<p>Sally,
You don’t play golf? Or sail or row or wind surf or stand up paddle, kayak or canoe? Those are quite active.</p>
<p>My younger son was a little afraid he wouldn’t like Chicago’s weather, so though he got accepted in December having never visited the place, he waited until April for the visit so he could see it at its best. He didn’t want to be poorly influenced by the weather. </p>
<p>(I know the unshoveled icy walks at Bard had a negative influence on my opinion of the place, but it didn’t help that Vassar, a short drive away had had no problem shoveling their sidewalks with just as much snow on the ground.)</p>
<p>I actually loved living in Los Angeles for three years - so much to do - great museums, mountains, beach, desert hiking, decent music, hot bed of architecture at the time. I even liked the freeways.</p>
<p>FWIW, when driving around northern Minnesota, I’m always astonished at how many golf courses there are considering the short playing season. I also tried (but failed – state school education) to find a link I once saw noting that the Twin Cities has the lowest aggregate rate of television viewership of any of the country’s major metro areas. The theorized reason for that is that a good number of inhabitants are out of the house doing something – particularly during the summer months. (Of course, it could also reflect that Mary Tyler Moore went off the air years ago and the Vikings suck. YMMV.)</p>
<p>But, by all means, feel free to carry on this fact-free discussion.</p>
<p>I have a family of dedicated runners. They are out in the cold, dressed appropriately (just bought them some Merino base layer stuff yesterday at Costco, as a matter of fact)[Paradox</a> Men’s 1/4 Zip Base Layer Top - Black](<a href="http://www.costco.com/Paradox-Men’s-14-Zip-Base-Layer-Top---Black.product.100036890.html]Paradox">http://www.costco.com/Paradox-Men’s-14-Zip-Base-Layer-Top---Black.product.100036890.html) [Paradox</a> Men’s Base Layer Pant - Black](<a href="http://www.costco.com/Paradox-Men’s-Base-Layer-Pant---Black.product.100036912.html]Paradox">http://www.costco.com/Paradox-Men’s-Base-Layer-Pant---Black.product.100036912.html) Some snow/ice would probably not deter them either. They’ve been out running when we are on vacation at ski slopes. And yes-- there are a host of winter sports- skiing (downhill and cross country), snowboarding, snowmobiling, ice skating, to name a few. The winter olympics would be pretty dull without the winter sports. And yes, there are some people out on their boats in cold weather.</p>
<p>Well, we are speaking of students from outside of a region deciding to attend school in a place with a different climate. So what the locals do and are used to, is only partly relevant. Some facts from Wikipedia:</p>
<p>"…the Twin Cities region is subjected to some of the widest range of temperatures in the United States. Temperatures in the Twin Cities region range from an average of 13.1 °F (−11 °C) in January to 73.2 °F (23 °C) in July. With no natural barriers to block cold air from pouring south from Canada, the Twin Cities are subjected to many arctic air masses throughout the winter months. These arctic air masses bring with them very cold temperatures and sometimes strong winds, resulting in dangerous wind chill values. The Twin Cities has a comparable average summer temperatures to other nearby metropolitan areas such as Chicago, but the arctic outbreaks during the winter push the average winter temperature of the Twin Cities well below that of Chicago’s. Despite being located just 350 miles (563 km) from Chicago, the Twin Cities’ average January of temperature of 13.1 °F (−11 °C) is well below Chicago’s 22.0 °F (−6 °C). During summer months, Minneapolis can be subject to very hot temperatures from May to August, and very high humidity. This combination can drive the heat index to over 120 °F (49 °C)."</p>
<p>I would not jog in 120F, that’s for sure.</p>
<p>Well, we live in the south. Many probably couldn’t easily tolerate the heat/humidity here if they were not used to it. My DH and s’s all grew up in a warm climate. That said, they spend a lot of time out in the very cold weather when they are there. They aren’t cold weather “locals” by any means.</p>
<p>I am really not understanding the Twin Cities bashing. Downtown Minneapolis has skywalks connecting many of the buildings. U of MN has tunnels connecting theirs. The area consistently ranks high on quality of life metrics. If you would visit there, you might understand.</p>
<p>TheGFG, you would not be able to jog in many parts of the country during the summer. The South, Southwest and the Eastern Seaboard also have hot, humid summers. The most uncomfortable I have ever been weather-wise was in Philadelphia in July. It was hot and humid enough that I could wring out my clothes. </p>
<p>California is not perfect, either. The air quality is awful at times. It would depress the heck out of me to look toward the ocean or the mountains and see that disgusting layer of pollution-caused smog, not to mention have a hard time breathing because of all the crap in the air.</p>
<p>You also say this:</p>
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<p>What does this even mean? Isn’t the point of college to immerse yourself in your surroundings? Does this mean your kid at Stanford won’t go to the restaurants the locals go to but instead only choose chain restaurants she has back home? Would she consider county or city parks or beaches off limits because they are where the locals go? I just do not understand your line of reasoning at all.</p>
<p>We have all those winter sports in CA, too, just saying.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Twin Cities: One time in college, a group of us was sitting around answering one of those pseudo-surveys that clog the web now, but 40 years ago took some initiative and capital to distribute. One of the questions was, “What is the one thing you would change about the first time you had sex?” A friend from Minneapolis volunteered, “I would do it sometime other than the winter, so I wouldn’t spend the whole time wondering whether the car would start when I wanted to go home, because I hadn’t been able to plug it into anything.” My hometown was known for hard winters, but I had never heard of a place so cold people plugged their cars into outlets so they could run engine heaters while the car was parked.</p></li>
<li><p>I am of course not disputing that people, especially young people, sometimes make college decisions based on what weather they like. That’s a fact. I just think it’s a dumb fact, a silly basis for a decision unless every other factor is so counterbalanced that you are allowed to do something silly, like roll dice or base your decision on climate. That’s what I told my kids – don’t make a decision based on the weather, that’s dumb. They both went to college in a place that is 20 degrees colder in the winter than where they grew up. Did they like that? Of course not! But that didn’t keep them from having a great college experience, and in one case from wanting to live there permanently.</p></li>
</ol>
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<p>I don’t golf, Bay, and haven’t tried stand-up paddling (which is hugely popular where I live) but I love the other watersports. I live in an area with many accessible lakes and inexpensive places to rent boats, boards, etc. You can even take log-rolling classes on one of the lakes!</p>
<p>Why do you not consider golf and those other water sports to be active?</p>
<p>I do. I was initially thinking of riding around in a powerboat when you you first said “boating.” And I don’t think golf is an active sport for a lot of people, especially when they ride around in carts instead of walking the course.</p>
<p>JHS: Your story reminds me of the movie Fargo (which was mostly shot in Minnesota). It cracked me up how the actors had to pretend it was bitter cold when it was shot during an unusually warm winter. I could tell because there were actual melted puddles on the streets and you couldn’t see people’s breath when they talked. Funny how stereotypes live on. I don’t dispute that the Midwest has cold winters–just that they’re not as bad as all that. My elderly father comes up from Miami every year for Christmas and he manages just fine–he takes long walks and doesn’t complain about getting into the cold car when we need to drive somewhere (we have no garage, but we don’t use an engine warmer either).</p>
<p>Sally,
Lots of people walk the course. More than take a cart where I play. One can easily put in over 6 miles of hilly walking, plus plenty of arm and torso movement involved. People who play golf often can be quite fit if they walk the course. They can’t play much in the snow, but I know some people will if the course will allow it. That is what hot pink golf balls are for.</p>
<p>Living in Houston, I see lots of people jogging in 100 degree heat. </p>
<p>I wouldn’t personally but people who I see jogging don’t seem to care about the heat.</p>
<p>There are plenty of students who choose to attend a school in a different climate. Southerners go north, northerners go south. Why is this being beaten to death?</p>
<p>Because Sally got worked up over my Ds’ observation.</p>
<p>What posts are you referring to? Seems a moot point, IMO.</p>
<p>I don’t want to go back and find them, either. I’m over it, too.</p>
<p>Bay, I didn’t get “worked up.” I simply countered your observation because it isn’t true. And then you and TheGFG attempted to discount all the studies that support my position.</p>
<p>Also, to me the best thing about golf courses is that they are great for XC skiing and snowshoeing in the winter. :)</p>
<p>sally,
You had to “counter” my Ds’ observation because it isn’t true? That does not even make sense. You weren’t even there and your opinion is no more accurate than hers.</p>