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Chicago Winters

When I moved to Chicago from Boston last year, I figured surviving the winter would be a piece of cake, give I’d spent a few years in New England hiking through the flurries and digging my car out of snowstorms six months every year. But it turns out  the winters here in Chicago are also pretty cold. And despite having a fairly mild winter last year, this year we’re not quite as lucky. So far, there’s been a lot more snow, and the weather seems like it’s lot colder than it was last January.

Don’t get me wrong, the cold weather here in Chicago does’t come as a huge surprise. After all, Chicago has always been one of the coldest places in the country. The city sits right on top of Lake Michigan, it’s located pretty far north in the Midwestern United States, and it’s surrounded by even colder midwestern states such as Minnesota and Ohio.

Some people like to argue that wind is also why the weather feels so cold. However, one interesting fact about that is that Chicago is not called the windy city because of its wind.  The real reason for the name was actually because of the culture of the city many years ago.  Specifically, Chicago has been called the “windy” city to metaphorically reflect some of the people in Chicago, since people have long considered the politicians to be full of “hot air.”

But the running joke I’ve heard a few times in Chicago is that the city is actually starting to earn its nickname because it is actually windy, especially in the city, where there are a lot more building creating wind tunnels.  I’ve personally noticed the impact of the wind, and I’ve even broken a few umbrellas walking outside on windy days this year.

But the weather doesn’t stop people from going out in Evanston.  After all, it is essentially winter here for well over 6 months of the year, and you can’t stay inside the whole time. So there are always a lot of people outside. Kellogg students still go to places like Pete Millers and the Keg in the evenings, and they still go out to grab food at local bars and pubs in downtown Evanston.

Besides, students here at Kellogg have a lot more to worry about right now. This week officially marks the first weeks of on campus interviews. Hopefully none of us will have too many days where we have to go to interviews in the snow.