Is anyone going to end up in a completely different climate than they're used to when they go to vet school?
One thing I'm terrified about is having to deal with snow and ice in the winter. No matter where I end up, I will have to deal with some snow and freezing temperatures. I'm used to winters that stay in the 60s and we maybe have one ice/snow "storm" a year if we're lucky. How do people live with the cold?! I guess I will find out 😕 someone will have to teach me how to winter...
I've never completely changed climates, but I did go from NJ to Chicago for 2 years. Chicago winters were much worse than anything I had ever seen, and I survived.
🙂
My best friend from college grew up just outside the Bay Area, and we went to school in NJ. She had never really been around snow much before. She didn't have as much tolerance for cold as other people did, but it wasn't so bad. You do really adjust over time. Your body begins to get used to the cold, and before you know it, 55 degrees suddenly feels like spring. I promise. It happens.
😉
Just be sure to ask for advice so you can learn how to winter from people who've been wintering all their lives. If it's a really cold and snowy area, as in there's usually snow on the ground throughout most of the season, invest in some serious snow boots (my Timberlands have lasted 6 years now, and my feet never once got wet) and a good down coat. If it's windy at all, a longer coat that goes past your waist is better. Gloves or mittens are very important, and scarves are multipurpose. Gloves are better if you need a little dexterity, but mittens will keep your fingers a little warmer.
A space heater works wonders for keeping you warm indoors, and layers will keep you warm when you're outside but let you get comfortable inside. If sidewalks are icy, walk in the snow (with your awesome boots that you bought because you thought ahead!). If you can't avoid ice, use baby steps and distract yourself by thinking about why it just so happens that the one time you need to remember first year physics, the one time it'd actually be immediately useful to your actual real life and well being, you freaking can't remember a thing. If you have a car, make sure you have a brush/scraper dealybobber in it all the time because you never know when you might get snow and please, please, please, for the love of all that is good and holy, PLEASE clean off your whole car, including the roof, before driving around. And if you're going to be driving in snow and ice, read this profanity-laced but informative rant:
http://adequateman.deadspin.com/how-to-drive-in-the-snow-in-a-regular-ass-car-without-1681902425
Lastly, it's okay to mutter under your breath and curse the snow and ice, talking to yourself like a crazy person. When I lived in western NY in a city that gets buried with snow from November through March, by the time March rolled around on that really bad year we had, seeing it snow made me legitimately
angry. That's okay. Anger helps you shovel faster. Anger reminds you that you're still alive and haven't become a human icicle. And then when all the snow and ice go away, oh the pure joy you feel!
😀 Because spring will come, and you will be okay. Everything will be okay. And then when you go home to visit, it'll feel like you're in a sauna and you'll daydream about snow again.
. Like pinkpuppy9 said, good coat, multiple pairs of thick socks, waterproof boots (they also sell waterproofing spray that actually works). If you don't want to buy the wiper fluid for your car you can buy de-icing fluid in cans at walmart in the car department! You just spray it when you need it. I always have an ice scraper in my car- even when it's not winter. If you have a small car, even though it's not convenient I recommend throwing a snow shovel in your back seat in the winter. I used to have really small car and this was VERY helpful. Also, make sure you leave early in case the roads are worse than they look. Oh, and avoid hills- that can be a problem in parts of Manhattan.
