come thru and it is often below zero. If you have never experience below zero, to me it means it is painful to be outside at all.

...Prepping for my first Wisconsin winter. I remember sub-zero, though, and I agree. It's almost like our perception of temperature isn't linear - the drop from 30 to 10 is *nothing* like the drop from 10 to -10. 30 to 10 means add another layer, 10 to -10 means don't even consider it unless you have to.

It can be a long and gray winter.

This is the part that I'm interested in. The people that I've talked to are pretty much evenly split on this - some talk about months of gray and others about sun reflecting off of crisp snow. The one commonality that I've found is that the people who have lived in the Pacific Northwest haven't been the ones to describe Wisconsin winters as gray - though "bitterly cold" creeps into their descriptions all of the time Note that this applies almost exclusively to the southern portion of the state. I've only known one person who has lived in both the Pacific Northwest and northern Wisconsin and he describes a much bleaker winter.

It is the only place I have lived where people complain if there is not enough snow.

That's a real common complaint in Seattle - at least until the first flakes start falling. After that everyone remembers that snow around the Puget Sound will turn to solid ice before the ineffectual road crews even begin to work on it. Three or four inches of snow is completely incapacitating. After a snow there'll be a lot of people who swear that they never want to see it outside of the mountains again

[BacktoNE]

Last winter was our first here, but we came from northern new england so a little snow is no big deal.

Our only issue, weather-wise, was that week when the wind chill was roughly -40* for 3 consecutive days. That was ridiculous.

Other than that, the constant lack of sunshine gets depressing but not debilitating unless you have SAD.

[Wi_Girl]

I've been in -65 below w/ windchill back in 1997 or 1998 (I cant remember which year exactly but it was around then) and yeah that was pretty cold and miserable but I'll say that here in Virginia, when the summers are months and months long, the humidity is awful and the temperature doesnt get below 90 at night, I'll take cold ANY day. I can always put clothes back on, I'm tired of sweating while I walk from my front door to my car, of running my air conditioner constantly from April through Novemeber, yeah COLD sounds GREAT. I'm ready to move back and so is my husband.

But I can see where yes some people dont understand just how cold it can get. I made my husband (who is from VA born and raised) sit at a Packer game in -10 windchill and he didnt care for it much, but agrees he'd take a WI winter over a VA summer any day.

Oh yeah I forgot to mention the days (almost 2 weeks this year) where we were at 106-110 degrees. NOT GOOD...it was beyond miserable and still most of this summer was way too hot for my 2 year old to go outside and play.

[DaBears]

I think it was 97 Wi_girl...that was my last winter in milwauke...I am the total opposite...I would rather take hot weather than cold any day...I did go from 1 extreme to the other from Milwaukee to Tampa so

[ekg56]

We have moved here from Chicago 20 years ago. I have never found the winters to be that bad. We sold our snowmobiles over 10 years ago because of the lack of snow. I think since then there has been 1 year that the trails were open for a decent amount of time, like more then 2 weeks.
But event winter in Chicago is a lot milder then when I was a kid. I don't find the days that gray either. But I love walking outside and do unless it is pouring rain. I dress in layers and walk almost everyday.
We have friends who have moved here from NC and they have been here for 5 years and find the winters a lot less severe then they were expecting. They are disappointed that we don't have more snow.

[Wellstone]

the winters here aren't what they used to be. we used to get a couple feet of snow in the front yard at any given time in the winter. snowmobiling was quite popular in central wisconsin and now they can't keep the trails open for much more than a couple of weeks due to lack of snow.

i live in minneapolis now and last year we had almost no snow until mid february and then we proceeded to get 20+ inches twice in a week's time.

also there were hardly any below zero stretches last year and there really hasn't been a long stretch of that since probably around 1996 or 97. i can recall when i was in college a string of about 2 weeks straight where it never made it above 10 degrees and was below zero for most of that time. when it hit 10 degrees it felt like spring.

people in wisconsin and minnesota like to make it sound a lot worse than it really is. it's not like it snows every day in the winter and never gets above freezing. really the worst thing that can happen in winter is freezing rain.

minnesota's extremes are much worse than wisconsin, it gets colder in the winter and hotter / more humid in the summer.

[Averie-Jay]

I've lived in the Green Bay most of my life. I moved to Florida a year and a half ago where the climate is warm and sunny year-round.

I remember (without any fondness whatsoever) the 40 below zero days, the icy roads, the gloom of winter. I also remember swearing that One Day I'd move to a sunny climate and live Happily Every After.

I'd just like to say one thing. Where I live in Florida most of the community is comprised of retirees and other out-of-state transplants. Most people have Big City Attitude in every word they say and every step they take. They're rude, cut in front of you in line, and always believe you're ripping them off. There's a showy, materialistic, one-up-man ship vibe that is impossible to get away from. I miss the friendliness of the Midwest, the family values, the simplicity, and the feeling of "home".

I'd bundle up against the cold any day if it meant being part of a community where I'm comfortable and accepted. Basking in the warm February sun isn't as rewarding when you have to share it with people who raise your blood pressure.