I grew up in the south. -29F sounds like hell on earth. I get seasonal depression, there's no way I'd put myself through a winter like that to save a little money on rent. Though, again, there are major southern cities with lower cost of living than Chicago, so it's like not even saving money, despite the possibility of living without a car. Since I work from home, my car/commute costs are negligible, and I drive a 10+ year old vehicle that's fully paid for.
I'm not saying Chicago isn't a great city for some folks. It is, but it's not the city for me, though I love to visit and when a conference is happening there I'm more likely to want to go.
I can't argue. But as a northerner, it was slightly funny how freaked out everyone was about that -29. Diesel fuel was coagulating, tires felt funny. The good part of it was that there wasn't very much wind.
But there is was an extreme that was not so funny. That was the heat wave in 1995. Nearly a thousand people died during that time. High temperature of 106, high temperature overnight (which I feel is a crime against nature), insane humidity. The city learned, in that there are now cooling centers for crisis like temperatures.
Humorously, the second-highest actual temperature I experienced was 112 during one year of harvest back in Montana. Fortunately, the humidity was low (sometimes as low as 4%) and, as it should be, it cools off at night, as the universe intended. The higher temperature was in Phoenix, when it hit 117 at sunset. Riduculous.
Yes, it can be depressing with the shorter days, and the harsher winters encouraging biological hibernation.
My take is, as a country boy, if you are need to live in a city, Chicago is excellent.
We are polar (heh, polar) opposites. Those high temps are hot but not awful, to me. Texas sees those kinds of temperatures every summer, and I've summered in the desert, as well (Tempe/Phoenix in spring is awesome). This summer in Austin was particularly brutal, and currently the rain is among the worst I've seen (because mosquitoes, when combined with record breaking high temperatures), as it's been going on for weeks nearly daily. We handle the heat fine, here, but the rain less so. I would guess it's the opposite in Chicago.
I'm not saying Chicago isn't a great city for some folks. It is, but it's not the city for me, though I love to visit and when a conference is happening there I'm more likely to want to go.