Honestly I’d take that cold over what we here in Estonia get around this time of the year any day of the week.
It’s just mud and rain and cold winds. A dry and quiet -20C is warmer IMO than a humid and slightly windy +2C - and I wear the same clothing for either temperature (no wait, actually the hoodie is optional for -20C, but not for +2C).
On the positive side though - I saw the sun today! In the evening. When it was super low. While I was driving west. Since it never goes very high this time of the year, it’s straight in your eye most of the time it’s even visible (which is a few hours a week on average, yay overcast + short days). It went pitch black just about the same time I started driving eastwards again and wouldn’t have been bothered by it anymore, which was before 5 PM.
Sub-freezing temperatures during winter is way, way better than just above freezing. Snow helps so much in making winter passable. You can do winter sports and the snow reflects the light making it on average a lot lighter than if everything just melts away. Plus the snow is really pretty.
I’m sure Winnipeg has a few degrees of margin before being condemned to the type of misery we have to cope with in winter over here, though.
Would be glad to help if I can. It’s probably easier to say which neighbourhoods I’d avoid and then leave it up to you which area of the city you’d like to be in. There’s no highway system in Winnipeg, so commuting by car can be pretty annoying. Portage and Pembina, two of the major routes through the city have so many traffic lights. Very annoying. So being close to where you want/need to go is important.
Generally, anything north of Portage Avenue in the downtown area is pretty rough although I’m sure there are some exceptions. For example the Wolseley neighbourhood is nice. North of that area is much rougher. I enjoyed living in the area south of Wolseley: Crescentwood, Grant Park, River Heights, Osborne. Nice and central so it’s not too hard to get around and decent amenities. Corydon avenue has some great restaurants.
I’d also personally avoid the Waverly West neighbourhood. It’s somewhat newer and was built right next to the city dump. I feel like that’s crazy but lots of people live there and enjoy it.
Other than that I can only speak in generalities. I prefer the south, the north has a rougher reputation except for North Kildonan which has a large Mennonite population. If you speak French then St. Boniface in the east is pretty nice. Their stop signs say “Arret” which is a bit weird because they say Stop in France.
It’s ok if you’re on some of the main lines but lots of suburbs have basically no bus service. I used the University express busses a lot and really enjoyed them but they could get pretty packed. But unless you’re going downtown it’s pretty hard to get around by bus only. I use my bike to get around mostly.
Right? I’m coming from a city that’s hilly af. I’m looking forward to the flatness. I don’t mind winter riding unless it’s super cold. I’d rather not have a car if I can swing it.
Ah yes that is true, that was misleading. To me those beautiful skies sound like they make Winnipeg a nice place to live, even with the cold. Helsinki sounds like it just has nothing going for it.
As someone from Winnipeg, why would I be afraid of warmer weather?
https://weatherspark.com/compare/y/91632~8367/Comparison-of-the-Average-Weather-in-Helsinki-and-Winnipeg
“but it’s a dry cold”
Honestly I’d take that cold over what we here in Estonia get around this time of the year any day of the week.
It’s just mud and rain and cold winds. A dry and quiet -20C is warmer IMO than a humid and slightly windy +2C - and I wear the same clothing for either temperature (no wait, actually the hoodie is optional for -20C, but not for +2C).
On the positive side though - I saw the sun today! In the evening. When it was super low. While I was driving west. Since it never goes very high this time of the year, it’s straight in your eye most of the time it’s even visible (which is a few hours a week on average, yay overcast + short days). It went pitch black just about the same time I started driving eastwards again and wouldn’t have been bothered by it anymore, which was before 5 PM.
Sub-freezing temperatures during winter is way, way better than just above freezing. Snow helps so much in making winter passable. You can do winter sports and the snow reflects the light making it on average a lot lighter than if everything just melts away. Plus the snow is really pretty.
I’m sure Winnipeg has a few degrees of margin before being condemned to the type of misery we have to cope with in winter over here, though.
Humidity does have a huge effect on chilly temperatures. Winnipeg is somewhat humid for where it sits in the continent, but nothing like Helsinki.
I just saw the tourism score comparison on Weatherspark and it gives absolute proof that Winnipeg is a better place to go in mid-November. 😂
On a serious note I’m thinking of moving from northern Minnesota to Winnipeg. Any tips? What’s a good neighborhood to look into?
Would be glad to help if I can. It’s probably easier to say which neighbourhoods I’d avoid and then leave it up to you which area of the city you’d like to be in. There’s no highway system in Winnipeg, so commuting by car can be pretty annoying. Portage and Pembina, two of the major routes through the city have so many traffic lights. Very annoying. So being close to where you want/need to go is important.
Generally, anything north of Portage Avenue in the downtown area is pretty rough although I’m sure there are some exceptions. For example the Wolseley neighbourhood is nice. North of that area is much rougher. I enjoyed living in the area south of Wolseley: Crescentwood, Grant Park, River Heights, Osborne. Nice and central so it’s not too hard to get around and decent amenities. Corydon avenue has some great restaurants.
I’d also personally avoid the Waverly West neighbourhood. It’s somewhat newer and was built right next to the city dump. I feel like that’s crazy but lots of people live there and enjoy it.
Other than that I can only speak in generalities. I prefer the south, the north has a rougher reputation except for North Kildonan which has a large Mennonite population. If you speak French then St. Boniface in the east is pretty nice. Their stop signs say “Arret” which is a bit weird because they say Stop in France.
How’s the bus system?
It’s ok if you’re on some of the main lines but lots of suburbs have basically no bus service. I used the University express busses a lot and really enjoyed them but they could get pretty packed. But unless you’re going downtown it’s pretty hard to get around by bus only. I use my bike to get around mostly.
Right? I’m coming from a city that’s hilly af. I’m looking forward to the flatness. I don’t mind winter riding unless it’s super cold. I’d rather not have a car if I can swing it.
According to the link Helsinki is worse in many other areas in November though:
Throughout the year Winnipeg may be worse in some aspects than this, but Helsinki is definitely worse in November on many scales.
You have to compare the rainfall graph with the snowfall graph. It all turns to snow in Winnipeg. But Winnipeg does have beautiful skies.
Aye, but the snow is nice… until it melts at least. Near-freezing rain sucks
Ah yes that is true, that was misleading. To me those beautiful skies sound like they make Winnipeg a nice place to live, even with the cold. Helsinki sounds like it just has nothing going for it.
It’s hilarious to me that venetian snares made an entire album about Winnipeg “Winnipeg is a frozen shithole”