One thing about winter in Athens is that it’s better than winter in most places in the Midwest. No matter the weather, you still have a great college town filled with nearly 20,000 of your peers. Plus, you can take some steps to adjust your lifestyle to make the best of winter in Athens.
Here are some tips for surviving the winter in your Athens student rental without 1) being cold all the time; 2) going stir crazy/getting cabin fever; 3) pulling a Jack Nicholson “Shining” routine and murdering all of your housemates; and 4) so annoying your housemates that they decide to murder you!
Tips for Making it Through an Athens Winter
• Get a coffee thermos that keeps it warm till well into the morning, at least through your 10 o’clock class. Spare no expense on this, since your attitude and stamina will be much approved with a time-release regimen of morning coffee.
• Have reliable and comfortable heat in your Athens apartment or rental house. This is one that you should address long before move-in. When hunting for your off-campus rental in Athens, make sure you ask about its heating system before committing to renting a place. How old is the furnace or heat pump? Are there registers in all the rooms? Is there a programmable thermostat? Is the house well sealed and ventilated? Of course, you probably will forget to ask these questions in the early spring when you’re deciding on a rental for six months later. In lieu of asking these questions, at move-in time choose the bedroom that’s likeliest to have comfortable heating. Upstairs bedrooms tend to heat better than downstairs or basement bedrooms. (On the other hand, upstairs, loft or attic bedrooms can get mighty warm during the cooling season.)
• Have a good coat, with gloves and hat that are durable and effective at keeping the cold out. Quality shoes or boots is also essential. We highly doubt you’ll wear galoshes or “rubbers” in the winter. (You refused to wear them in elementary school; why would you wear them as a college student?). However, there’s a wide assortment of heavy-duty waterproof shoes and boots on the market, with good gripping tread. Proper winter wear, including footwear, is especially important if you have to walk a moderate distance to class or uptown.
• Don’t fall down. Some winters in Athens, the sidewalks remain icy for weeks at a time. Wear shoes or boots that won’t slip, and beware of ice underneath a thin layer of snow on sidewalks. Walk in the snow-covered grass rather than potentially slick sidewalks.
• Find someone of your preferred gender to snuggle up with through the cold winter months. This tip has multiple benefits, aside from the warmth factor. However, it should be stated that it has some potential pitfalls, too. Are you ready for fatherhood (or motherhood) yet? Do you want to avoid a painful and embarrassing visit to Hudson Health Center? We didn’t think so.