I enjoy white Christmases and crisp Autumns. The good thing about cold weather is that sometimes it's fun to warm up. :^) 12 months of the same weather would get boring. But I can understand all the old retirees wanting to go to the South and West. I'm a long way from retirement, though. If cold weather sucks so much why do so many go to Yellowstone and Aspen for winter sports? Our tough winters up here keeps people more responsible, like the author says. Everyone has things they prefer. I prefer more variety than you, I guess.