Bundling up to do everything from taking the dog out to grabbing a coffee really makes winter suck. The snow is charming at first…until you have to live in it for months on end. Everyone also likes to complain (and brag) to others that they have it worse where they live.
But anyone who lives in any of these nine locations has it far, far worse than you do. This is some next-level misery.
1. Yakutsk, Russia
One of the coldest places in Siberia — the same desolate region as the GULAGs — boasts temperatures of -50 degrees Fahrenheit with record lows reaching -80 degrees.
2. Barrow, Alaska
The northernmost city in the U.S., Barrow is home to over 4,500 people who live where the temperatures don’t come above freezing until June, and July only averages around 40 degrees.
3. Fraser, Colorado
Nicknamed the “Icebox of the Nation,” Fraser’s average temperature is barely above zero degrees. We’re talking single digits, people.
4. Astana, Kazakhstan
Astana boasts temps that fall about 40 degrees below zero during the coldest months.
5. Stjørdal, Norway
Frozen over for at least a third of the year, Stjørdal’s temperatures often register at -4 degrees.
6. Harbin, China
10 million people love to attend the Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival each year…even though temperatures typically drop to 10 below.
7. Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
The capital of Mongolia hosts a population of more than a million people, and temperatures drop to -20 degrees in the winter.
8. Concordia Station, Antarctica
A French-Italian base in Antarctica situated atop the Antarctic Plateau, Concordia rests near the South Pole. Temperatures during the coldest months can drop to a deadly 180 degrees below zero.
9. Oymyakon, Russia
Oymyakon is known as the world’s coldest inhabited city. With recorded temperatures as low as -96.2 degrees, residents have to leave their cars running at all times if they want any hope of driving them.
How does your city measure up? Because something tells us that what you’re going through is nothing compared to what the people in these places have to deal with!