This year marks my 6th winter in Chicago.

It is a distinct trait of Chicagoans to obsess endlessly over the weather (particularly in the winter) and I am no different. In fact, here is an entire post on this very subject.

I grew up in Indiana, so I am well aware of what to expect from each of the four seasons. My whole life, I naively thought I understood what a rough winter looked like. Turns out, I never fully understood what it meant to be cold, until I moved to Chicago and experienced my eyelashes turning into icicles within minutes of stepping out of my apartment.

Growing up I would hear people talk about ‘seasonal depression.’ At the time, I assumed it was just a way for people to blame their problems on something else, and would arrogantly think to myself, ‘I don’t get it. Winter is just like every other season. All you have to do is put on an extra layer and go outside.’

And then, I moved to Chicago.

In Chicago, winters are so brutal, it is normal for your face to physically hurt the second you walk outside. You are often forced to wear sunglasses to protect your eyeballs from the wind, not the sun. Fashion becomes completely irrelevant for at least four months straight. Everyone is wearing coats that make them look as if they rolled themselves into a giant burrito with the down comforter used primarily for their beds. People get genuinely excited for any temperature above 25 degrees for the entire season.

Throughout the years, Chicagoans have had several different names for the hell that is a Chicago winter. There was the Snowpocolypse of 2011, and the ‘Groundhogs Day’ blizzard of 2012, which pelted us with a new (but suspiciously similar) snowstorm day after day. Then, in 2014, we officially unofficially renamed the city of Chicago ‘Chiberia,’ after an unprecedented 7 months of straight winter.

When you live in a place that evokes complete dread between the months of December and April, you are bound to come up with some strategies.

Here I am once again, for reasons I can never fully explain, slugging through another Chicago winter. I have had to come up with some survival strategies over the years to make it this far. Turns out, complaining about the weather non stop doesn’t actually help as much as I had hoped (but please don’t take that to mean I am going to stop).

Allow me to share my top 5:

1. Have Plenty of Wine in your Apartment AT ALL TIMES

Or, just move into a winery with your friends and save yourself some time. Please note: Full length coats while indoors happen regularly.

This is serious. While increasing your alcohol intake may seem like a bad idea in conjunction with seasonal depression, I assure you, it is not. (Disclaimer: I have no professional credentials to base that on so all statements are not factual and should probably be ignored).

A glass of red wine after spending 2+ hours battling the brutal winter commute home is necessary. We’ve got to keep our sanity during these dark times, and this is one of the best ways to do it.

More importantly, I have had a few winters that were so cold and snowy, the entire city of Chicago basically shuts down for days on end (except work. Work never seems to stop). Would you want to be stuck indoors for an unknown amount of time without a drop of wine in the house?  Always be prepared.

2. Make plans. Make all the plans. (or risk fusing into a blob with your couch)

Friends! Don’t forget that you have them in the dark winter months. (Again, notice the coats being worn indoors)

This is a difficult one, because during a Chicago winter, you truly lose all will and motivation to leave your apartment for months on end. This is when you have to call your friends for back-up, and hold each other accountable.

For example, this year, my friends and I started a weekly winter dinner club. It is a great excuse to get together during the week, and force ourselves to do something creative, like attempting to cook different type of meals. More importantly, we use it as a way to make sure we are all getting some type of social interaction outside of our co-workers. True friendship at it’s finest.

3. Have 3-5 shows (or books) lined up at any given moment

The most common Chicagoan sight you will ever see in the winter. Pretty soon you won’t be able to differentiate between the couch and us.

When you do have to be on the couch (because no matter what my other points in this post say, this is unavoidable) make it count. Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones, House of Cards- all shows we saved to burn through in the winter.

One of my favorite winter memories is the time Al and I spent watching all six seasons, 128 episodes and 8,215 hours of Dawson’s Creek. Now that I am typing that fact out, I realize it is probably something I should refrain from admitting to others.

The bonus here is, you don’t even have to feel guilty about wasting hours in front of the TV, because when it is negative 20 degrees outside, you really don’t have any other options.

4. Leave Chicago

A winter escape to St. Thomas (which also doubled as my Bachelorette Party)

This is my #1 way to survive Chicago in the winter. Every single person that I have ever known, hits a point during a Chicago winter that I have dubbed the ‘Wubblies.’ It sounds cute, but make no mistake, there is nothing cute about getting the Wubblies (the winter blues and uglies). Your skin hasn’t seen sunlight for as long as you can remember. You are constantly cold. Your lungs have forgotten the sensation of breathing fresh air. You get genuinely shocked at your own sullen face when you unexpectedly catch yourself in a passing window reflection. Seasonal depression has worked its finest magic on you.

This is when you know you have got to get out.

I always try and plan at least one trip away from the city every winter, even if it’s only for a few days, and it changes me every single time. Never in my life have I had such great appreciation for the sun, than on a trip away from home in the winter.

5. Love on your pets

If I have to be inside for days on end, at least it gives me an excuse to spend hours of uninterrupted time with the two fuzziest (yet neediest and most freeloading) roommates I’ve ever had:

I take any excuse to spend more time with these guys.

I am planning for the 2015/2016 winter to be my last in Chicago, but you can be sure that I will be using all 5 of my survival strategies to make this last one count.

Here’s to staying warm, and never letting those Wubblies get you down.

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