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Comment by p1esk | Hacker News Reader

What is so impressive about the way she lives? It was considered a normal living 100 years ago. The conditions are not that extreme (Southern Russia, same latitude as Berlin).

She gets regular help from others, and she hasn't been shy to ask for help. Also, she made several trips to nearby towns when she needed medical help.

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The climate varies greatly between different places on the same latitude. She seems to live near Abakan, Russia at about 53 deg. N; according to Wikipedia, this has average daily means ranging from -18.3 C to +20.0 C. Compare with Manchester, UK (53 deg 28'N): about +4.5 C to +16 C.

-18C in the winter and 20C in the summer sounds like a decent climate. Typical four seasons environment. Nothing "extreme" about it.

A low of -18 C isn't uncommon, but a daily mean of -18 C across a whole month (day and night) is pretty cold! It's colder than any major North American city except Fairbanks, at least. The other cities I think of as being cold all have significantly higher daily means in their coldest month: -11 C in Anchorage, -10 C in Minneapolis, Montreal, and Ottawa, and -4 C in Chicago.

Sure, it gets cold in the winter there, but, say, -20C is not too cold to get out of the house to get some firewood nearby. I walked at -20C to school as a kid, and it was ok. I wouldn't go out when it was -30C, but considering the mean of -18C, -30C would be rare, and almost never in the middle of the day.

Bottom line: people have lived just fine for thousands of years in much harsher climates, for example, a thousand miles north from where she lives.

-18 C night and day is not that cold. It does not stop any daily activities - like kids playing outside. Going near -30 C and below - with regular "urban" winter clothing - that starts to modify ones routines. Don't look at the statistics, observe the real effects.

It depends on a few other factors, among which are wind and humidity. -18 C in Munich is lovely for a stroll. 8 C on the west coast of Ireland is omfg.

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