Snowblower Necessary? (Richmond: purchasing, luxury, live)

[yolli71]

I've been a homeowner in this area for 18 years and finally bit the bullet and bought one last year. No, you won't use it all the time, but you'll be glad you have it when you need it.

[choff5]

Our first snow blower was a big heavy one brought down from my in laws in Massachusetts. I don't think we used it for over three years but considered it our insurance against heavy snows. It finally bit the dust and we replaced it. I use to consider owning one insurance, usually for not getting the big snow but when we needed it, long driveway, it was great. Sold it to our new neighbor when we moved who changed his mind about having one after putting out his back in the first big snow his first year here.

[IheartBBQ]

Not necessary at all. I am from New England and the perception of snow down here is ridiculous. Save the rare and major snow storms the typical snow fall will be 3 inches or so every couple weeks. The driveways in the neighborhoods down here are typically not very big. Snowblower would be way overkill

[r0lf3cbn]

You won't need a snowblower, because in NoVa after a 2" snowfall schools, gov't, and everything else shuts down. Plus all the stores and gas stations have been cleaned out for the past two days. So even if your driveway is clear there's nowhere to go.

[Vectorhead]

Originally Posted by IheartBBQ

Not necessary at all. I am from New England and the perception of snow down here is ridiculous. Save the rare and major snow storms the typical snow fall will be 3 inches or so every couple weeks. The driveways in the neighborhoods down here are typically not very big. Snowblower would be way overkill

It doesn't matter where you're from -- we do get occasional heavy snow here and having a snowblower is handy then. If you already own it then I'd be inclined to bring it. No one is saying we get a lot of heavy snow but a foot or more is hard to shovel whether you're used to it or not (and I come from Colorado).

[ChristineVA]

Originally Posted by Vectorhead

It doesn't matter where you're from -- we do get occasional heavy snow here and having a snowblower is handy then. If you already own it then I'd be inclined to bring it. No one is saying we get a lot of heavy snow but a foot or more is hard to shovel whether you're used to it or not (and I come from Colorado).

Agreed. Ten years ago I'd say it wasn't worth it to buy one but, actually, the price has come down on them significantly over the years and they have lower end gas models in Costco or BJs that make it fine to buy one even if you don't use it for a few years.

[IheartBBQ]

If you already have it so be it. If it were my situation, I'd sell it and do something more useful with the money. Chances are in a big storm, the whole region shuts down and youre home. Go out every couple hours and shovel away whatever accumulated and keep up with it. The amount of situations that would render a snowblower necessary are so few and far between it hinges on a mis-allocation of resources-both financial and shed/garage space.

[NC211]

Assuming a person is physically capable of shoveling every couple of hours for 24 hours to "keep ahead of it". Not to mention the heavy-wet snow, known as heart attack snow, that we get here.

Snowblower is a luxury. If you have one, you'll be glad you do on a few occasions here, likely each year. Town might shut down for a couple of days on the big ones, but that doesn't mean it stays shut down until your street is cleared. I almost ditched mine when moving here from Chicago nearly 5 years ago. Hasn't been a winter here since that I (and my neighbors who don't have one) wasn't happy that I decided to bring it with us instead. That's a fact.

[dkf747]

Definitely bring it. You will need it on enough occasions to make it worth having.

[car54]

Originally Posted by IheartBBQ

Not necessary at all. I am from New England and the perception of snow down here is ridiculous. Save the rare and major snow storms the typical snow fall will be 3 inches or so every couple weeks. The driveways in the neighborhoods down here are typically not very big. Snowblower would be way overkill

Hey all you NOVA sissies....take it from this brave and hardy transplant from the vast New England tundra, you don't need a snowblower!