This part of the world isn't so bad in the winter. I've made it this far without a car. I do, however, have winter clothes. Layers work the best for me. Good shoes, socks, long-johns, jeans, t-shirt, flannel, jean-jacket, gloves, hat, and scarf. The flannel/jacket combo works well because it's cozy, but if you're too hot you can skip the flannel or the jacket depending on the temperature. The flannel is easily tied around the waist... which also works to protect your behind when sitting on damp things. Seattle Grunge fashion was actually quite practical.
A wool flannel is currently top of my list for winter gear. I think i will swap it out for one of my two hoodies, which don't do much to protect against wind and really suck when it's wet. I'm still trying to figure out a useful top layer, though. Most winter coats are very expensive and very heavy to haul around, but plastic ponchos make me sticky and sweaty so i just end up cold from the inside instead of cold from the outside. Once i've decided on a couple of things, i'll have to actually go to the shops to try them on, which is possibly an even more dreadful experience than just planning what to buy. Buying clothing is such a high stress exercise for me, i wish i never had to do it.
Maybe look for something with a windbreaker type material. Thin, but blocks the wind, and drys quickly. Then you focus more on wearing layers underneath. Maybe a hoody and a flannel on a really cold day.
Yeah, i was pondering something like that, or maybe a solid army poncho, which would be useful in the rain too. After yesterday, though, the number one item on my list has changed to gloves. In the past i've survived by just walking places quickly with my hands in my pockets, but if i want to sit down for a while, my poor digits seem to suffer. It's not even freezing temperatures yet!
Are there thrift stores anywhere near you? You could probably find some cheap winter gear and then donate it right back when you're finished....no big financial loss that way.
My current long puffy coat with hood is one my friend insisted I try on at a thrift store a few years ago. It cost me $3. It's also really lightweight.
This is a very good idea. I have googled and found a couple of thrift stores that might be good options.
The other place i like in Canada is a department store called Winners. It's something like Ross Dress For Less, where they have random name brand stuff all jumbled together and if you're patient or lucky you might find something that's a good deal. Normally i don't like digging through huge racks of things "just in case", but if you know exactly what you are looking for you can be in and out pretty quickly.
The answer is the scooter/moped/motorcycle... you can make those longer journeys at 50mph, easy to buy, easy to sell, 100 miles to the gallon (or however gas is sold in Canada... km/l?... whatever, its about 5x better mileage then a car) and although not great for winter, they're great the other 8 months a year (or more) and can make it easy to snowbird
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The motorcycle idea is indeed tempting, although dangerous. Still, i often looked at those electric mopeds that are ubiquitous in China and thought how useful they'd be to cruise to the next town over. I guess their range isn't all that great for America, though. Electric cars can get about 300km now, which is perfectly fine to get just about anywhere, but even the cheap ones are spectacularly expensive in my books - certainly an order of magnitude more money than i have ever spent on anything in my life. I'm not sure i'd consider a gas-powered bike, that feels a bit like worst of both worlds - not the comfort of an enclosed vehicle, but still the noise and pollution!
Churches are quite fun looking buildings, especially the ones built in a cross shape like this one. I think i'd enjoy climbing up to the belfry and looking out over the land, it'd be like living on a little mountain, or sitting on a land boat!
The little mopeds have a top speed of 50mph, which means that in America it's great for in-town/in-city driving... but once you're on a backroad or main highway... you're out of your league since back roads are 45-60mph (usually more like 55-60mph average driving speed) and highways are 60+mph with 65-68mph being the average speed
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i actually really like winter but you're not wrong that buying gear for it is a giant (and expensive) pain in the ass. on the other hand, when you leave for someplace warmer i'm sure there's a secondhand shop or a goodwill or something that would love to take the stuff off you, and then you'll make someone super happy.
i love that rocks guy recognized you. and good luck with the quitting smoking!
i also love that pic of the church and the train and the mountain. i love random little country churches like that.
The funniest thing about that church is it's not even really in the country, it's only about 10 minutes ride from downtown. It's an interesting quirk of the area that the reserve is just across the bridge from the city. Parts of the rez are fairly developed, either with gated resort communities or light industrial businesses, but other parts still look like they presumably did back when it was created, just some lonely fields and a church. If the reserve wasn't there, the whole area would just be another boring suburb by now.
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Are there thrift stores anywhere near you? You could probably find some cheap winter gear and then donate it right back when you're finished....no big financial loss that way.
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The other place i like in Canada is a department store called Winners. It's something like Ross Dress For Less, where they have random name brand stuff all jumbled together and if you're patient or lucky you might find something that's a good deal. Normally i don't like digging through huge racks of things "just in case", but if you know exactly what you are looking for you can be in and out pretty quickly.
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Churches are quite fun looking buildings, especially the ones built in a cross shape like this one. I think i'd enjoy climbing up to the belfry and looking out over the land, it'd be like living on a little mountain, or sitting on a land boat!
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i love that rocks guy recognized you. and good luck with the quitting smoking!
i also love that pic of the church and the train and the mountain. i love random little country churches like that.
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