Dumb Weather Question from Spoiled Californian

[Brickhouse]

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Living in Los Angeles my whole life (with the exception of those first 5 years but do they really count?) I have never felt temperatures below 30, give or take.

I'm interviewing in Philly and D.C. and I'm wondering, has anyone else here had to adapt to a huge weather change like that? Everyone keeps telling me how horrible the weather is over there and I keep thinking, "but I've always wanted to know what winter looks like! I'll be fine!"
I'm so bored of the sunshine!
Am I being naive?

 

[jlee9531]

everyone was warning me how cold michigan was and how it was in the 40s the week before my interview......

but then oddly on interview day i swear it must have been in the 80s. and 80s and a suit do not match for me. but i prepared by taking warm sweatshirts and a beanie for my head. the initial iceblast will be very bad but just keep moving haha.

im from cali but lived in ny for the first 10 years of my life and i cant stand this socal heat brickhouse.
you can always adapt to cold by busting up the layers and keeping your head/hands/feet well insulated.

i think its why i like norcal better since it actually feels cool up there during the seasonal changes and the nights.

but yeah........since its just interviews and you dont have to endure the cold for longer than week i hope......you can survive.

 

[superdevil]

i've never lived in cali or anything, but my advice is to just go to whatever school you like best. i have lived in ohio these past 21+ years, and in my opinion, you kinda stop noticing the cold after a while. also, like jlee said, i really dig the whole change of seasons thing, it just feels so much more natural than wearing shorts on christmas!

the only thing i would caution you on is the fact that snowstorms and icestorms can make your life a living hell if you have a long commute to and fro wherever you go. being stuck in ditches/rammed by suv's definately is not cool. just make sure to get an apartment within a reasonable walking distance from your school, bundle up, and enjoy! 😉

 

[greenie8]

Brickhouse,
I've lived in Baltimore for the past five years and I don't consider the winters here to be "real" winters (granted last winter was a BIG exception). I'm from New England and that's where the magic happens with real weather. You won't get much winter if you're in Philadelphia or DC--you'll be fine. It might be cold but I wouldn't worry about anything.

The funny thing is that if it does snow, no one has any idea how to handle it and 3 inches can basically shut down a city.

greenie

 

[musiclink213]

The funny thing is that if it does snow, no one has any idea how to handle it and 3 inches can basically shut down a city.

that's not true! i've lived in ny my whole life, and the city never shuts down. The only times schools closed was in 96 when we had a blizzard, and a couple of years ago when they promised "the snowstorm of the century." mass transit hardly ever shuts down cause of the weather, they might be delayed. private businesses could close cause that's there decision, but nothing stops.

you get used to the cold. it's really not so bad, as long as u remember to wear thick socks in the winter if you're doing a lot of walking (so your feet won't get wet)

 

[Megalofyia]

3 inches of snow shuts down your city? hehe that's nothing. Where I live if there is even a hint of ice coming the city freaks out and schools and such start closing.

We do not handle winter well in the south. 😉

 

[Street Philosopher]

I have a similar background as you... first 6 years in cold weather, then 16 in LA. Here's my take on the weather...

Rain is a pain in the ass because you get wet (obvious) and because of umbrellas and humidity, foggy car windows, etc. Chances are, if you're going to colder weather, it will rain more.

Snow is also a pain in the ass, but not as much because you don't get wet immediately. There is also the pain of slipping around when walking or driving.

I think the worst thing is the cloudy weather though. It's easy to take sunshine for granted in LA since it's sunny 300+ days a year. I hear that it's cloudy 5 months straight during fall/winter, so ummm... I might need to get some Paxil/Zoloft/Prozac 😛

Anyway, from my experience, the cold itself is not bad. I actually like cold weather. I spent winter in Korea for 2 weeks when it was the coldest days of the year and I kinda liked it. 🙂 On the other hand, I spent a week in London a few years ago and got depressed by 7 straight days of clouds.

I guess the bottomline is that it's not so bad and if other people can live in this weather, then so can you.

 

[Selisa]

Originally posted by musiclink213
that's not true! i've lived in ny my whole life, and the city never shuts down.

didn't the city shut down last winter in jan. or feb.? (i can't remember which month) i happened to be home in Maryland visiting my brother and parents, and i was stuck down there until Tuesday because the entire area was covered in over 4 feet of snow. it took us 2 days to shovel our way out! when i got back into Manhattan, the snow mound were like 8 feet high, and cars parked on the side were completely buried.

 

[CaMD]

I grew up in Minnesota and I don't plan on returning anytime soon. Great state in most other regards but it's too cold too much of the year. I'm becoming a Cali resident and that fabulous numb feeling of impending frostbite can kiss my temperate-weather a$$.

 

[umass rower]

Originally posted by musiclink213
that's not true! i've lived in ny my whole life, and the city never shuts down. The only times schools closed was in 96 when we had a blizzard, and a couple of years ago when they promised "the snowstorm of the century." mass transit hardly ever shuts down cause of the weather, they might be delayed. private businesses could close cause that's there decision, but nothing stops.

you get used to the cold. it's really not so bad, as long as u remember to wear thick socks in the winter if you're doing a lot of walking (so your feet won't get wet)

I think you missed part of the point of this. Philly and especially DC don't experience the same kinds of weather as NYC. 3 inches shuts down DC because they're not equipped for it. NYC gets more snow on a regular basis, so it has the equipment to deal with it. I know that up here in Massachusetts, we barely slow down for anything less than a foot at a time.

Philly will get fairly cold in the winter but not extremely so. DC probably won't be below freezing for more than 3 days at a time. If you fear cold and snow, you probably want to steer clear of New England.

 

[dynx]

I moved from N.California to DC for a year and a half. I had the same idea you had that snow and a real winter would be nice to see and guess what...IT SUCKED. The humid summers just about killed me and a heavy blizzard DID indeed shut the city down for about 3 days, metro stoped running and most stores closed down. I liked the city and I had a great time when I was there but I would NEVER move back. The one great thing that came from that experience is I realized I could never spend 4 years there for medical school. If I had known then what I know now I would have left all east coast schools off my App.
That may sound pretty negative but thats just my opinion. Good luck.

 

[28129]

You people are *******. NYC, Philadelphia, and Washington have mild weather.

The humid summers just about killed me and a heavy blizzard DID indeed shut the city down for about 3 days, metro stoped running and most stores closed down.

Public transportation is for suckers. They make SUVs for a reason.

 

[DOtobe]

Originally posted by Megalofyia
3 inches of snow shuts down your city? hehe that's nothing. Where I live if there is even a hint of ice coming the city freaks out and schools and such start closing.

We do not handle winter well in the south. 😉

That's funny.

Especially after living in Erie (the land of lake-effect snow) for two years, where kids stand waiting for the bus stop in snow halfway to their knees. The town had 144 inches of snow last year, and I don't think the schools had one snow day.

Philly and DC get hardly any snow compared to some other cities in the Northeast. You will be fine.

(And it is the best thing to have four seasons - especially since the trees are absolutely gorgeous right now )

 

[UDbiochem]

Hey! I spent the first half of my life in San Diego, CA, born and raised there. Then my family moved to upstate NJ, and i like it here. The snow at times can be annoying, but the seasons are nice. You get a variety, hot, humid, sticky weather in the summer and freezing, snowy weather in the winter.

 

[MDmiracle]

Originally posted by Megalofyia
3 inches of snow shuts down your city? hehe that's nothing. Where I live if there is even a hint of ice coming the city freaks out and schools and such start closing.

We do not handle winter well in the south. 😉

This is hilarious, I come from the land of perpetual rain, Washington. I do remember them giving us a snow day on year becuase the forcast called for snow... It never came!

 

[tygrwds]

I was born and raised in Honolulu, but did my undergrad just outside of Portland (Ore). Didn't mind the rain - although it was kinda depressing at times. Loved the snow, except when I had to drive in it. The temp got as low as 20 degrees on campus, but that wasn't too bad.

I've experienced even lower temperatures at some golf tournaments elsewhere (I played college golf). Now THAT sucked!

I also spent 3 weeks in Costa Rica (90 degrees, 90% humidity) this past January, and returned to 40-degree, rainy weather. But, I didn't find it difficult to adjust.

Just get yourself some warm clothes. 😀

 

[sacrament]

The rain washed away the crops, and the kids had a hungry winter. We lost Brian to lightning.

 

[Megalofyia]

Originally posted by DOtobe
That's funny.

Especially after living in Erie (the land of lake-effect snow) for two years, where kids stand waiting for the bus stop in snow halfway to their knees. The town had 144 inches of snow last year, and I don't think the schools had one snow day.

Philly and DC get hardly any snow compared to some other cities in the Northeast. You will be fine.

(And it is the best thing to have four seasons - especially since the trees are absolutely gorgeous right now )

Um this is kind of scary. I have an interview at LECOM in December. I don't know if there is a store here that even carries decent socks. I am pretty sure I am the ONLY person where I live that knows or even owns lined pants. I spent several months one year doing a big search to find them because I'm always cold in the winter here -- granted I'm the only one who seems to be cold here in the winter. BTW I ended up having to get them out of a catalog.

 

[Brickhouse]

Yeah, they don't even really sell winter clothes here in l.a....


Hey back in 1989, it did snow in my hometown outside L.A. It was the best day of my life.

So, no snow days for us, but we did have an "earthquake" day after we Northridge quake due to loss of potable water supply. It was the second best day of my life. (no offense to those who actually really suffered in that quake)

 

[DrWuStar]

everyone deals with winter differently. i am from philly, and i think winter there is actually pretty nice. it gets cold, but it is sunny most of the time.

then i went to college in northern ohio, right on lake erie. now that was miserable! what killed me was the "lake effect" cloud that descended on the place in october and stuck around till april (if we were lucky). the greyness of that place, with the clouds and the endless dirty snow, killed me. my best friend at college was from portland, OR. she hated winter there too, but for different reasons - she was used to grey skies, but couldn't bear to be without green trees. the lack of green really depressed her.

i live in the bay area now, and i go back and forth about winter. sometimes i think the cold, but sunny winters in philly are better than the mild, rainy, foggy winters here. i hate rain. so wet. but when i go back to PHL in the winter, i freeze and thank god for california. but i think that's a lot because i don't have the proper warm clothes.

i applied to 3 schools in chicago. now that is scary weather.

 

[*hopefully*]

I also grew up in CA, and now go to school in Philly.

Let me tell ya, last winter, I freezed my ass off!! (we can say ass on sdn right?)

Being fairly skinny, I had a hard time keeping warm. But, you adapt. And, quite honestly, in med school you are going to be studying and in class so much, you won't even notice.

 

[Neon Black]

Personally, I like my midwest mix of weather! 90 degree Summers, 10 degree winters!!

I like wearing turtle necks and a scarf. I also like throwing snow balls at people and doing donuts with my car in my high school parking lot. I mean, don't get me wrong, wearng shorts is cool and all, but having it warm 365 days a year would get kinda boring for me. I don't know how you Californians and southerners stand it. Plus, the heat makes you soft too!!! Biting winters makes you tough as nails!!

 

[Megalofyia]

I'm ok with being soft. I admit it - I'm a wuss when it comes to weather below 70 degrees.

 

[WuzUpDoc]

ok... i think i should dispell the misconception that it is warm all the time in cali. first, cali weather varies a lot between the north and the south and the coast and inland. it is definitely not warm all the time in the sf bay area. lots of cool 70 deg weather. and mostly 50s in the fall months, then dipping even lower in the winter.

the HUGE diff between west coast climate and the east coast and even the south is the HUMIDITY. i grew up in northern california and moved to dc this august. i nearly killed myself in the humidity. it was absolutely unbearable, esp when you have to do a lot of walking.... but now that that has passed, it is so nice to actually see a change in weather. in cali, i could see almost all 4 seasons in one week-- heat, mild spring weather, cool fall weather, and frosty winter weather. never knew what to expect. here, it is more consistant. i am also excited to see the winter, and although this may be a rough one, i've heard that the winter in the dc/baltimore/philly area isn't too too bad. o ya, and now i can say that i have not olnly lived through earthquakes, but also a hurricane 🙂

 

[Brickhouse]

Originally posted by WuzUpDoc
ok... i think i should dispell the misconception that it is warm all the time in cali. first, cali weather varies a lot between the north and the south and the coast and inland....

I think I did specify Los Angeles (or at least so. cal) in my original post, sorry for the confusion and any misconceptions I might have put in place.

Definitely dreading the humidity if I end up on the east...or anywhere east of the Colorado river for that matter. Honestly though, after 22 years of southern cal. weather, I can say with some conviction that I've never really been impressed by the weather's variation. The weather reports have always been a real snore for me. But I admitted from the very beginning, I'm spoiled like that!

 

[premyo2002]

Brickhouse, I'm in the same position, but I dont apply untill June. So you have to let me know how you deal with it: assuming you choose one of those school.

 

[spumoni620]

Originally posted by Megalofyia
I'm ok with being soft. I admit it - I'm a wuss when it comes to weather below 70 degrees.

me too. and this coming from someone who used to live in calgary and toronto...living in tx has spoiled me, i guess. but right now, in the middle of october the weather is so beautiful, it makes me forget the 104 degree endless summer...

 

[FowlersGap]

i was born and raised in OC
and last year i lived in DC while i did the SMP program at gtown
the seasons are beautiful and you need to remember that you're time there is temporary
you really do realize that you're spoiled as a californian when you have to do things like walk carefully over black ice or shovel snow
the east has a weather that is full of extremes but oddly enough i never felt as if i left CA
i guess it was a weird feeling where it was unusually cold or hot
but seeing snow fall for the first time was an incredible experience as wass seeing fall (with the leaves)
don't be afraid of the weather; you'll love it