Will I regret moving from the warm to the cold?

I've lived in Florida my whole life and now I'm thinking of relocating to Chicago. Seems like most people do the opposite. They move from cold cities, like Chicago, Michigan, Boston, etc. to Florida. I was in Chicago a couple weeks ago though and it was amazing. I have been to large cities like Miami, Orlando, etc. but Chicago was different because there were coffee shops, restaurants, boutiques, etc. everywhere, people were so youthful (as oposed to Florida where there are do many seniors) and everyone was outside walking around. I loved the brownstones, and the trees (kinda sick of palm trees). The only thing is - - - I just don't know if I can put up with the cold. I am very spoiled down here in Florida. I never have to worry about parking, and can wear can wear shorts and a tee shirt (or any type of summer clothing) year round. I know it's a trade off, but do you think it would be worth it to move to Chicago? Btw, I know I can move back - - but moving is not an easy thing to do, so if I do go, I want to go with the intent of staying. What do you think?Will I regret moving from the warm to the cold?
you will hate it, trust me
My suggestion is to visit Chicago in February. If you can handle the blistering cold, inches of snow, putting on polar fleece, hat, gloves and scarf, having to scrape ice off your windsheild, and shoveling your way in AND out of a parking spot (that's if you can find one), then by all means...GO FOR IT!Will I regret moving from the warm to the cold?
do not do it!!!!!!!!! you will regreat it the rest of your live. i lived 12 years of my life in tropical area and had to move to cold holland and will finlly leave this country next month
Chicago?



You'll be fine.



Moving up in here to Canada is where you should start getting worried about the climate change.
just do that some know chicago is colder than some parts of canada. Chicago is brutal cold due to the winds. I have to wear gloves or else. It is a huge change, winter lasts a very long time. gray skies slippery roads, several layers of clothes. in cold cities people are very happy in the summer and yes they walk around outside alot to take advantage. You will see them all over the city, sitting on lawns etc. trust me that is because they know in one month they will be freezing or inside most of the time. personally i would do it for a good chunk of change but otherwise no way
I can tell you about my experience, just to let you know this happened a while ago I currently live in South Florida, understand where your coming from. I was born and raised in Southern Cali, moved to No. Cal, lived there for 5 years, then moved to Chicago I lived there for 11 years. I missed California's weather! I hate being cold. I thought when I moved there I would "adjust" to the snow and cold, but i never did. I didn't like it! Probably the reason I didn't like it is because winter lasted so long in Chicago. The first snow/freeze in Chicago usually comes in October. This is when everything except some oak trees died! The grass turned to hay and the trees were nothing but sticks. It was like that until May! We usually got snow and freezing temps up until then. Don't plan on planting any flowers in Chicago until after Memorial Day, or you'll risk the freezing temps killing them. So October-May is winter there. If you can handle 7+ months of winter in Chicago, then you should do ok there. You should consider how the cold will affect your joints as well. As we get older arthritis can develop, the cold can make it much worse, and it can be very painful. I have been in a couple of accidents which I received neck injuries, my neck has developed some arthritis because of those injuries, and it hurt when it got to cold. Spring and Fall are pretty short in Chicago, maybe lasting about 6 weeks on average, which sucked for me because they are my favorite seasons. Spring flowers, and easter dresses.... doesn't happen there. I can remember me and my kids building a snowman on Easter one of the first years I lived there. Then there's summer. While Chicago didn't get scorching hot summers, it can get up to the 90's at times, depending on where you live. We had air conditioning and there are some days I would be miserable without it. The weather in Chicago is unpredicatable, if you plan a BBQ, you better have a backup plane because it could rain or hail. Yes, there were hail storms! The kind that can be dimples in your car, if your car is outside, while that is rare, hail storms are pretty normal in Chicago. The rain usually brings thunderstorms with them, I would say its normal to get them 2-3 times a week. We had a dog who used to freak out everytime we got one... wasn't fun. It's also dry in Chicago.... very dry. I used to wear contacts, but I couldn't due to the dryness there. Some people could, but not me. I remember every day I had to apply lotion to avoid dry, flaky skin. Be prepared to change your skin and hair care products to adjust. On a more positive note the temperatures do go up and town. We used to have many days of sunshine, not always warm, not always cold, but sunny. When it snowed it didn't stay on the ground for very long, so you shouldn't have any problems, getting mail, running errands, etc. You just have to plan around the snow storms. I remember that we didn't have a lot of bugs like California, and the pets never had fleas. The air is clean and refreshing, and Lake Michigian and the waterfront is beautiful. I didn't mind the snow in the winter, but I did mind it in the fall and the spring. It just lasted to long there for me. This is just my opinion, and by all means if you like Chicago and the weather go for it. It's a nice city, but the weather really reminded me that I don't like that kind of climate. Good luck in whatever you plan to do!