Here’s Why The Cold Doesn’t Phase New Yorkers

Katherine Ripley • January 20, 2016

On Monday and Tuesday the wind chill had the temperature feeling like it was in the single digits, and yet there was no shortage of people out on the streets in the city, hustling and bustling as usual to get wherever they needed to be. Friday the city is in for a big snow storm, but nobody really seems to be that worried.

Are New Yorkers immune to the cold?

Here are the reasons why the low temperatures and the frozen precipitation don’t phase us:

1. New Yorkers Never Stop Moving

The NYC region is famous for its pace. New Yorkers can barely stop for traffic lights. And your risk of dying from hypothermia is far less than your risk of dying from a traffic accident in this city.

2. We’d Go Stir Crazy Staying Inside All Day

Ever watch a goldfish swimming in circles in a really tiny bowl? That’s what it feels like to stay in your tiny city apartment all day. Sooner or later, no matter how cold it is outside, you’re going to need to take a walk to avoid losing your mind.

3. Our Journeys Are Already Long And Arduous

When you already have to transfer twice or walk ten blocks to get where you’re going, while carrying something heavy and probably having nowhere to hold on in the subway car, adding freezing temperatures into the mix is barely a challenge.

4. Cold Is Arguably Better Than Heat

You can always add another layer when it’s cold. But in the summer when the entire island of Manhattan is sweating, you can’t walk around naked (or, you could, but you might get arrested). Most of us would rather wait for the subway wearing our coats than wait for the subway feeling like we’re in a sauna.

5. New Yorkers Have Thick Skin

It’s a biological fact. Our thick skin is actually what keeps us warm.

Cover photo credit: Dan Nguyen/Flickr