Why I want to live above the Arctic Circle...

[DrTeeth]

Finland eh?

 

[GibsonGirl]

Re: Re: Re: Why I want to live above the Arctic Circle...

Rugby? Pfft. The REAL football started last weekend. There are no threads dedicated to Rugby in PEUP.

That's because Australians are mad. I don't know how you lot can stomach watching the AFL. I rank it only slightly above American football. I'd take a bad rugby match over an Aussie football match any day. But that's just me.

Originally posted by angelordevil

My driveway just melted

That rant was so great, I’m going to start calling you MercerGirl.

Winter in the city is not fun at all! St. John’s is encased in snow and ice at the moment, the place where GG and I live. It’s like an Olympic bobsled course here...with giant snowbanks obscuring the view of what’s around the corner. Whether you’re driving or walking, you just pray that everyone else can see you when you make your move.

Maybe I should enter the Rant Like Rick competition. Although, not being a citizen of Canada will probably work against me...

Yes, winter in St. John's is terrifying. Why don't the sidewalks get ploughed? Or the bus shelters, for that matter? It's ridiculous - if you have to walk anywhere, you're forced to walk on the road. Nine times out of ten, the drivers can't see you. I've had many narrow misses while rounding corners. Most of the snowbanks in the residential areas are a good two feet taller than I am, and I'm 5'6"! I don't know what we're going to do if we get any more snow. We were supposed to get snow today, but thankfully that doesn't seem to be the case now.

I don't mind the fun side of winter either. I enjoy it actually. Snowboarding is fun, skating is fun, and so is snowshoeing. The only problem is, as you said, there's nowhere to do it in St. John's. I've seen a couple people snowboarding down the hill by the College of the North Atlantic...but there's no lift to take you to the top again, so it's more trouble than it's worth. And I can't exactly imagine snowshoeing around Pippy Park. So it's a $80 round trip to visit my parents out of town, just to enjoy winter a bit!

 

[Sicy]

Wow... this thread just makes me appreciate the Bay Area that much more

 

[RedRocksU2]

This is exactly why I live in sunny So Cal.

 

[Laura M]

It's not the cold I hate, it's rain and the constant cloudy, grey days. In Spain during winter it was cold enough but it was sunny every day, it never rained and that made such a difference. We're lucky if we get 18 degrees during an Irish spring/summer.

I'm not used to heat. In France it got up to 42 degrees and I couldn't bear it. 4 weeks of that intense heat was awful. There was no breeze, no air conditioning in the place we were staying and it was always too hot to do anything so we spent many hours just lying around under huge umbrellas. It was the same in Spain, it was around 38 degrees most days towards the end but the warmer climate meant we ate lots of salads, lost a lot of weight and could siesta in the afternoons

 

[TheQuiet1]

It's not the cold I hate, it's rain and the constant cloudy, grey days.

Yeah on the weather reports it never seems to stop raining in Ireland and western Scotland for longer than a few hours. Well, actually the south-east bit of Ireland seems to be pretty dry but the rest of you just seem to have constant showers, interrupted by overcast skies and then a few sunny spells for an hour or so at about 7 in the morning!

Still, that's what keeps the place green and pleasant, it'd be arid desert without the rain etc, etc, etc.

 

[Liesje]

It's not the cold I hate, it's rain and the constant cloudy, grey days.

I've always wondered how you guys can stand this. The landscapes and coastlines of Ireland and the UK look so beautiful, but short of being Bono's personal assistant, I really don't think I could handle being there for longer than a vacation.

Spain sounds lovely. My dream world vacation is a long trip along Mediterranean coasts of Europe.

 

[anitram]

Spain sounds lovely. My dream world vacation is a long trip along Mediterranean coasts of Europe.

I've done it and it's fantastic. Really highly recommend it!

I was in the Netherlands last month and I actually really found it depressing. Because it wasn't so cold (like 5-10 degrees) but it was grey and wet pretty much every day. Sometimes the sun would peek out midday but then disappear again. And anything near the water (like Hague, Scheveningen) was even worse - this awful, COLD mist. I actually missed the snow then. At least it's cold and crisp, not wet.

 

[Laura M]

I've always wondered how you guys can stand this. The landscapes and coastlines of Ireland and the UK look so beautiful, but short of being Bono's personal assistant, I really don't think I could handle being there for longer than a vacation.

Spain sounds lovely. My dream world vacation is a long trip along Mediterranean coasts of Europe.

I could stand it better until I went away, I´d never been abroad before to appreciate warmth and no rain. I know quite a few folk who have already sorted out a move back to Spain or France this year and part of the reason is for the dry, milder weather.

You do get used to it though and it´s not all bad, we have a lot of pleasant days. I´m in the Netherlands at the minute and yesterday all the cloggies were laughing at our rainy weather but every time I come here it´s usually miserable. Yesterday it rained most of the day, also when we took off from Belfast it was bright and sunny and when we landed in Amsterdam it was cloudy and raining.

Travelling around Europe

 

[Idun]

I hate when it's cold. Now it has started to be much more sun and a bit warmer. Just a few weeks ago the temperature was around -25 C but right now it's around -15 C maybe. But in november when it is getting cold and under 0 C it feels much colder than what it is, now after some months with -20 it would feel like summer if it 0 C
But I'm so tired of all the snow...

 

[deep]

when the big one hits - we will get ours

Wow... this thread just makes me appreciate the Bay Area that much more

and the bay area

makes me appreciate life on the beach in the O C

I do enjoy the extremes

when I watch them on the big screen

 

[Liesje]

OK, the weatherman just said we are getting an "arctic cold front" tomorrow. He keeps saying "very cold", "going to be a bit of a shocker..." Oh, and a "decent clipper coming through" with several more inches of snow.

 

[angelordevil]

Yes, winter in St. John's is terrifying. Why don't the sidewalks get ploughed? Or the bus shelters, for that matter? It's ridiculous - if you have to walk anywhere, you're forced to walk on the road.

It is ridiculous! I’ve been tempted to phone City Hall on occasion to ask about those very things. It could be a legal matter if someone were to get injured because of neglect...at least that’s how I see it. I think the folks in power just hope the snow will magically melt away, along with the complaining.

Snowshoeing is fun, hey? I think you might have mentioned before that you were new to that. I probably could snowshoe a bit around here, but I’ve always forgotten to bring my pair back from the west coast, where I grew up. Every time my mom phones lately, she mentions them. I think I must subconsciously want them to stay there, to enjoy a better life in the wild

OK, the weatherman just said we are getting an "arctic cold front" tomorrow. He keeps saying "very cold", "going to be a bit of a shocker..." Oh, and a "decent clipper coming through" with several more inches of snow.

Did he blame Canada? Sometimes, you'll hear them talk about an "Alberta clipper," or how a "Big Canadian cold front is comin' through!" (I secretly smile and delight in that when it happens.)

 

[trevster2k]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOzG7bBylRo

Blame Canada!!!!!!

 

[blueeyedgirl]

snotcicles in your nose.

:veryhappytoliveinAustraliaandnotcomplaining:

 

[LemonMelon]

OK, the weatherman just said we are getting an "arctic cold front" tomorrow. He keeps saying "very cold", "going to be a bit of a shocker..." Oh, and a "decent clipper coming through" with several more inches of snow.

Indeed. The 30 degree days are getting old.

 

[DrTeeth]

I've done it and it's fantastic. Really highly recommend it!

I was in the Netherlands last month and I actually really found it depressing. Because it wasn't so cold (like 5-10 degrees) but it was grey and wet pretty much every day. Sometimes the sun would peek out midday but then disappear again. And anything near the water (like Hague, Scheveningen) was even worse - this awful, COLD mist. I actually missed the snow then. At least it's cold and crisp, not wet.

 

[anitram]

I liked your stroopwafels.

 

[elevated_u2_fan]

It's snowing like ass outside...

The weather man (who I hate) has been saying we will have crazy wind over the next couple of days...

Wind chill of -35 to -45.

(those tears are frozen btw)

 

[Justin24]

I don't like the sun. I would rather live in the a cold climate than a hot one anytime.

 

[mandy1973]

:veryhappytoliveinAustraliaandnotcomplaining:

^ me too - give me hot Adelaide summers over a canadian winter ANY day!!! I whinge and moan in winter when it gets below about 16C!!

I did go to New York in February a few years back - just to see what a REAL winter was like - NOT a smart idea!!! The snow on the first morning was pretty and all, but by the end of the very first day i was OVER it!!!

All the skin peeled off my face - in all the photos i am this red blotchy mess!! I think I'm allergic to that cold - NEVER again!!!

 

[Irvine511]

I've done it and it's fantastic. Really highly recommend it!

I was in the Netherlands last month and I actually really found it depressing. Because it wasn't so cold (like 5-10 degrees) but it was grey and wet pretty much every day. Sometimes the sun would peek out midday but then disappear again. And anything near the water (like Hague, Scheveningen) was even worse - this awful, COLD mist. I actually missed the snow then. At least it's cold and crisp, not wet.

i spent over a year in brussels and got wildly depressed during the winter -- cold, but not too cold, no snow, wet, grey, damp, misty, foggy, and NO SUN FOR MONTHS. i remember we had a break once, it was in very early April, when the skies parted and the sun shone and i saw buildings on my commute that i had never noticed before and, literally, businesses closed early and people left work and went outside and ate and drank and talked and laughed and then it went back to being cold, but not too cold, no snow, wet, grey, damp, misty, foggy, and NO SUN FOR ANOTHER TWO MONTHS. but, for weeks, everyone talked about, "that day."

and then i discovered a magical placed called Amsterdam. but that's another story.

as for DC ... well, the winters aren't so bad, some snow, which i love, at first, and the winters aren't that long, and spring and fall are wonderful, a solid 3 months each and gorgeous temperatures, but i dread summer here. D-R-E-A-D. it sounds similar to what our Aussie friends seem to have to deal with -- it's nearly always in the 90's (over 32 degrees) and humidity at 80% or more since, you know, this city WASN'T built on rock 'n roll. it was built on a freaking swamp. you can see the air some mornings in the summer. i do want my four seasons. just less humidity.

all that said, i'd LOVE to live above the Arctic circle from mid-May to mid-August -- those long, long days are to die for.

 

[Laura M]

I liked your stroopwafels.

I had stroopwaffel ice-cream yesterday


Also, vanilla vla