The few times I have lived outside of California I have found it absolute torture to be sitting up to my bum in snow and hearing people tell me how warm and lovely it is in LA/SF/SD or wherever in CA. I remember one year I was sitting freezing it off in Connecticut and after talking to a friend telling me it was sunny and 70 in the Bay Area I got off the phone and burst into tears! A tad of an extreme reaction, I admit, but gads, I was sure tired of the damned snow! And the Cabin Fever was unbearable! When I was in Tucson, AZ on business I met a woman from Minnesota who was an avid mountain-biker. She said that during the winter she used tires that had spikes on them Goodgriefamighty. How you ladies put up with snow, ice, etc. and stay in such good sprits is amazing.