those of you in the blizzard states in the NE and upper Midwest -

gibs

remind me again why you don't pick up and move somewhere decent???

luckyluvr

And please don't use the "we have all 4 seasons" excuse! We have all 4 in Cali., too. It's just that they are less brutal and extreme.

Cbidt's girl

Although I hate winter, I love my family(meaning the one I grew up with - not the one I'm raising). The relationship my kids have with their grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins is worth it - most days. At the moment I'm cursing the neighbors who decided to shovel at 2:00 a.m.

GettinNervous

I ask myself that every year. I'll never find a job like I have now, and I'd be major homesick. But I still ask myself . . . as I clean off my car and shovel for the second time in 6 hours. It really really sucks.

Jamaica_Bride

Family, winter is pretty, we sledding and snowball fights...

...and it's all I've ever known.

august06mom

Snow days are fun when you don't have to go anywhere!

newwifey

I could never leave the NY metro area. It is who I am.

And really, this storm is not the worst ever by far. In this part of the woods we are prepared for it and it will just be a very welcomed quiet day (or two) stuck in the house.

StarryNight39

Jamaica_Bride:

Family, winter is pretty, we sledding and snowball fights...

...and it's all I've ever known.

Exactly.

Yodajo

StarryNight39:

Jamaica_Bride:

Family, winter is pretty, we sledding and snowball fights...

...and it's all I've ever known.

Exactly.

Agreed.

I'm sure people say the same thing when they hear of the earthquakes, fires, droughts, hurricanes, smog, floods and whatever other conditions other parts of the country experience that we don't here. It just becomes part of who you are and what you deal with, so you don't even think about it as something you have the option to change.

AnnapolisLari

What Yodajo said.

I picked up and moved BACK to a snowy state. Those 'less brutal' seasons were a special kind of monotonous hell to me.

Halo79RN

Yodajo:

I'm sure people say the same thing when they hear of the earthquakes, fires, droughts, hurricanes, smog, floods and whatever other conditions other parts of the country experience that we don't here. It just becomes part of who you are and what you deal with, so you don't even think about it as something you have the option to change.

 

exactly!  

I grew up in the south and after Katrina, people I worked with in upstate NY (where it snowed from Oct-April)  couldn't believe I'd ever want to move back there.   you deal with some form of natural "disaster" no matter where you live... hurricanes in the south, tornados in the midwest, earthquakes and wild fires in the west.  

this is by far no where near as bad as a Katrina.  just a day of shoveling and staying in.   

Halo79RN

oh and why are we here..... the job that was offered to dh is here.  no holes in a CV is a good thing.  a paycheck for both of us is a good thing. I'll take some snow. 

camrude

Family, good jobs and I do love the weather about 8 months out of the year.

However, we have thought many times about picking up and moving, and after our 20+" dumping a few weeks ago, we started looking into moving again.

goodheartedmommy

Cbidt's girl:

Although I hate winter, I love my family(meaning the one I grew up with - not the one I'm raising). The relationship my kids have with their grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins is worth it - most days. At the moment I'm cursing the neighbors who decided to shovel at 2:00 a.m.

I do not live in a blizzard state, but where I live we've had snow on the ground for a month, it's been in the teens nonstop, and then in the summer we get the pleasure of 100+ weather the whole time. But like cbidt's girl, I stay because of our family. It's our "village", you know? I like having that for my  kids. 

wifeandmama

I absolutely love, love, love, love the cold and snow.  DH and I often discuss wanting to move farther north for more snow but our families are all here, so we'll stay!

Kapalua

Yodajo:

StarryNight39:

Jamaica_Bride:

Family, winter is pretty, we sledding and snowball fights...

...and it's all I've ever known.

Exactly.

Agreed.

I'm sure people say the same thing when they hear of the earthquakes, fires, droughts, hurricanes, smog, floods and whatever other conditions other parts of the country experience that we don't here. It just becomes part of who you are and what you deal with, so you don't even think about it as something you have the option to change.

Jen2124

For me, family is #1 priority....even moreso since having kids. I always hated the snow and winter, but oddly enough, I don't mind it anymore. As pp said, I do love the weather 8-9 months out of the year and even with the super cold and snow, I actually like it until about February. I think living somewhere without a snowy/cold Christmas is just not the same. Also, I've come to realize it is not the cold and snow I hate, it is the GRAY days (which you can have with any climate). As long as it is sunny, I'm all good.

I will say living in Chicago for awhile when it got dark at 4:30 during the winter sucked though! (even though I love Chicago!)

CleoKitty

wifeandmama:

I absolutely love, love, love, love the cold and snow.  DH and I often discuss wanting to move farther north for more snow but our families are all here, so we'll stay!

Same here! We would LOVE to move to a place with more more snow. I'm actually jealous of all you in blizzard conditions!

cooker71

Freezing weather makes your ass shrink.

Cbidt's girl

Can I add ... My kids stood at the window watching people shovel and snowblow for at least a 1/2 hour. Free entertainment !

Kapalua

cooker71:

Freezing weather makes your ass shrink.

OOOH, how I wish that were true!!!

DevonPow

I grew up in Santa Barbara, CA (awesome weather) then went to college in NY and have lived in Boston for 11 years now. I LOVE the East Coast - it is just a better fit for me. There is "something" wherever you are - my friends back in SB have been dealing with a whole lot of fires and flooding in the past few years. Right now I just came in from shoveling (good exercise!) it is beautiful outside with snow all over the fir trees, we are about to take DS sledding and then come in for hot chocolate and a movie. Nothing bad about that It also helps that we have family in CA and FL so we can visit whenever we get sick of the cold (buy the way, my dad and step mom live in So FL now - that is one of those places that I say I could never live. I don't know how people stand the summers there. Waaaaaaaaaay too hot and humid for me).

penguingrrl

LOL!  Great question!

1) DH is in graduate school, so we chose the best program he got into (Ivy League school) to open as many options after graduation as possible.  He wants to remain in academia so where he goes will actually matter in this case.

2) Our family is nearby (that was pure luck) and we are very close to our families.  So we're hoping to eventually be able to settle in this area because we want to be near our families.

3) I love snow days!  It's fun for the entire world to stop for a day or two, a good reminder to slow down and enjoy your family.

femmegem

Yodajo said it perfectly. We lived in San Franciscofor a year and Santa Monica for another year and I prefer Boston. I love the east coast.

meghans30

It's the only thing I've ever known. I have thought about just packing up and moving somewhere new, but we have steady jobs and family close by. I have learned to deal and drive in the snow. It doesn't phase me anymore and the kids love sledding and snow balls.

camrude

cooker71:

Freezing weather makes your ass shrink.

I beg to differ.

 

expectingnothing

Because my parents are 2 miles away and all my friends are within 10 miles. 

shopgirl_07

I hate the snow and cold but I live in Boston and love everything else about it. Ideally, I'd live somewhere warm for 6 months a year and then here for 6 months but that's not happening anytime soon.

jessicaclare

My family is here. This is home.

I also don't really mind the winter weather. I do get a little sick of it by the end of January, but its not the worst thing in the world. 

melmax

Jamaica_Bride:

Family, winter is pretty, we sledding and snowball fights...

...and it's all I've ever known.

Pretty much this!

shouldbworkin

I don't know why, but I think we have it a little better than most of the midwest states (in MI).  All of the bad stuff seems to go south or east of us and we don't get any lake affect snow on our side of the state either.  we get just enough snow and cold to have fun.  The way I see it, most places you live, you can't go out of the house for 3 mos of the year.  It's either too hot or too cold.  At least with the cold you can bundle up and enjoy it with skiing and ice skating neaby.  I don't think I could handle being super hot all summer long.  I hate the heat as it is.

But really, I haven't moved b/c I could never sell my house now. 

winomom22

I hate winter, but I love being close to my family and friends. We have roots here and it would make it extremely difficult to just pick up and leave. I am willing to endure winter to be close to them. If you get the right winter gear (warm coat, boots etc) it is much more tolerable and can even be enjoyable. I also like that I don't have to worry about earthquakes, mudslides, forest fires or hurricanes.

Sheila92003

I would love to move somewhere warm, but my DH would not make as much money somewhere else.  He doesn't have a college degree.  He is a manager for a local chain of supermarkets and makes really good money.  He's been with them since he was a teenager, and has worked his way up.  He doesn't mind the snow, but I hate it.  

joy143dh

Mostly what Jamaica said. I also just feel like I wouldn't 'fit in' anywhere else.  We have travelled alot around the states and agree that NE is home.   Snow doesn't bother me one bit.  It actually seems pretty tame compared to other natural disasters that happen elsewhere in the states.

That being said, I look forward to moving out of Mass someday!  The of politics, blue laws (seriously, who's the ahole who came up with no-wine-sales on Christmas or before noon on Sunday?), cost of living, and taxes are getting in the way of my pursuit of happiness.