This is about the time of year that you have all of those Arizona residents or anyone from out west, claim that they are so "lucky" and "happy" to not live back East or anywhere there is a "harsh" winter. (This includes most of the country.)

There are tons of reasons to love the winter and brag about being somewhere like the midwest.

One would think anyone would get sick of the same thing after a while.. generally after over 20 years in the same place every day or doing the same thing, anyone would need change. Usually. However, someone will always find a way to argue a point.

Going off of that — this is the best time of year for so many reasons. True, the holidays make winter so much more joyous. Be that as of may, there are other reasons.

While everyone out west is happy they have weather in the 80s during the day time. (Yes, I know some days will be cooler or hotter.) Let me tell you with that sun, it feels like 90. There are countless ways to understand how someone can be extremely thankful to be feeling 20 degree weather one day, 7 degrees the next, a random -10 on a different day, then an even more random 70-degree day on another. This is the type of the unpredictable weather you get when you head more east from the out west. Now, each city to its own.

I am more than grateful that it can get bitterly cold and snow, while on the flip side, I am so happy it can get hot and 95. On the worst of days, it gets that hot. Not that all of us are actually fans of the 90-degree temperature.

Just as summer has its severe downfalls... so does winter. Shoveling snow (some people do not have to when residing in an apartment or condo) and the car problems are not fun. If you do not have a garage for your car over winter, the city's ice can be brutal. Again, it only lasts for a little while. It will not be a month straight. A month straight of cold, sure... a month straight of un-walkable brutal temperatures... doesn't happen.

I can personally vouch that most of the year is nice and it is worth the extreme cold you put up with for a couple months. A lot of people who are not familiar with weather like Chicago, NYC, Indiana, Dallas, Nashville, etc. People think that it is "mostly cold." In fact, you have a few terrible years every now and again that might be like that... but it is not "normal." It is not always like that. Things can be exaggerated.

It is great to have the seasons. I think that is one reason to be proud of living somewhere other than in the western part of the nation. I think great weather majority of the year takes the cake, no comparison. We get weather; along with the brick and brownstone buildings, homes made of stone, trees everywhere, lakes, oceans, boats, piers, bonfires, good times, rivers, theater, rich in history (like anywhere else) and famous events in historic cities.

All of this to many of us is worth the couple months of cold weather.

I personally think the rest of the year back east is nice. Some people cannot stand a temperature under 60 — that is on them. Some people cannot take 85 degrees and sweating most of the year.

Coming from out west, I have first-hand experience seeing constant rocks, dirt and being hot most of the year. I see both sides. Another day another bush. With that said, the mountains are breathtaking, the sunsets cannot be compared and the nights have a feeling in the air that you cannot find anywhere else. If you are on the pacific coast; you are quite literally in paradise. There is good and bad about any place.

The winter is not so bad. That is what a lot of people who complain about the snow, do not understand. Anyone gets sick of something.

The very best thing about winter is the lack of bugs and insects. On a personal note, if there is one thing I cannot take more than being cold or winter in itself, it is spiders. I dislike spiders more than I dislike the winter. Therefore, keep the cold coming. In most cases you are not outside anyhow.