19 ms·

As a resident of Queensland, Australia, why do people _choose_ to live in lands of ice and snow? So much of the world seems quite horrid to my sub-tropical hab

As a resident of Queensland, Australia, why do people _choose_ to live in lands of ice and snow? So much of the world seems quite horrid to my sub-tropical habituated self.

pjc50 3y ago
Ironically, quite a lot of the really remote Canadian jobs are extracting fossil fuels.
yieldcrv 3y ago
their choices are not objective decisions. its what they know and where their friends, family, community, house, job, tombstones, effigies, entrepreneurial endeavors and partners are.
- justusthane 3y ago
  > their choices are not objective decisions. You could say that about any decision about anything, so it's pretty meaningless. I live in northern Ontario. It's below 0F all this week, and that's on the warm side for this time of year. We usually get a week or two of -20F, and -30 is cold but not remarkable. And believe if or not, people _do_ choose to live in these climates, regardless of the ties you listed above. I love winter. I love the stillness, I love being cozy inside, I love the feeling of braving the elements outside. Maybe it's a bit trite, but knowing that just being outside can literally kill you if you're not prepared for it tends to make you feel pretty alive. I love how everything dies or hibernates in the winter, and I love the renewal and rejuvenation that comes with spring. And like a sibling comment pointed out, you can always put on more clothes to be comfortable, but you can only take off so many. I hate heat and humidity. I bike to work five days a week year-round and run outdoors all winter. Late summer when it's so hot and miserable to be outside is when I stop running.
  - yieldcrv 3y ago
    its a good testimony, the middle of nowhere has a stillness because nobody wants to live there otherwise it would be a dense high cost of living area already you are perfectly aware of the contrarian nature of your choice
    - justusthane 3y ago
      It's not a stillness from lack of people. I live in a city of 120k. It's the way snow dampens sound. Also, I know that lots of people don't want to live here, that's obvious. I'm saying that there are also many people who do want to live here. Someone asked the question of why people want to live in climates like this. I'm answering the question from the (subjective) perspective of someone who does. You are needlessly confrontational in trying to impose your logic on other people's decisions.
      - yieldcrv 3y ago
        in that case I think yours could have been a sibling comment
  - fuzzfactor 3y ago
    >You could say that about any decision about anything, so it's pretty meaningless. OK I'll say it. I accept the meaninglessness of why most people are where they are to begin with, because most of the time >>their choices are not objective decisions.
networkchad 3y ago
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somerandomqaguy 3y ago
Land of ice and snow dweller here. Various reasons, but small perk being that the cold basically ends most things that want to kill you, at least until spring. We have only two species of venomous spiders here, both of which are very shy. And one species of venomous snake, that's actually quite polite in that he'll rattle his tail to warn you off first before attempting to stab you with his fangs. I can answer a bit more seriously later if you are actually curious.
- pengaru 3y ago
  Mojave hi-desert dweller here, your description sounds ~identical to mine. Rattlesnakes and black widow spiders are about it. The scorpions are the annoying but not lethal kind by me. No deep freeze required... and there's no disease-spreading mosquitoes or tics to speak of any time of year.
skummetmaelk 3y ago
Cold is preferable to scorching heat. There's a hard limit to how many layers you can remove, not how many you can wear.
NoPicklez 3y ago
As a South Aussie, I was quite shocked at the humidity over there in Brisbane. But definitely not on the extreme end of the temps as the lands of ice and snow.
dashundchen 3y ago
I love winter. I love summer too but I don't think I would appreciate summer without a cold winter. Fresh snow makes gives my city a clean soft look, hiding the dormant brown of fall. It quiets and slows the cars. People out walking become friendlier. Snow's reflectiveness can make the darker days of the year so bright. You can walk anywhere on frozen ground and roll around on snow without getting muddy. You can ski, sled, or just walk and enjoy it. A breath of cold air wakes you up instantly. Unfortunately my region, the Great Lakes, has been rapidly warming and trending towards rainy near-freezing winters instead of snow. But I do appreciate every snow we get. It probably helps I live in a city and don't need to drive.

As a resident of Queensland, Australia, why do people _choose_ to live in lands of ice and snow? So much of the world seems quite horrid to my sub-tropical habituated self.

pjc50 3y ago

Ironically, quite a lot of the really remote Canadian jobs are extracting fossil fuels.

yieldcrv 3y ago

their choices are not objective decisions. its what they know and where their friends, family, community, house, job, tombstones, effigies, entrepreneurial endeavors and partners are.

justusthane 3y ago
> their choices are not objective decisions. You could say that about any decision about anything, so it's pretty meaningless. I live in northern Ontario. It's below 0F all this week, and that's on the warm side for this time of year. We usually get a week or two of -20F, and -30 is cold but not remarkable. And believe if or not, people _do_ choose to live in these climates, regardless of the ties you listed above. I love winter. I love the stillness, I love being cozy inside, I love the feeling of braving the elements outside. Maybe it's a bit trite, but knowing that just being outside can literally kill you if you're not prepared for it tends to make you feel pretty alive. I love how everything dies or hibernates in the winter, and I love the renewal and rejuvenation that comes with spring. And like a sibling comment pointed out, you can always put on more clothes to be comfortable, but you can only take off so many. I hate heat and humidity. I bike to work five days a week year-round and run outdoors all winter. Late summer when it's so hot and miserable to be outside is when I stop running.
- yieldcrv 3y ago
  its a good testimony, the middle of nowhere has a stillness because nobody wants to live there otherwise it would be a dense high cost of living area already you are perfectly aware of the contrarian nature of your choice
  - justusthane 3y ago
    It's not a stillness from lack of people. I live in a city of 120k. It's the way snow dampens sound. Also, I know that lots of people don't want to live here, that's obvious. I'm saying that there are also many people who do want to live here. Someone asked the question of why people want to live in climates like this. I'm answering the question from the (subjective) perspective of someone who does. You are needlessly confrontational in trying to impose your logic on other people's decisions.
    - yieldcrv 3y ago
      in that case I think yours could have been a sibling comment
- fuzzfactor 3y ago
  >You could say that about any decision about anything, so it's pretty meaningless. OK I'll say it. I accept the meaninglessness of why most people are where they are to begin with, because most of the time >>their choices are not objective decisions.

networkchad 3y ago

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somerandomqaguy 3y ago

Land of ice and snow dweller here. Various reasons, but small perk being that the cold basically ends most things that want to kill you, at least until spring. We have only two species of venomous spiders here, both of which are very shy. And one species of venomous snake, that's actually quite polite in that he'll rattle his tail to warn you off first before attempting to stab you with his fangs. I can answer a bit more seriously later if you are actually curious.

pengaru 3y ago
Mojave hi-desert dweller here, your description sounds ~identical to mine. Rattlesnakes and black widow spiders are about it. The scorpions are the annoying but not lethal kind by me. No deep freeze required... and there's no disease-spreading mosquitoes or tics to speak of any time of year.

skummetmaelk 3y ago

Cold is preferable to scorching heat. There's a hard limit to how many layers you can remove, not how many you can wear.

NoPicklez 3y ago

As a South Aussie, I was quite shocked at the humidity over there in Brisbane. But definitely not on the extreme end of the temps as the lands of ice and snow.

dashundchen 3y ago

I love winter. I love summer too but I don't think I would appreciate summer without a cold winter. Fresh snow makes gives my city a clean soft look, hiding the dormant brown of fall. It quiets and slows the cars. People out walking become friendlier. Snow's reflectiveness can make the darker days of the year so bright. You can walk anywhere on frozen ground and roll around on snow without getting muddy. You can ski, sled, or just walk and enjoy it. A breath of cold air wakes you up instantly. Unfortunately my region, the Great Lakes, has been rapidly warming and trending towards rainy near-freezing winters instead of snow. But I do appreciate every snow we get. It probably helps I live in a city and don't need to drive.