Getting to experience the infamous Chicago blizzard via You Tube

Fully dressed in my winter gear, I could easily pass for an eskimo. The whip-cream colored puffy coat and matching boots I spend on a small fortune are both covered in faux fur and my face is half-buried in a giant white knitter scarf my mom bought for me. While I feel a little ridiculous, I hear this is the usual winter uniform around these parts. 
 

Just last year, Chicago registered the biggest storm since Groundhog Day Blizzard. In an effort to brave what was arguably the third coldest winter in city’s history, people were sporting fleece face masks and hand warmers like they were going out of style.

But seen through the eyes of You Tube "vloggers", everything seems so much worse. Usually no more than a couple a minutes long, suggestively titled “How to survive Chicago winter” videos manage to paint an apocalyptic scenery of the city, where humans scurry away from blizzard like mice at the sight of a hungry cat. No person in their right mind would want to visit, yet alone move here after watching them. At least not without a serious supply of alcohol.

Exaggerations set aside, the "vloggers" - Chi Town residents, mostly in their twenties - do a pretty good job at explaining how to cope with the harsh weather. From the clothes they wear to the drinks they enjoy during snowy months, nothing is left out. 

“If you never been here in the winter, I’m here to tell you it freaking sucks”, explains Lyanne Manzanilla, a young woman, originally from Miami. Before moving to Chicago, she says, she never experienced snow. Some of the tips and tricks Lyanne shares are drinking water and using moisturizing lotions as well as investing in a good lip balm.

In terms of fashion, “you need a big fat coat” because “you’re not going to look cute”, she bluntly states. A heated blanket is even mentioned for cold feet cases. If all this fails to get you nice and toasty, the girl explains, you might consider trying a “liqueur jacket”. “Drinking booze is guaranteed to keep you warm”, she concludes while taking a sip from a huge vodka bottle. Her video, posted ted months ago, gathered over 4000 views.

A two years old video named “How to survive your first Midwest Winter” can also be found on Shannon’s Frugalbeautiful YouTube channel. A born-and-raised California girl, Shannon gives away some valuable suggestions on how to dress for winter on a budget. The “survival” wardrobe she showcases could be suitable for an Alaska getaway: waterproof, leather boots, 100% wool socks and scarves, polar fleece leggings – which she claims are like “wearing a sweatshirt on your legs”- knitted head band plus a ridiculously warm down jacket.

The icing on the cake is, by far, a Steve HarveyShow segment watched by over twelve thousand people. The comedian and TV host bursts in laugh when a woman from the live studio audience - recently relocated from Florida to Chicago - asks for his help to choose between three winter jackets. “None of these would work. Maybe if you combine”, Harvey announce. At one point, he jokingly advises her to “move back to Florida with your mama”.

 

John Hersh, a self-proclaimed social foodie who makes no secret from being gay, puts a different spin on this subject. Booze is mentioned again. “In Chicago, the winters are very long. You can get lonely or depressed. You just have to have something to do to get through it”, he says. His particularly idea of “something” is called “Bake&Drink”. “Basically, I’ll just invite people over. Five of them will volunteer to bake; ten of them will bring the booze.”

But it wouldn’t be fair to leave out all those videos showing what a bike commute to work or a casual run in a snow-filled landscape looks like. Take for example this one, filmed last March by Kurt Barclay, or this, from “Jairocol”, another You Tube user. Besides, if Harvard scientists are right, living in a cold area might do wonders for your waist and general health.

Like every other aspect of life, it’s just a matter of perspective. Either way, I think we all agree that a couple of drinks can definitely help beat the winter blues.