I love snow. Cities transform into a whole new world. Busy streets seem to whisper, everything calms down. Snow feels like being on vacation without the need to travel. You can just step outside and go for a walk.
Almost every winter in my life I experienced some days with snow, so I thought I’d know everything about it. Until I moved to Chicago.
I learned that large amounts of snow can fall multiple times a day. And it stays cold for weeks, so the snow doesn’t melt within days like elsewhere I lived. Still they manage to keep sidewalks spotless. How?
As soon as the first snow falls, half the people you see outside seems to be shoveling.
They also use a lot of salt. A lot. With unexpected, different challenges.
But most of all, the thick blanket of snow was a great way to see city life from a different, sometimes surprising perspective. I can’t wait to experience and learn more next winter in Chicago.
Fresh Snow Perspectives in Chicago
In the last weeks I have thought about my first three winters in Chicago. They are intense and quite different than previous ones in my life, elsewhere on the planet. I created a short illustrated column about this.
