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Here’s the story. I’m moving from Houston, TX to Erie. I’ll probably make the move in November and bring my family (wife and 3 kids) right after Jan 1.
I’m not worried about moving from a big city to a smaller. I spent the first 21 years of my life in rural Louisiana so from a size perspective, I’m actually getting back to more familiar territory.
What I am concerned about is the winter. It’s late October and I’m still running my AC here. I’ve never driven in snow and none of us really even own a winter coat or true winter clothes at all (seriously). I know NOTHING about real winter.
So now is your chance to lay it on me. Tell me all the horrors of winter there, but please sprinkle in helpful tips that might help me survive - things that are second nature to you, but probably have never occurred to me.
Don’t hold back. I’d prefer to be prepared for the worst (as opposed to thinking it might not be that bad only to be disappointed when I get there).
Please keep comments about how insane it is for a southerner to be making this move in the middle or winter (or at all) to yourself.
Clothes: You will probably find it very hard to get warm enough, after moving from such a warm climate. Skip the leather coats/jackets, unless they are really well-insulated with the zip-in liner. Wool or something like a London Fog raincoat with a wool liner is what I'd recommend for a dress coat (for man or woman). The long coats are better, imo. For casual, whatever feels warm enough. When I moved back from South, I had to wear a down vest with a winter jacket over it, and I was still cold. In the house, I wore sweats plus a fleece jacket, b/c I can't afford to turn the t-stat up to 80F.
Vehicle: You may need different tires or perhaps even a different vehicle. What do you drive? Suburbans will do fine, either 2WD or 4WD, but you need the right tires. haha
Ice cleats: Get some for everyone. I use mine all the time on parking lots. Sure beats falling on poorly-cleared icy sidewalks and parking lots. Stabilicers, I think mine are called. $19 or $20/pr but they last years.
Erie's north of me, but most of the bad weather doesn't happen until after November. There might be some big snows up that way, depending where you are in that local snow belt up there. Sometimes we've had big snows for Thanksgiving, but the season seems to have shifted later in the calendar year.
Have a good shovel
good winter coat. hat or hood on coat
warm gloves the ones with grips are good for steering with
good boots for ice.
all weathered tires.
good heating system in house, when the electric freezes i advise to have a fireplace in your house. lol
backup generator
Anti-freeze in car
de-icer spray for car locks. yes theses freeze and you can't get in.
So now is your chance to lay it on me. Tell me all the horrors of winter there, but please sprinkle in helpful tips that might help me survive - things that are second nature to you, but probably have never occurred to me.
Air conditioning can be very expensive. In case you didn't design your home in Texas, the decision making about air conditioning is primarily to turn the temperature up until you get the correct balance between what you are willing to spend and how comfortable you are.
Heating a home can be very complex issue compared to air conditioning. If you haven't picked a home, then think about trying to find something heated with natural gas. It is dramatically cheaper than other means of heat. As someone who has never lived in a cold place, you might not think about it, and find that the maintenance cost of your home is dramatically higher than you expected. It could be the equivalent to tens of thousands in purchase price for the same monthly outlay.
Many homes in PA do not have the option of natural gas because the gas mains are limited. If you can't find a home that you like with this kind of heating, then post questions here and search around this site or others for information about home heating.
Also you may not be used to basements. They are almost universal in PA, but relatively rare in Texas. You will find that it gives you a lot more storage space, but they often come with expensive water problems. This issue is not necessarily related to winter, but that is part of the problem.
You need to think about salt corroding your automobile. It can be difficult since washing your car in winter is not always the easiest thing to do. It's not an issue down south.
You didn't mention the age of your children. Sometimes teenage girls and winter don't mix well (especially if they grew up in the south). They are used to wearing cute little dresses, and they get very upset if you tell them they have to dress in unflattering giant sweaters, or sit around in the house in snuggies and big socks. It sounds funny, but this issue can often be huge in their lives.
Learn not to do sudden things when you are driving. Also a big problem with teenagers. Sometimes in the south you have trouble with heavy rain and oil soaked streets. But solid ice under your car can be very disconcerting. If you slam on brakes, you will have a huge problem.
Winter can be depressing. Many people feel sad and they drink and eat much more than normal. If you find a fun winter sport, like skiing or snowboarding, it will help you enjoy the season.
Invest in salt for the approaches to your house. Many people have had their winter's ruined by a sprained ankle or a torn ligament. It can happen in a flash, so take it seriously. If you are responsible for a public sidewalk, take it seriously as you can be sued.
Think about "degree days" . You have cooling degree days down south, but people don't track them as carefully as heating degree days. The calculation is rather simple, you take the mean temperature for the day, and look at the difference between that and 65 degrees (considered optimal). Then you add up these differences for each day. It gives you a rough idea of how cold or hot a month is.
For instance pretend Erie is always above 65 degrees for 183 days a year. For the other 182 days pretend that each and every day has mean temperature of 30.5 degrees. Then each day would correspond to 65-30.5=34.5 degree days. The entire winter is 182*34.5 = 6279 degree days.
Now clearly an actual winter will only have a few degree days in October, and a lot of degree days in December and January. But Erie Pennsylvania averages 6279 heating degree days per year. So expect it to be bitter cold the first week that your family arrives. It will be a very tough transition, so prepare a lot of things to make them feel comfortable.
You may not have many hours above freezing for the entire month of January (see table).
Because Erie is on the lake it snows more than anywhere else in PA (twice as much as Pittsburgh) and averages 86 inches per year. In January it will probably snow or hail more days than not.
Peak n Peak is just across the state line in New York.
Last edited by PacoMartin; 10-25-2012 at 11:27 PM..
I've driven both Rangers & Hondas (Civic). A Ranger or any 2WD pickup is one if the worst vehicles for winter driving, you absolutely would need to load up the bed with lots of weight and adding good winter tires makes a very significant difference.
A front wheel drive vehicle with good winter tires is plenty good, in fact I preferred driving an old Honda Civic to a 4WD Ranger, both with good winter tires. When you're driving in a blizzard you immediately become very grateful for good winter tires.
A great source for winter tires (you can order online & have them delivered directly to an installer) as well as reviews & helpful info is tire rack.
Other winter driving issues... make sure your battery is good for days when it's very cold, replace the wipers with winter versions (otherwise they get loaded up with ice & become useless), lube your door locks (otherwise they may lock up after a warm-cold period), lube the door hinges, make sure the door gaskets are good (prevents doors sticking due to ice), and rinse the car's undercarriage frequently to wash out the salt.
Re. the cars, besides what has already been mentioned:
Keep jumper cables with you.
Keep a blanket and/or extra clothes in the vehicle. If you do put it in a ditch or something, you'll need to stay warm and have appropriate clothes in case you need to leave the vehicle.
A 20' tow strap is a good idea.
Your windows are going to fog up, regularly. To make your defroster work before it has even warmed up, turn the A/C on. Many new cars do this automatically now but the A/C does a good job of defrosting.
Re. clothing, layers are the best bet. Try to avoid cotton. We could talk at length just on this but get the best winter clothes you can afford. You'll appreciate it. A good source for winter gear at reasonable prices is Steep and Cheap: 4FRNT Skis Bedrock Pullover Hoodie - Men's - $24.99 - 64% off They sell 1 item at a time for 20-30 minutes but the gear they sell is quality.
Here’s the story. I’m moving from Houston, TX to Erie. I’ll probably make the move in November and bring my family (wife and 3 kids) right after Jan 1.
I’m not worried about moving from a big city to a smaller. I spent the first 21 years of my life in rural Louisiana so from a size perspective, I’m actually getting back to more familiar territory.
What I am concerned about is the winter. It’s late October and I’m still running my AC here. I’ve never driven in snow and none of us really even own a winter coat or true winter clothes at all (seriously). I know NOTHING about real winter.
So now is your chance to lay it on me. Tell me all the horrors of winter there, but please sprinkle in helpful tips that might help me survive - things that are second nature to you, but probably have never occurred to me.
Don’t hold back. I’d prefer to be prepared for the worst (as opposed to thinking it might not be that bad only to be disappointed when I get there).
Please keep comments about how insane it is for a southerner to be making this move in the middle or winter (or at all) to yourself.
I am not in Penn. but do live in Conn. and have, in the past, lived in Northern Maine so if you want to know about winter, here are some things you should know: 1. Its a good idea to have a vehicle that has either front wheel drive or 4 wheel drive because even if there is only a little snow on the roads, it melts some in the daylight hours and then refreezes at night, makes for slick roads.
2. Most homes in the Penn. area as well as here in Conn. have "storm windows". Make sure they are "dropped" when you get to your home..should slide down pretty easy. Hopefully your windows will be thermapane and you won't have to worry about this.
3. A good pair of winter boots is essential! Find some that have good tread on the bottom so you don't land on YOUR bottom while walking on slick roads, sidewalks, etc.
4. Watch the temperature carefully and WARN your kids if they are little to never, not ever put their tounges on anything metal outside! When I lived in Maine, my son did this on the slide in the kids playground. Mom came running with water to dump on his mouth and his tounge came loose. LOL
5. If it snows alot, make sure you check out how much is on your roof. Not a great idea to let the snow build up on the roof.
6. It is important, if you plan to be outside for any length of time and it is super cold, to layer your clothing. Perhaps thermal undergarments, then go from there.
Minor things...lots of chapstick especially for the kids. Kids tend to lick their lips alot outside in the cold and end up with chapped lips FAST. Put one in their pocket when they go outside. They will need thermal jackets, mittens, hats and if they plan to play outside in the snow, leggings or snowsuits.
I am not in Penn. but do live in Conn. and have, in the past, lived in Northern Maine so if you want to know about winter, here are some things you should know: 1. Its a good idea to have a vehicle that has either front wheel drive or 4 wheel drive because even if there is only a little snow on the roads, it melts some in the daylight hours and then refreezes at night, makes for slick roads.
2. Most homes in the Penn. area as well as here in Conn. have "storm windows". Make sure they are "dropped" when you get to your home..should slide down pretty easy. Hopefully your windows will be thermapane and you won't have to worry about this.
3. A good pair of winter boots is essential! Find some that have good tread on the bottom so you don't land on YOUR bottom while walking on slick roads, sidewalks, etc.
4. Watch the temperature carefully and WARN your kids if they are little to never, not ever put their tounges on anything metal outside! When I lived in Maine, my son did this on the slide in the kids playground. Mom came running with water to dump on his mouth and his tounge came loose. LOL
5. If it snows alot, make sure you check out how much is on your roof. Not a great idea to let the snow build up on the roof.
6. It is important, if you plan to be outside for any length of time and it is super cold, to layer your clothing. Perhaps thermal undergarments, then go from there.
Minor things...lots of chapstick especially for the kids. Kids tend to lick their lips alot outside in the cold and end up with chapped lips FAST. Put one in their pocket when they go outside. They will need thermal jackets, mittens, hats and if they plan to play outside in the snow, leggings or snowsuits.
Good Luck and Stay warm!!
Great ones.
Also OP have good health insurance. Kids and you may get sick more often due to being indoors and around others.Flu shots are big here. Many get strep throat. Bad head colds. Saline nose drops are your friend and cough drops. In the summer time I'm rarely sick. But winters can be rough.
The bad news: Erie is in the snow belt. You'll have lots of snow and cold wind due to being close to the lake and cold fronts from Canada.
The good news: Erie has fairly flat terraine. It will be easier to drive winter roads there than in Pittsburgh where we get less snow but have more hills.
I'm sure people covered the basics. I'll mention WHITE OUTS. White outs are when the wind blows the snow to the point that you can not see because there is zero visibility. Your instinct will be to stop. DO NOT STOP YOUR CAR. Stopping will cause someone to rear end you from behind BECAUSE THEY CAN'T SEE EITHER.
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