Last winter was really hard for me. I didn’t want to go outside, so I didn’t exercise and didn’t meet my friends. I probably had a deficiency of vitamin D. I didn’t enjoy myself and gained weight.
I have an opportunity to move to a cooler city. But in addition to being cooler, it is also colder. In winter it gets even colder than where I am now.
I’ve really thought about moving somewhere warmer instead, but most of the places I could see myself living in the near future are cold.
If I end up moving to the colder city (or even staying here), how can I overcome my hatred of the cold? How can I accept (or maybe even learn to enjoy) the winter?
Thank you for any thoughts or advice.
20 comments
My family goes out and walks around stores for fun, it’s kinda weird bc we don’t walk around the block often when it’s warm out lol
Seasons change slowly, but your home is probably a consistent temperature. I always dress slightly cooler than is comfortable if the weather is going that direction to give my body a warning so it will acclimate.
Do you exercise regularly?
A healthy body regulates temperature more efficiently; both cold and heat.
Spend the money on some decent winter clothes and learn how to wear them. Then, just make a point to get out in the cold frequently, coffee outside, walk, hike, whatever.
Not much different than starting a workout routine or diet or learning a new hobby.
You can move to Saipan, or Guam.
85 deg nominal temp, all year around.
Scuba diving. Good food.
No cold hate.
Sounds like you aren’t used to the cold. You have to gradually expose yourself to cold weather that you can tolerate but doesnt make you feel super cold. As you begin to tolerate colder and colder weather you wont hate it. This doesnt mean you will enjoy it but you will definitely not be used to hotter weather anymore. Depending where you go it may be too hot once youre used to the cold. You’ll have a new comfort zone when it comes to weather.
I recently moved to southern Europe. Fuck the winter.
You can’t. I grew up in a 5b grow zone that got an average of 70 inches of snow a year. I hated it, so I moved to an 8a grow zone that shuts down if snow is even a remote possiblity. Sometimes I wonder if I moved far enough.
Your dislike of the cold is rational thinking. End of story. Perhaps it’s time to look about a bit for something more suitable.
Sounds like you’re just not dressing right.
You should be completely warm if you’re properly dressed which is 3 layers.
Shit buy a thermal jacket and some pocket warmers stick them in your pockets gloves and boots you’ll be fine I go out in winter looking like a damn plague doctor but fuck it I’m warm
Just ignore it. I used to hate the cold but I decided to just ignore it and boom cold no longer bothers me. Cold showers also help, makes the shock of the cold less dramatic and makes your body used to it
I moved to the equator almost ten years ago
From six months a year of cold dreary weather to everyday being warm and it’s blue skies almost all the time.
It’s terrific.
You need to expose yourself to small, but progressively larger ice cubes to build up an immunity.
Put conscious effort into getting used to the cold every autumn.
I live in a really cold place and I hate the heat during summer. When it starts getting warmer I don’t turn on the AC and try to avoid feeling warm. I go out and deliberately try to feel uncomfortably warm for 15-30 minutes instead.
I try and stick to this mentality: If you are cold, you can bundle up in a jacket or sweatshirt. However, if you’re hot and sweating, there’s only so much you can take off.
Outside of genuine physical differences that might make you feel colder, like having shitty blood flow; as someone that deals extremely well to cold… there’s a pretty big mental side to it
If you feel a breeze and start focusing on it and whatnot, you will be curled up in no time, but if you go on with it, move a bit more or whatever, you will be fine. Also, when it’s genuinelly cold, there’s plenty of clothing “tips” to deal with it, like wearing thermal shirts/leggins, tucking your shirt inside your pants, always having hand warmers in your pockets in case you need to take gloves off for an extended period of time etc
Buy proper cold weather clothing so that you can be comfortable outside in the cold. Find an activity or hobby that you enjoy that requires the cold. Something like skiing (downhill or cross country), ice skating, winter fat biking, etc. If you have a winter activity to do, you’ll actually look forward to winter each time fall rolls around. I went to college in a very cold and snowy place and the people who were miserable all winter were the people who had nothing to do during the winter and basically sat in their dorms until the snow melted in April/May. Those of us who got out on the weekends and did fun stuff were fine.
Get cold adapted.
I live in the Rockies so it’s cold 7 months a year. If you do stuff outside like throw a football or skiing or walking, you get used to it really quickly. But some days are much colder than others, so just bundle up. Get an oversized coat so you can wear a jacket under that