<p>Our So Cal girl is in boston where there is great public transportation. That was a factor in selecting a school far from home where she would not have a car. D loves the "city" oppiortunities of Tufts, while being in a suburb (Medford) with good transportation into the city.</p>
<p>Tufts is near the top of her list. The bus is a good solution, trains, anything she isn't driving. I sometimes think about her being in a situation where someone else is driving and a problem occurs and she is asked to drive. I'm guessing she could take "winter" driving lessons on the east coast. No guarantee she will be in a bus zone at the moment. I'm not exactly worried but realize that certain skills are learned and not in L.A. :)
JB</p>
<p>JGrace:</p>
<p>I learned to drive in snow country and spent plenty of time doing induced skids (hey - I was a 16 y/o boy). It actually helped me get a feel for what how a car would react in a skid and how to best control it or at least not make it worse.</p>
<p>If you think she'll end up driving on snow and ice, maybe it'd be worthwhile having her take some lessons at a performance/racing driving school where they can put a car into skids and safely get the same feel of it that I did less safely. I believe they have some targeted at teens. It's probably not cheap but it'd be fun and could save having an accident.</p>
<p>coureur</p>
<p>Yes, snow was a lot more fun for me as a kid, because I only played in it. Shoveling it and driving in it are less pleasant.</p>
<p>Of course we all know life isn't safe or comfortable or fun all the time no matter where we are. It's just a matter of picking our poisons. I love the four seasons, but we do get to escape winter periodically.</p>
<p>That said, graduate school in Tempe AZ felt a bit more vacation-like because of the warm winters, swimming pools and palm trees.</p>
<p>"Do they know how to drive in this type of weather? "</p>
<p>Yes, except of course for Massachusetts drivers. ;)</p>
<p>I completely agree with NMD's post #7.<br>
And like him, I also find it sad when people won't leave their home environment for this brief opportunity in their lives. It's different if you have a health concern; I know a young person with early arthritis. And people with asthma should not live in an impacted area such as Riverside County in SoCal. </p>
<p>The problem with claiming that one "can't deal with snow/fill in the blank," is that the person making the statement has usually never lived in that climate. Because you've never lived there, you therefore know you "can't"? It's also very different to visit than to be residing there & acclimatized to it. One factor is wardrobe. Yes, if your wardrobe is mainly shorts & flip-flops, you can't imagine living in snow. If you've got the "equipment" for it, you'll be fine. You'll be there with lots of other people who know how to do it; the environment will (usually) have things like snow plows, etc.</p>
<p>Most college freshmen do not have to be worry about driving in extreme weather, either. You will probably live on campus (most do now); that's very different from being a parent & having to deal with driving a toddler to preschool in the snow.</p>
<p>The earthquakes DO matter - at least in the minds of those of us living in hurricane country. I can't tell you how many times I've heard the same observation - "hurricanes aren't so bad, you can see them coming for days, and get out of the way. Earthquakes! Now that would be awful, just never knowing when the BIG ONE is coming".
Just as ya'll don't see how we could live knowing a hurricane will come, we think the SoCal people are all waiting for CA to fall into the ocean.</p>
<p>jgrace,</p>
<p>There is rarely any need to drive on the road conditions you worry about. The roads in snow country get cleared pretty quickly, so a few hours wait makes a huge difference. The colder the weather, the less likely it is to lead to ice, curiously. Ice is much more of a problem in so called warmer climates, like the mid atlantic or even Texas. FWIW, in my three years in Dallas TX I saw far more ice than in all my years in the Boston area. And places like Boston are even equipped to deal with ice, having salt and sand trucks at the ready.</p>
<p>The best course of action is to wait. I've even left freeways during long distance trips and gone to a hotel to wait out a storm. I get more concerned about others driving than my own. And given that colleges students have few "must do" trips, they have even more safety slack.</p>
<p>Many folks think the answer to slippery ice and snow is 4/all wheel drive.</p>
<p>Think again.</p>
<p>All wheel drive helps you start when it is slick. This is true.</p>
<p>But, it does no good for stopping.</p>
<p>How many accidents do you think occur because you can't start?</p>
<p>How many accidents occur because you can't stop?</p>
<p>How many accidents occur because someone else can't stop?</p>
<p>Do the math, then make your decision. IMHO, a road that's too slick for my FWD car to go on is one that I can't stop on anyway, and a warning that it is time to wait it out.</p>
<p>Gee, I feel like an expert, having lived in various corners of the US for about 14 years each. Why corners? I like the ocean. I've been thru earthquake, tornadoes, snowstorms, and hurricanes. Often, I found these experiences to be "bonding", especially during school years. I didn't leave my hospital in Boston for 3 days during snowstorm of '76, and used skis to get around. Hurricanes in Fl brought neighbors together to pool food and barbecues.</p>
<p>I think its great for a student to try different places during school years, and to be open to diversity. I'd encourage living abroad, even if for a summer or a term.</p>
<p>Personally, I'm looking foward to giving up the two to three worst months of winter one day, and living somewhere warmer from Dec-Feb. I could do without this season,a nd wouldn't miss it for a second.</p>
<p>DS, on the other hand, has chosen all schools where the weather is potentially worse than it is here at home. Snowier...colder...lovely!</p>
<p>My son is in the process of narrowing down his decisions and weather is definitely a factor! We're in Texas, and he'd like to go someplace where he can experience snow, but I think extreme snow would be quite a shock. Keep in mind, he has seen snow only once in his life (when we went to CO skiing) and here in TX there's only a few days each winter in which we need a heavy jacket.</p>
<p>Going off on his own is a big enough adventure in itself. Maybe if the kid is the really adventurous type, the 'unknown' factors make it all the more exciting, but in our case, if he accepted one of the full-tuition offers from Nebraska or Iowa, that's a 4-year committment without a backup plan, so I don't think having such a huge 'unknown' unnecessarily added to the mix is a very good idea in his case.</p>
<p>So, we pretty much ruled out the really cold states. Seeing those blizzards on the news looks rather scary to us Texans, I admit it!</p>
<p>He is considering WA because it's got snow but not TOO much snow. Then there's the rain factor. If the kid will be riding a bike to campus, or walking to classes on a huge spread out campus, the possibility of it being rainy a lot should be taken into consideration. Not the most important consideration, but just one of many factors. Those day-to-day things we have to deal with do have an impact on life - moreso to some than to others, but a factor nonetheless.</p>
<p>I have actually called several out-of-state colleges and, (along with my other questions including the social scene, etc.) asked about the weather.</p>
<p>When he got an offer from a school in UT, they told me that most of the kids are into skiing. Well, my son might just love skiing. Then again, what if he doesn't? So I wanted to make sure there is a social scene other than skiing. There is, so no problem in this case. But if the entire campus social life is centered around skiing, and the kid isn't the outdoorsy type, that is definitely something to be aware of.</p>
<p>One of our college books lists some school in Iowa as a really awesome school, but in the list of 'negatives' says that the weather is bleak and it's in a small town and the kids sometimes get depressed from being snowed in.</p>
<p>Yeah, it's a consideration! I don't think we're wimpy for acknowledging that how one spends his/her days is important. It is.</p>
<p>PS Not everyone who isn't outdoorsy is necessarily a couch potato. My son practices martial arts and bodybuilding (weight training) which are both very physical but just not outdoors. I'd love for him to get outdoors more, but he hates the Texas heat, so going to school in a colder climate might be a good thing for him.</p>
<p>"The colder the weather, the less likely it is to lead to ice, curiously. Ice is much more of a problem in so called warmer climates, like the mid atlantic or even Texas. FWIW, in my three years in Dallas TX I saw far more ice than in all my years in the Boston area. "</p>
<p>That is really surprising! We live in San Antonio and on the rare occasions we get ice (usually a couple of times each winter) we don't drive in it. Are you saying in the colder areas there is more snow and therefore less ice?</p>
<p>We go to eastern wa- where it can get very cold for holidays- but it is dry so it doesn't seem as cold.
Where it is very cold- the snow doesn't melt- so the roads stay fairly clear ( once it stops snowing) where they are used to dealing with winter weather- they will have the snow plows and such to do so.
Driving in dry cold, is safer than driving where it has melted a bit during the day- but then freezes at night, making layers of black ice ( which you can't see) on the roads-
Ice is also very slippery to walk on- and I wouldn't even try riding a bike on it. </p>
<p>I would imagine that schools with lots of snow- do have things to do besides ski. Many resorts have ice skating and even innertubing available for kids who want to go with their friends but don't want to ski or snowboard. My nieces attended school in upstate NewYork and while they did have to get heavier clothing and didn't ski, they did find things to do on campus.</p>
<p>In Utah- I bet the snow is much drier than in Western Wa, so you are still able to do lots outside without being miserable and wet.
Goretex is a great invention though :)</p>
<p>I would much rather be in an area, that knows how to prepare for winter weather, than one like Seattle- where everyone forgets how to drive in the rain let alone the snow. It is amazing how people don't keep their tires & brakes maintained and drive like it is dry pavement.</p>
<p>lealdragon,</p>
<p>Your conclusion is correct. And, a fact that many southerners may not know is that snow is actually easier to drive in, at least until it gets packed down, and much easier to remove than ice. A 1/2" coating of ice is about the same as 6" of snow. That amount of snow is not much, but that amount of ice will bring things to a standstill!</p>
<p>Another counter-intuitive observation: Many snow belt cities only get 2-3 significant storms per year. And it varies widely from year to year. I've lived through winters in Minneapolis, Chicago and Boston that had essentially no snow, including last winter in Chicago. </p>
<p>This is why I find southern attitudes to northern weather so curious. The south gets ice, lots of it in the winter. The north gets snow, sometimes. The south wears light jackets and gloves. The north wears heavier jackets and gloves AND a hat. (Minneapolis wears long underwear, a parka, insulated boots, thermal mittens and a face covering.... :) ) But no one outside the deep south and So Cal goes around in t shirts in the winter.</p>
<p>newmassdad:
[quote]
Many folks think the answer to slippery ice and snow is 4/all wheel drive. Think again.
[/quote]
As one who's done extensive 4-wheeling including on snow, you're absolutely correct. When it comes to stopping it still comes down to the 4 tires making contact with the slippery surface. Actually, many people get in more trouble with 4WD vehicles in snow because they may tend to venture out when they shouldn't, go where they shouldn't, or simply drive too fast with a false sense of security. I'd still prefer a 4WD vehicle if driving in snow/ice/mud/wet but one must still be prudent - especially when trying to stop or turn.</p>
<p>SNOW...wet, heavy thick snow perfect for throwing snowballs and building snowmen; icy,crunchy, melted and refrozen snow crunching under your boots as you walk in the dark; fluffy, powdery, light snow that is easy to walk through and kick into the air with your boots;a quiet, heavy snowfall with no wind that stays where it lands and builds up to a foot high on branches, cars, post railings, the dogs water dish, shrubs.... the ultimate winter wonderland...;a blanket of deep,purple early morning snow that leaves the world quieter than you could ever imagine; wind blown drifted snow packed hard up against the garage door, molded around bushes and cars...perfect snow to dig out a fort...gigantic huge flakes falling from the sky,piercing icy wind driven pebbles of snow stinging your face: iced over snow that lets you walk on top only to have a leg crash through and lose a boot pulling out; snow so deep you have to shovel the driveway in layers...... SNOW... how could you not want to experience the world dressed in white:):)</p>
<p>Being a 4-wheeler here - I have taught both of my kiddos how to utilize an automatic transmission to it's max - which means using D1 - D2 and D3 - as a way to slow a vehicle - 4WD or not - most folks have not clue that those gears exist or what they are for - but is a great idea to teach young folks how to use them to improve driver safety on slick surfaces.</p>
<p>4WD to many people does mean start/stop better in bad conditions - when they really need to know that it is more for getting started and maintaining safe driving conditions - does not a lick for stopping any vehicle in bad conditions. I even use mine on rainy days sometimes - right after it starts to rain many roads are extremely slick (especially after a good dry spell) - because of the oil buildup.</p>
<p>I would definitely teach kids how to/when to utilize using the lower gears - either in a manual or automatic - 4WD/2WD - front/back drive - that is actually why they are there :)</p>
<p>
[quote]
FWIW, in my three years in Dallas TX I saw far more ice than in all my years in the Boston area.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>The only time I visited Dallas was the day after a horrible ice storm that did a huge amount of damage. Not at all what I was expecting!</p>
<p>HEY MATHMOM - us MASS drivers are AWESOME :) LOL</p>