I’m from Florida and so if you ask me what cold means I’ll say anything below 70 degrees. A nice day is 90 degrees with about 50% humidity as long as there’s sun. I hate cloudy days and rainy days are just kind of annoying. I have never really seen snow before. I’m a junior in high school who’s trying to pick a college where I’ll be happy. So after much deliberation I decided that I’d only look “Washington D.C. and south” probably on the East Coast for colleges. The thing is the more I research, the more I’m wondering about how much weather matters and I know that I’m missing out on several colleges I would otherwise be interested in. Is there anyone from a Southern state who moved up north who can tell me how difficult it was to adjust?
I am not from a southern state, but live in CA, so it is sort of the same situation.
From experience for D2, she went from CA to CO. She does not like the snow - she says she falls a lot 
and it can really get cold at times. She wasn’t used to bulking up with snow boots, etc just to walk to class a few minutes away. She will definitely not live in the snow when she graduates from college - she wants to come back to CA or somewhere else warm. However, she also said she is now used to it and is glad she picked the college she did. That is - she didn’t want the snow to get in her way too much from picking the college. D3 is now looking, doesn’t want the snow either, but will actually consider it if the perfect school comes along which just happens to be in the snow.
D1 went from CA to OR and HATES the rain though - I think she would much rather have preferred snow!
Good luck.
To be clear I meant southern as in geographically not just the American South. Thanks so much!
In terms of a general response, Florida, along with California, commonly appears within the top half dozen or so most represented states at Northeastern colleges. If you were to also choose this direction, you will have been amply preceded.
What matters to YOU is what matters in the college search. My S has a close friend who came to college in NYC from southern CA and loved it – he stayed in NYC for 5 years after graduation before heading back to CA. He quickly learned that his fleece jacket and baseball cap would not be sufficient for a NY winter and mid-freshman year he caved in to buy a winter coat and hat.
it depends on how much you hate bad weather. I know many people from CA/TX/FL at my northeastern school who bought winter gear and learned to adjust. Most of them would still say that it’s worth it. But those who thought that weather was a big deal probably wouldn’t have chosen a northeastern college in the first place. The reality is you’ll have to deal with walking around outside quite a bit so if that’s a dealbreaker for you, you should keep it in mind.
DS is going from Houston to upstate NY. We saw real snow together for the first time when we went up for his accepted students day in April. Yes, APRIL. It had snowed the week before and we played in the piles of left over snow. DS is looking forward to the change and the adventure because he is inspired by his school.
Like anything else: if it’s important to you, it’s important.
You could consider a ski trip this winter to New England to see how you really feel about bundling up.
We’re on Long Island, so we’re used to cold snowy winters. And my daughter has said with absolute certainty that she doesn’t want to go anyplace TOO far north. She hates the cold, hates the snow.
It’s every bit as valid a parameter as anything else.
Thanks everyone! @bjkmom that sounds like a really good idea!
I agree it would be a good idea to visit a northern school between November and March to see what it feels like on a cold day, if that is possible. Or ski. Or go to a December Patriots or Bills game.
One of my kids visited a school in New England in mid-October. It had been unseasonably warm but turned cold the day we arrived. It was actually snowing in the nearby mountains. They said they just wouldn’t want to get up and go to class every day in weather that cold, or much colder, all the way from then through April. They ended up in NC.
It is important to be honest with yourself. There are many terrific schools in New England and the Midwest. The weather is beautiful in the summer. However, the school year is precisely not when the weather is best If it’s 10 degrees with some snow and ice on the ground, are you going to climb out of a warm bed at 8:30 in the morning and walk a quarter or half mile to a class? Is it going to be frustrating to go out at ten or eleven at night to go to a frat/sorority party or to see friends and shiver in the same weather? Good luck!
After living in Texas for 10 years, I moved to Michigan 18 years ago. Love the seasonal changes. Winter in SE Michigan is more bearable than the hot summer in Texas.
My son graduated from McGill in Montréal. He knew a woman there from Hawaii. She loved the weather!