Depressed here (Chicago, Naperville, Virginia: chapel, new home, quality of life)

[knitgirl]

Originally Posted by eastwestman

"Look on the bright side (pun intended), crime in Chicago goes down dramatically during cold season. I always look forward to winter for that exact reason. "

A sincere question regarding the above quote from an earlier reply in this thread: Is crime so bad in the summer that it deters people from leaving their homes and exploring the city. (restaurants, bars, shopping, movies, playing sports, parks, etc) (assuming too that you're savvy enough to know the good areas from the bad).

Hardly! That was such a bizarre comment - I don't know where he lives that that would even be an issue.

[grapico]

Originally Posted by Vasily

Seriously? The average January low in Naperville IL is 25 degrees. The average January low in Raleigh NC (where I lived until moving here 20+ years ago) is 50 degrees. That's a huge difference. Average January low in Atlanta is 34 degrees. It's not just a 10 degree difference and average means just that: there will be occasional cold in a place like Atlanta and the average seasonal snowfall there is 2.4 inches ... average in Chicago is 38 inches.

I don't like Florida, but I don't see how slamming it is helping the OP get through the winter.

No that is the average HIGH for Naperville, the average low is 13. Naperville is slightly colder than Chicago. The average highs for places like Austin, Houston, Tallahassee, Jacksonville, New Orleans in January (i.e. the i-10 corridor) are over 60 degrees with average lows around 40, Naperville is as you said, what it is.
Average high for somewhere like Miami in January is 76.
At this point, there are a lot of cities where snow is unheard of or uncommon, San Francisco (7.5 million), Las Vegas (2 million), Los Angeles (18 million), San Diego (3 million), Sacramento (2 million), Phoenix (4 million), Tuscon (2 million), Dallas (6 million), Houston (6 million), San Antonio (2 million), Austin (2 million), New Orleans (1.5 million), Atlanta (5.5 million), Orlando (2 million), Tampa (2 million), Miami (6 million). This more or less makes up the sunbelt major cities...
Just saying there are quite a few cities for people that don't like the winter.
CA, Texas and soon to be Florida are the #1, 2, 3 most populated states.
Anybody coming from those places are going to have a rough time dealing with a Chicago winter, for them, even a winter around DC or Nashville would be quite the chore, Chicago is on another level.
Also, Florida on a whole has plenty of culture if you get outside the tourist zones. Florida is a more diverse state than Illinois with about 6 million more people and a higher GDP.

[Vasily]

Originally Posted by grapico

No that is the average HIGH for Naperville, the average low is 13.

Yeah, I misread the graph but I was trying to make the same point as you.

Anybody coming from those places are going to have a rough time dealing with a Chicago winter, for them, even a winter around DC or Nashville would be quite the chore, Chicago is on another level.

A lot of people come to these forums looking for reassurance about a planned move, or to understand the place they've moved to. I lived for quite a few years on the east coast, and moved back here in the late 80s (I was born in VA, grew up in northern IL); I want to move back to the Carolinas eventually because I'm reaching the age where the cold is taking a toll and I don't look forward to breaking my hip when it's icy out. So I read the Carolina and Virginia forums because I'm moving back there in five years ... I contribute to these Illinois forums as a way of paying it forward for the good information I've gotten in the southern forums I frequent.

I'm always amazed at the posts that say it's not cold here, or that advise a newcomer to suck it up. One's perception of climate is subjective, and if I find Chicago weather unpleasant, it does me no good having other residents of northern Illinois (many of whom have never lived in a hot climate then moved here) telling me to suck it up, or stating "Chicago isn't cold" as though one's subjective experience is something other than just an opinion. Nor does it help to tell someone that the place they lived before and loved was really a hell-hole. I mean, look at the OP's post title: what part of "Depressed here" isn't clear? The lack of empathy and just plain human decency on these forums toward people looking for answers still astonishes me. Guess I'll never understand what motivates trolls.

[AZgarden]

The thing I always hated in winter in Chicago (read Schaumburg, Glen Ellyn) was the heavy coat I had to wear while driving, and trying to turn my head, back up, etc with all that winter wear. Because of that, I took to wearing layers, so I could "undress" in the car (when the heater kicked in) and move around freely at the wheel.

As for being depressed in Chicago winters, I can really really relate to that, and hope the OP can find enough inside activities to keep warm and busy, while waiting for spring.

[Chicago60614]

Originally Posted by eastwestman

"Look on the bright side (pun intended), crime in Chicago goes down dramatically during cold season. I always look forward to winter for that exact reason. "

A sincere question regarding the above quote from an earlier reply in this thread: Is crime so bad in the summer that it deters people from leaving their homes and exploring the city. (restaurants, bars, shopping, movies, playing sports, parks, etc) (assuming too that you're savvy enough to know the good areas from the bad).

I hope you're joking! Stay away from the terrible neighborhoods on the south and west sides and 70% of the population live in pretty decent and safe neighborhoods. I've been here on the north side for 10 years and haven't even seen a crime, let alone known anyone who's actually been assaulted, etc.

Crime is just as segregated as the population.

[ssnsf4e]

Originally Posted by Junita

Hey everyone,
I miss Florida so much and I'm so sick of the weather here and it's not even winter yet. It's so depressing to stay in and too cold to go out and do anything, it gets too dark so fast and I miss our families in FL.

I know we can't move anywhere for a while now since we bought a house but I don't know what to do. I miss the hot and humid weather!

1) Get a jacket, gloves, winter-wear in general. There's no need to be cold, and you can start a whole new wardrobe of fashionable fall and winter clothing. Cool boots, sweaters, leather jackets, et al.

2) Get a remote starter for your automobile. Even if you have a garage... there is NO reason ever to jump into an icy car and having to wait 20 minutes, shivering, waiting for their car to warm up. Works well for cooling the car in the summer as well.

3) Shop indoors, just as you would during the hot Florida summers.

4) Get one of those sun lamps the other person was talking about. Doesn't it get darker earlier everywhere this time of year, though?

5) Not so sure about Naperville, but there's as much to do in Chicago as there is in Florida if you know where to go.

6) Grow a hide, suck it up. To those claiming it's easier said by "natives" than done by "transplants," speak to my next door neighbor from Texas.

I laugh at all those in this thread who were from Chicago, couldn't handle it, then moved away.

if none of the above works,
7) Get a divorce and move back to Florida.

[grapico]

Originally Posted by ssnsf4e

1) Get a jacket, gloves, winter-wear in general. There's no need to be cold, and you can start a whole new wardrobe of fashionable fall and winter clothing. Cool boots, sweaters, leather jackets, et al.

2) Get a remote starter for your automobile. Even if you have a garage... there is NO reason ever to jump into an icy car and having to wait 20 minutes, shivering, waiting for their car to warm up. Works well for cooling the car in the summer as well.

3) Shop indoors, just as you would during the hot Florida summers.

4) Get one of those sun lamps the other person was talking about. Doesn't it get darker earlier everywhere this time of year, though?

5) Not so sure about Naperville, but there's as much to do in Chicago as there is in Florida if you know where to go.

6) Grow a hide, suck it up. To those claiming it's easier said by "natives" than done by "transplants," speak to my next door neighbor from Texas.

I laugh at all those in this thread who were from Chicago, couldn't handle it, then moved away.

if none of the above works,
7) Get a divorce and move back to Florida.

Tomorrow is peak darkness, winter solstice. Though... this is experienced differently on where you are at. Chicago already has less light by being at a northern latitude compared to regions in the southeast or southwest. But it gets dark even earlier b/c Chicago is at the far east side of the Central Time Zone.

To take two contrasting cities, let's just compare Chicago's neighbor Indianapolis.

Tonight sunset is 4:22 PM. Indianapolis is 5:23 PM... I would say that is quite a difference...Where I grew up in FL it is 5:40, also with over an additional hour of possible sunlight, and probably more so actual sunlight, given the season. So yes it gets darker earlier, but some places are worse than others.

From where the OP is from, the highs right now are in the high 70s, highs in Chicago are in the 30s. I'm sure it is quite the shock...more over, it is only just beginning and won't get much better until the end of March.

But as far as indoor amenities go, Chicago has more than Miami/Tampa/Orlando combined. so... FWIW.

[knitgirl]

If you can, try scheduling some weekend trips, maybe to somewhere with an indoor pool, like Key Lime Cove. You'll get that warm humid air that you miss (along with a heavy whiff of chlorine).

[cubssoxfan]

Originally Posted by grapico

Tomorrow is peak darkness, winter solstice. Though... this is experienced differently on where you are at. Chicago already has less light by being at a northern latitude compared to regions in the southeast or southwest. But it gets dark even earlier b/c Chicago is at the far east side of the Central Time Zone.

To take two contrasting cities, let's just compare Chicago's neighbor Indianapolis.

Tonight sunset is 4:22 PM. Indianapolis is 5:23 PM... I would say that is quite a difference...Where I grew up in FL it is 5:40, also with over an additional hour of possible sunlight, and probably more so actual sunlight, given the season. So yes it gets darker earlier, but some places are worse than others.

From where the OP is from, the highs right now are in the high 70s, highs in Chicago are in the 30s. I'm sure it is quite the shock...more over, it is only just beginning and won't get much better until the end of March.

But as far as indoor amenities go, Chicago has more than Miami/Tampa/Orlando combined. so... FWIW.

Ah, but the sunRISE is an hour later as well, so they DO NOT get more sunshine per day. It's just re-distributed.

[AZgarden]

What about getting a job? I hardly noticed the bleak, cold winter days while living there, cause I was busy at work, in a warm office with other co workers, wearing new sweaters every day, going out to lunch, having some fun ! Maybe it would be your salvation?