50 degrees below zero?! How do you live with that? (moving, deal)

[arkeuler]

Originally Posted by golfgal

I think the cold temps are much easier to deal with then the extremely hot temps. You add a few layers of clothing and just don't go outside as much. When it is 110° you take off a few layers and don't go outside much. It is pretty much the same thing. People are always amazed with the cold but don't realize that that kind of weather only happens for a few days in the winter and not even every winter is like that. People don't seem to think it odd that living in Texas you stay inside all summer because it is too hot to go out, what is the difference???

Agreed! 115 in Arizona isn't any better than below zero temps in Minnesota. Either way, you stay inside to avoid the extreme temps.

[Yorkie_Mom]

Originally Posted by Need_affordable_home

So how long would it take me to develop tolerance to the cold when I move north? Is it still dangerous to be outside at like -30 if you tolerate it and feel fine? I plan to visit the northeast next winter and was wondering

When it comes to going outdoors in Minnesota, YOU WILL KNOW WHEN YOU HAVE HAD ENOUGH, and when it is time to head inside. Some times when it is -30 below like the other day, the sun was shinning, and I went into town, we didn't have the wind, thank goodness, but with no wind, you would be able to handle it as long as you dress for it.
Now if you had wind and the temps were at -30 I would say you wouldn't last more then 5 minutes outside in it, if you go out you learn to prewarm your car, have a spare key so if you run into a store you can keep the car running, that way it will still be warm when you come out, and then once you get back home you don't want to leave until it warms up. lol
I have lived here all my life, you do get used to it, but I am just sick of it, so I hope to be moving this summer due to my fibromyaliga and RA, I seem to due better with out the humidity in the air, so I guess it is out west for me.
If you have any more questions let me know, in the mean time I plan on staying warm. Take care.

[MidniteBreeze]

I mentioned this somewhere else in another thread...but I read somwhere once that your body actually does make physiological changes to adapt to cold. It takes a whlile, but it happens. That's part of the reason 40 degrees in Sept. feels much colder than 40 degrees in March. I will have to do a google search and see if I can find anything...it was interesting though.

I think you're not from the north but want to live here, you should move here in the summer so you can get used to the temperature changes slowly. Right now at the school where I work we have a foreign exchange student from Brazil. She's been here since August though and has adapted surprisingly well (she'd never experienced anything below freezing before!) But a couple years ago we had a short term exchange student from Peru who just came for 6 weeks in the winter...she just never got used to it and was cold all the time.

Of course with anything, I do think a lot of it depends on the individual. You read about people here that are from the south but hate the heat and move north and vice versa. Humans are surprisingly adaptable given enough time though...so even if you're not necessarily comfortable with the climate you're in, you learn to cope.

[Delaneyland]

For what it is worth, everyone complains about the weather here when it is like this, but not that many folks move out of here. Personally, I can always wear more layers and cover exposed skin but one needs to be smart about it. Frostbite can "touch" unexposed skin in a matter of minutes and you'd not even realize it because it makes you go numb. I feel for the critters. My wife raises rabbits and, of course, we have some barn cats and a pet chicken. Our challenge when it is this cold is to keep them hydrated and fed. We are watering the rabbits three times a day with warm water hoping they stay hydrated and healthy and are feeding the cats warmed canned food...they have a heated waterer so that isn't a problem. Having lived here most of my life, to me it is a simple trade off. In Northern MN, there are few stifling hot days and few frigid cold days. The funny thing is (and it was mentioned in previous posts) is if it turned overnight and was 30 above tomorrow morning, you'd see folks outside in t shirts and shorts. Believe it or not, over the weekend there was an event called the "Polar Plunge" where folks jumped into Lake Superior for charity. I didn't see what the total number of folks was, but regardless, taking clothing off to jump into cold water when it is already sub zero is nuts. I take my hat off to anyone that would go that far to raise money for charity!

[MidniteBreeze]

This wasn't the original article I saw, but this little blurb from coolantarctica . com kind of gets at what I was talking about:

"Adaptation plays a major part too. Living in a cold environment means that people become used to the temperature and the metabolism changes to adapt. I remember quite vividly, having been in Antarctica for nearly a year, when the supply ship came in on what we considered a balmy day. The winterers were walking around in t-shirts and loose untucked over shirt, while those who were new arrivals were well wrapped in fastened jackets and hats and still feeling cold.

The old idea of cold showers or baths and "washing in snow" to toughen up against the cold does indeed work. When a cold snap hits a normally warm city, the mortality rate will be significantly higher than the same temperature at a colder city which may show no increase in mortality at all if the effect is fairly mild. These cold-related deaths differ from the immediate impact of cold injury in that there is a time lag of about 2-3 days after the period when the cold snap happened."

[Mr Wiggl3s]

If theres no wind chill you really dont notice 5 from -15

However with wind chill, it goes right to your bones, so you have to be prepared

[yellowsnow]

I moved to MN in 95 and hopefully I will leave in 2007! You do adapt and learn to cope but it's not much fun. I like to be able to go outside and run. It's just too cold to do most of the things I like to do. So, I get flabby and hibernate. I stay inside as much as possible. And polar fleece is a lifesaver.

[mystree]

So how long would it take me to develop tolerance to the cold when I move north? Is it still dangerous to be outside at like -30 if you tolerate it and feel fine? I plan to visit the northeast next winter and was wondering

It depends on the person but -30 is just too cold to be out for more than a few minutes,you learn to adjust but it doesn't mean it's comfortable but like golfgal said up north you're a homebody in the winter and down south more people spend their summers in the air conditioning because it's too hot to breathe sometimes. It takes time but you do adjust.

[getoutofmn]

Hate it, cant wait to get south. The answer even after 30 some years of living here is you dont deal with it, you dont adapt, heating bills and electric soar, you cant get warm etc etc...The cold is absolutely brutal here. Never have gotten used to it.

[Tjukken]

i like hot bether than cold..

but then im a Norwegian.. hot here is like 30 C (86 F).
Tho we dont have reel cold anymore. coldest this winter is -22 C (-7.6 F)
And that is not cold..

my coldest night sleeping in a tent was - 45 C (-49 F) (intresting to se how C and F meets at - 40

TJ..