WARNING before you send your child to an upper Midwest cold weather college

[Anonymous]

My kid is at college in the upper midwest, yes, it's cold, but the people in the midwest are so friendly and the schools are often very good so I'd hardly let 'experiencing winter' be the deciding factor. My child is having a fantastic time.

If your kid cannot handle a few winters they might need to toughen up a bit.

[Anonymous]

I went to school in Florida wanting to get out of the cold NE weather. Turns out I don't like Florida weather! I hightailed it back to Boston after.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh MY. People LIVE there. Precious college kids will be fine.

If someone has SAD they have SAD.

It’s different if you grow up there versus moving there later in life. And for college, you have a choice in where to go, so why choose somewhere that you might be unhappy?

This is just one piece of why a person may or may not choose a college. I mean, Florida has a ton of sunshine but would still make many people unhappy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This below was just published by a Michigan statewide outlet. The freezing weather and sunless skies cause acute seasonal depression. Students are on campus from September to April. The weather in Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio is truly miserable and at its worst when kids are on campus. How bad it is?

How dreary is Michigan? Only 5 minutes of sunshine this month

Welcome to another dreary day in Michigan. The skies are overcast. The snow-covered ground matches the blah, boringly hazy color of the sky.

Is it morning or afternoon? Who can even tell?

Much of Michigan has gotten minimal daily sunshine recently, but we hadn’t realized how far down the sun tally we’d fallen until the National Weather Service reminded us with a dim little factoid they posted on social media late yesterday.

Brace yourself:

“In the first 5 days of January, we have recorded 5 minutes of sunshine in southeast Grand Rapids. Our last half-sunny day was December 28. Our last mostly sunny day? A month ago, December 4.”

https://www.mlive.com/news/2023/01/how-dreary-is-michigan-grand-rapids-has-had-5-minutes-of-sunshine-this-month.html

DC is sunny and I grew up in a place that had little sun. Cold is okay but the lack of sun can be tough but I did not realize it at the time. That being said a lot of people love colleges in these places.

[Anonymous]

Lol so?? You know people live their full time right?

They probably look at DC summer humidity as awful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oh come on. I went to one of these schools. Yes, it is frigid and lacks sunshine. But, there are other things that indicate life on the frozen tundra besides sitting around waiting for spring: lots of parties, skiing, tubing, etc.

While I wouldn't say I -loved- the weather, you get used to it.

Same here... dealing with the frigid cold and blah weather during Wisconsin winters gave me grit. I remember walking to the bars in a tube top, no coat, when it was snowing. Good times!

[Anonymous]

Nephew is at Indiana U (Bloomington). It's in central/southern Indiana, so it's not as though it's up by lake effect weather in Gary. It's not too cold, not too grey, and coming from California, he really loves the four seasons. Can't decide which semester to spend abroad next year because he enjoys each different Indiana season so much.

Interestingly, the South was the one part of the country that he wouldn't consider for college.

I guess that shows it's basically just a matter of different strokes for different folks. Even if here on DCUM the prevailing attitude seems to be more like: my way or the highway...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh come on. I went to one of these schools. Yes, it is frigid and lacks sunshine. But, there are other things that indicate life on the frozen tundra besides sitting around waiting for spring: lots of parties, skiing, tubing, etc.

While I wouldn't say I -loved- the weather, you get used to it.

Same here... dealing with the frigid cold and blah weather during Wisconsin winters gave me grit. I remember walking to the bars in a tube top, no coat, when it was snowing. Good times!

Yep. Gotta save the coat check money for beer. LOL.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Nephew is at Indiana U (Bloomington). It's in central/southern Indiana, so it's not as though it's up by lake effect weather in Gary. It's not too cold, not too grey, and coming from California, he really loves the four seasons. Can't decide which semester to spend abroad next year because he enjoys each different Indiana season so much.

Interestingly, the South was the one part of the country that he wouldn't consider for college.

I guess that shows it's basically just a matter of different strokes for different folks. Even if here on DCUM the prevailing attitude seems to be more like: my way or the highway...

Let us know when he decides to live in the Rust Belt after college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh MY. People LIVE there. Precious college kids will be fine.

If someone has SAD they have SAD.

It’s different if you grow up there versus moving there later in life. And for college, you have a choice in where to go, so why choose somewhere that you might be unhappy?

This is just one piece of why a person may or may not choose a college. I mean, Florida has a ton of sunshine but would still make many people unhappy.

Context of the thread is affluent students, fully funded 529s, who can afford to go anywhere.

[Anonymous]

Let us know when he decides to live in the Rust Belt after college.

Is this a thread about where kids live after they graduate or where they might spend the (unique) four years of college?

At any rate, since his professional and social objectives are a place as big and culturally vibrant as the Bay Area, I suspect he's likelier to live in a big northern metropolis like Chicago (which he and friends visit frequently from IU) or NY or Boston. For many people with options, climate just isn't a top consideration when set against other factors.

But thanks truly for telling me you know my nephew's preferences better than he does himself - a great demonstration of the pig-headedness of this idiotic thread.

[Anonymous]

Please do not lump "Upper Midwest" altogether like it is one place. Michigan is NOT Minnesota or Wisconsin or N/S Dakota which all get LOTS of sunshine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Nephew is at Indiana U (Bloomington). It's in central/southern Indiana, so it's not as though it's up by lake effect weather in Gary. It's not too cold, not too grey, and coming from California, he really loves the four seasons. Can't decide which semester to spend abroad next year because he enjoys each different Indiana season so much.

Interestingly, the South was the one part of the country that he wouldn't consider for college.

I guess that shows it's basically just a matter of different strokes for different folks. Even if here on DCUM the prevailing attitude seems to be more like: my way or the highway...

A teen California boy told his aunt he “loves the four seasons”? Classes end in late April, he isn’t even there for the summer. I think you made this up. If you said he was at Boulder and loved the mountains, sure. But literally middle of nowhere farmlands Indiana when it’s 30 and 40 degrees most of the school year? No, just no. You’re lying.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nephew is at Indiana U (Bloomington). It's in central/southern Indiana, so it's not as though it's up by lake effect weather in Gary. It's not too cold, not too grey, and coming from California, he really loves the four seasons. Can't decide which semester to spend abroad next year because he enjoys each different Indiana season so much.

Interestingly, the South was the one part of the country that he wouldn't consider for college.

I guess that shows it's basically just a matter of different strokes for different folks. Even if here on DCUM the prevailing attitude seems to be more like: my way or the highway...

Let us know when he decides to live in the Rust Belt after college.

Hey, at least there, he can enjoy his life, have fun, and build wealth in a place where he doesn’t have to pay out the nose for substandard housing and deal with stodgy, boring snobs bragging about their law degrees and masters of public policy (yeah, that’s you DC). I don’t know why anyone would waste their 20s in the DMV. Yawn.

[Anonymous]

My kid goes to college in Maine and he loves it. He didn't want to be anywhere else. Yes, parents should consider this but it is kid-specific. I have one of those kids who would be depressed in a warm climate (he truly does not like warm weather). Everyone is different and my relatives in Minnesota have been very happy for many generations now!