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Take this for what it's worth, I consider Twin Cities wooded to heavily wooded. It's not PNW or North Carolina though.
But I come from the plains (Denver)
I hear you. Prior, I hadn't really noticed how baron the landscape was until I myself moved away. I lived in the Twin Cites for 20 years, then moved to NJ and GA, and now every time I go back to visit family (several times/yr), it looks so baron to me.
Like, you can actually see what's off the highway when you're on the highway because the highways aren't surrounded by trees. Many of the neighborhoods are baron, save for a few planted trees. A lot of the parks are filled with tall grasslands.
Now in Atlanta where I live, you can't see off the road or the highway. You have to depend on road signs to know what amenities exist because none of it is visible. The default is trees, unless something cut them down. The power companies spend most of their time trimming back trees constantly as to not interfere with the power lines.
I hear you. Prior, I hadn't really noticed how baron the landscape was until I myself moved away. I lived in the Twin Cites for 20 years, then moved to NJ and GA, and now every time I go back to visit family (several times/yr), it looks so baron to me.
Like, you can actually see what's off the highway when you're on the highway because the highways aren't surrounded by trees. Many of the neighborhoods are baron, save for a few planted trees. A lot of the parks are filled with tall grasslands.
Now in Atlanta where I live, you can't see off the road or the highway. You have to depend on road signs to know what amenities exist because none of it is visible. The default is trees, unless something cut them down. The power companies spend most of their time trimming back trees constantly as to not interfere with the power lines.
I'm from Denver so when I visit the Twin Cities I am reminded of how barren Denver is.
Then I visit PNW and NC and then notice how much more beautiful those areas are than Twin Cities or midwest in general.
PNW has the best natural beauty because it is mostly green year round. Midwest/NE have to deal with dreary brown winters.
But I still prefer Denver because there aren't too many places with mountains as your backdrop (I know PNW has this also).
I'm from Denver so when I visit the Twin Cities I am reminded of how barren Denver is.
Then I visit PNW and NC and then notice how much more beautiful those areas are than Twin Cities or midwest in general.
PNW has the best natural beauty because it is mostly green year round. Midwest/NE have to deal with dreary brown winters.
But I still prefer Denver because there aren't too many places with mountains as your backdrop (I know PNW has this also).
Midwest north of I-80 often has more snow covered conditions instead of ugly brown winters, but that is only more consistent along and north of 43 degrees latitude. Anywhere south of I-80 has garbage winters, no consistent cold or snow, and constant temperature changes above and below freezing.
Midwest north of I-80 often has more snow covered conditions instead of ugly brown winters, but that is only more consistent along and north of 43 degrees latitude. Anywhere south of I-80 has garbage winters, no consistent cold or snow, and constant temperature changes above and below freezing.
I live near the Iowa/Minnesota border and we're getting closer and closer to the garbage winter you're describing. We had enough snow to snowmobile and cross country ski for maybe 3-4 weeks this winter. When I was a kid (the 90's) you could count on being snowbound from the middle of December until early March.
Now we get warm ups that melt the snow off, followed by major cool downs, and are more apt to get a big snow outside of that 12/15-3/1 window. It's a milder, but ultimately uglier and more obnoxious form of winter.
I hear you. Prior, I hadn't really noticed how baron the landscape was until I myself moved away. I lived in the Twin Cites for 20 years, then moved to NJ and GA, and now every time I go back to visit family (several times/yr), it looks so baron to me.
Like, you can actually see what's off the highway when you're on the highway because the highways aren't surrounded by trees. Many of the neighborhoods are baron, save for a few planted trees. A lot of the parks are filled with tall grasslands.
Now in Atlanta where I live, you can't see off the road or the highway. You have to depend on road signs to know what amenities exist because none of it is visible. The default is trees, unless something cut them down. The power companies spend most of their time trimming back trees constantly as to not interfere with the power lines.
The twin cities definitely aren't barren, it's one of the most tree filled cities. It's not ATL but it's comparable to Chicago and has more tree coverage than other cities in the northeast and out west. In the winter, it does look barren though.
I live near the Iowa/Minnesota border and we're getting closer and closer to the garbage winter you're describing. We had enough snow to snowmobile and cross country ski for maybe 3-4 weeks this winter. When I was a kid (the 90's) you could count on being snowbound from the middle of December until early March.
Now we get warm ups that melt the snow off, followed by major cool downs, and are more apt to get a big snow outside of that 12/15-3/1 window. It's a milder, but ultimately uglier and more obnoxious form of winter.
That is definitely unfortunate, with warming winters you have to go much further north to find reliable snow cover. I'm usually in Vilas County, WI visiting every winter, and there I can count on deep snow consistently given the fact that it is in the Lake Superior Snow Belt at a higher elevation and latitude.
Ohio Valley winters are a sloppy disaster. Try 25-30 inches of liquid precipitation from December through February these days!!!
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