<p>Would Chicago be too cold for someone from Houston? I'm looking in to the University of Chicago, but every family member I mention it to says that I will freeze. I know it's a matter of preference, but has anyone here made the transition from the south to Chicago? And would that really be any sort of reason to not go to one of the nation's best schools?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>I’m in eastern Pennsylvania. There are people here from Houston and Chicago. lol. It’s up to you man.</p>
<p>You wont freeze, just wear a coat. You’ll probably start wearing a jacket before the other students. I know here, there are people wearing jackets and it’s in the 60-70’s!
There is something however, that if you are in the city, there will be an effect on the weather known as “UHI” or “Urban Heat Island”. Being in an urban setting usually keeps the temperatures a few degrees higher, resulting in less snow and ice than the surrounding areas.</p>
<p>There are girls here in Ithaca from SoCal that survive it just fine.</p>
<p>Unless the winter in Houston is like death to you, you can probably survive the winters in Chicago. AFAIK, most people spend the vast majority of winter inside anyway.</p>
<p>You may not enjoy them, but you I figure you’ll learn to tolerate it just like we do with the summers in Texas (I’m from Dallas).</p>
<p>I know a guy from Singapore who went to Carleton in Minnesota. If he can do it, so can you.</p>
<p>I did the reverse — Chicago to Houston.</p>
<p>Houstonians “freeze” in Houston winters <em>snicker.</em></p>
<p>Chicagoans freeze their m—f—ng a—s off in Chicago winters.</p>
<p>A Houstonian in Chicago? Ha. Haha. Hahahhaha. Ahahhahahahahhahahah. I dare you lol. Then you can laugh at you naive friends back in Houston.</p>
<p>Then again, I don’t think something like weather should turn you away from a school. Especially a school like the University of Chicago.</p>
<p>And AbbyP: Well, the guy from Singapore couldn’t just change his mind after enrolling in a school in Minnesota. I’m sure he arrived in August/ September like everyone else. He had to stick it out one way or another lol.</p>
<p>If you get cold you can just go inside.</p>
<p>Wear a coat, walk quickly, stay inside most of the time, and treat yourself to coffee, tea, and hot chocolate. Nearly 10 million people live in Chicago and its suburbs, and they all seem to be surviving.</p>
<p>Oh, and as an added bonus, buildings are heated.</p>
<p>It’s called a coat…use it</p>
<p>Looking back, this was far too personal a question to ask on a forum. Thanks anyways, guys.</p>
<p>Too personal? It is a common question from Southerners. Experiencing a cold winter is such a minor challenge, just one requiring a little preparation and forethought. Will the student who never goes north refuse jobs, or work assignments that require travel to a northern city his/her whole life? At age eighteen, this seems to be the time to conjure up a little courage and get out of your comfort zone. </p>
<p>As noted above, indoor heat and coats have so far allowed millions of people to survive an Illinois winter. Check that UChicago offers rooms, not igloos and you’ll be fine. ;)</p>
<p>A Houston summer is considered more unbearable than a Chicago winter by many of us. Don’t let your relatives scare you out of a great college experience!</p>
<p>I’m originally from Texas and live in Chicago now. Winters here can be <em>cold</em>. (I sure don’t like it here once it gets down past 50. 
) They’re also a lot darker than in Texas, and you may want to look into full-spectrum lighting in your dorm room. My roommate swears by full-spectrum lights, and she’s originally from a state well north of Texas.</p>
<p>You will definitely want to invest in the proper cold-weather gear, including boots – keep in mind that you’ll be looking for both warmth and a good tread – and a jacket or coat and clothes you can layer. (Don’t buy until you get here and have talked to some of the other people at the school so that you can balance any fashion concerns you may have with the quality of the gear. But if money is an issue I’d suggest that you look at L.L.Bean and Carhartt’s Arctic range (I have an Arctic jacket and it is very warm) for outerwear and take a look at silk undergarments, which are both warm and lightweight under your regular clothes. That will help you plan.) You will also want to take a hard look at wherever you plan to live to see how much time you’re going to be spending outside on the way to and from school, work, etc., and whether you’re going to be spending any of that time standing still waiting for public transit. I think it would be worth paying more money to live closer to the places you’ll be going to in your first winter.</p>
<p>But no, I don’t think the cold and the dark are reason not to come here. (My brother went to school in Maine and loved it – he’s still there.) Expect an adjustment period, especially if you are used to spending a lot of time outside (if you are, you should look into alternate things to do for exercise or relaxation <em>before</em> the cold weather hits), and a small minority of people may be unhappy enough this far north that they want to transfer. But winter in Chicago is not what a winter in Houston with Chicago temperatures would be. They plan for winter here, and there are a lot of things to do indoors – start looking into bus schedules when you get here so you can explore some of the things that happen downtown and in other areas.</p>
<p>I am going to U of C this year.</p>
<p>Come, it is a great school.</p>
<p>I lived in Jamaica- real warm- and then in Columbus, Ohio and I am going to Chicago.</p>
<p>I survived, and you can too.</p>
<p>Just wear two layers of everything and you will be nice and toasty!</p>
<p>I’m going from D/FW to Chicago and I’m not worried. It’s cold, sure, but people in Texas exaggerate things because that’s all they know about Chicago. Don’t let weather get in your way!</p>