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Pros And Cons Of Living In A Cold Climate (With Snow & Ice)

House with snow and northern lights - Pros And Cons Of Living In A Cold Climate With Snow

No matter what you consider in life, where you find there are advantages for doing something, you can usually also find disadvantages too. This is why it’s important to carefully consider the pros and cons of living in a cold climate with snow, before you commit to moving home to somewhere cold, with snow and ice.

The idea of snow is something that many wish for, but there are many downsides to having snow, especially if you get an unexpected deluge.

The pros of living in a cold climate include less flies, insects and spiders, with the added advantage of improved health and less chance of suffering from allergies. Whereas the cons of living in the cold include high heating bills, unreliable travel and having to wear lots of clothes as it’s cold.

Please also read this article to discover how you could save £71,475 on your next mortgage if you sell your house and rent before buying againEven I was amazed when I did the calculations! The strategies you learn in this article will not only save you money, but it will also reduce the stress of buying your next house.

There are many advantages and disadvantages of moving to a cold place to consider. So let’s take a look at these.

Snow covered road - What are the pros of living in a cold climate with snow

What are the pros of living in a cold climate?

The advantages of living in a cold climate include:

  1. Less flies and insects: Flies and insects cannot live in cold climates, which means less bugs to worry about.
  2. Not so many snakes: Snakes are cold blooded creatures and cannot live in cold climates. If they live where it gets cold in the winter, snakes will hibernate at this time of year. But if the ground stays frozen throughout the year, snakes cannot survive there. So for example if you move to the state of Alaska, you will never see a snake.
  3. Less spiders: Spiders can only live down to around -5°C (41°F), which means you’ll have less spiders in places with cold winters. A real advantage to those who suffer from arachnophobia.
  4. Snow is fun for kids: Kids love to play in the snow building snowmen and having snowball fights. There’s also the chance of a few missed school days if the snow is so bad the school bus doesn’t run, which kids love (I know I did when I missed a few days when there was deep snow).
  5. Sledging, skiing and snowboarding in the snow: When the climate is cold there’s the chance of snow, and where there’s snow there’s the chance to play with sledges or to go skiing or snowboarding in the mountains.
  6. Great snow scenes: Putting aside the disadvantages of heavy snow falls, there’s no doubting that snow scenes are great to look at (like the above image).
  7. Contrasting weather: Living in a cold climate means you have extremes of weather, from warm in the summer to freezing cold with snow in the winter, which makes for interesting living.
  8. Crisp cold days and nights: There’s something to be said about a cold crispy morning when there’s not a cloud in the sky, which is very appealing to many. The same applies for crisp cold nights when you can gaze up at the stars.
  9. Cosy indoors: When it’s cold outside it feels really cosy and warm inside, especially if you have a log fire or a log burner.
  10. Better for health: Colder temperatures have been known to be better for your health, as cold weather can reduce inflammation in the same way an ice pack works.
  11. Brain boost: Colder temperatures have been known to help people think clearly, which means you could be more creative living in a colder climate.
  12. Calorie burning: When it’s cold your body works harder to maintain its core temperature, which means you use more energy to stay warm. Staying warm and using energy burns calories, so in theory you will lose weight more quickly living in cold climates.
  13. More brown fat: Brown fat, which is also known as brown adipose tissue (BAT), is a special type of body fat that is activated when you get cold. Brown fat produces heat for your body to maintain body temperature in cold conditions. Studies have shown that brown fat may help control blood sugar and improve insulin levels, which reduces the risk for type 2 diabetes.
  14. Less allergies: There are less allergies for people to be concerned about in colder climates, for example, you can’t get hay fever in the winter season.
  15. Good for skin: Colder temperatures can be good for your skin, although if you live in a cold climate not much skin is exposed as you tend to wrap up warm with plenty of layers (also see below re dry skin).
  16. Northern lights: The colder regions are higher up in the northern hemisphere, and it is the far north of the northern hemisphere where you experience the amazing Northern Lights.
Person in the cold - What are the cons of living in a cold climate with snow

What are the cons of living in a cold climate?

The disadvantages of living in a cold climate include:

  1. Cold outside: Stating the obvious, but it has to be said; living in a cold climate means it gets very cold. If you don’t like it cold, you won’t like living in a cold climate.
  2. Expensive heating bills: The heating bills are going to be more expensive in the winter months when it’s really cold, but this is when it’s so important to have good home insulation to reduce heat loss and reduce heating bills.
  3. More cold and flu during cold months: The cold and flu virus prefers the colder temperatures, which is why more people get colds and flu in the winter.
  4. Challenging travel conditions and disruption: Expect to find challenging travel conditions and to have the roads occasional blocked with snow until the snow ploughs clear the snow. When the snowy conditions are really bad, expect some of your journeys by car to be disrupted.
  5. Can take longer to get to places: When it snows or when the roads get icy you have to drive much slower, which means it can take longer to get to places in the winter.
  6. Unreliable public transport: Expect public transport like busses, trains and planes to be unreliable at the worst times in the winter months. Airports can be closed with heavy snow, trainlines can get blocked and busses cannot run in deep snow.
  7. More accidents in the ice: The roads can pretty treacherous when they get icy, which is particularly bad first thing in the morning and late at night, which can lead to more accidents.
  8. Sludge: When snow melts it creates dirty brown sludge, which is horrible to walk in as you get dirty and wet, unless you’re wearing water proofs and wellington boots.
  9. Having to wear lots of clothes: The only way to stay warm and combat the cold is to wear lots of layers of clothes. So in the winter you won’t be needing any shorts and t-shirts that’s for sure.
  10. Salt can damage cars: The roads are gritted with salt to melt the ice, which isn’t good for cars, and over time can get inside scratches and dents causing cars to rust.
  11. Shorter days: The winter months tend to have shorter days and it goes dark very early.
  12. Dry skin: Homes in colder climates tend to use central heating to heat the property, and central heating is responsible for causing dry skin. This isn’t good if you suffer from skin allergies like eczema.

Reasons to live in a cold climate

The main reason people live in a cold climate is because it’s where they were born and grew up, but others move to live in a cold climate for work or because they prefer the cold weather. Some move to be near the slopes for skiing and cold weather is said to be good for you and there are fewer bugs.

Please don’t forget to read this before you leave…

Please don’t forget to also read this article to discover how you could save £71,475 on your next mortgage if you sell your house and rent before buying againAs I said earlier, even I was amazed when I did the calculations! Learn about how you will reduce the stress of moving house, whilst at the same time potentially save thousands in the process!

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Pros And Cons Of Living In A Cold Climate (With Snow & Ice)

Article written by Russell Bowyer who has been investing in property since purchasing his first commercial property in the 1990's for his own Chartered Accountancy business. But his first property investment project was to turn an old dilapidated restaurant into a large 5-bed home, which he purchased for £117,500 and sold for £450,000 (to see an "after" photo of the house before it was sold see here: About). Russell owns a number of investment properties, which includes houses, flats and HMO's. More recently he has turned his creative side to investing in property using lease options. His largest lease option deal to date was to acquire 12 properties worth over £2 million for just £12, which means he paid just £1 to acquire each property!

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