As a resident of Queensland, Australia, why do people _choose_ to live in lands of ice and snow? So much of the world seems quite horrid to my sub-tropical habituated self.
I can answer a bit more seriously later if you are actually curious.
Rattlesnakes and black widow spiders are about it. The scorpions are the annoying but not lethal kind by me.
No deep freeze required... and there's no disease-spreading mosquitoes or tics to speak of any time of year.
Fresh snow makes gives my city a clean soft look, hiding the dormant brown of fall. It quiets and slows the cars. People out walking become friendlier. Snow's reflectiveness can make the darker days of the year so bright. You can walk anywhere on frozen ground and roll around on snow without getting muddy. You can ski, sled, or just walk and enjoy it. A breath of cold air wakes you up instantly.
Unfortunately my region, the Great Lakes, has been rapidly warming and trending towards rainy near-freezing winters instead of snow. But I do appreciate every snow we get. It probably helps I live in a city and don't need to drive.
You could say that about any decision about anything, so it's pretty meaningless. I live in northern Ontario. It's below 0F all this week, and that's on the warm side for this time of year. We usually get a week or two of -20F, and -30 is cold but not remarkable. And believe if or not, people _do_ choose to live in these climates, regardless of the ties you listed above.
I love winter. I love the stillness, I love being cozy inside, I love the feeling of braving the elements outside. Maybe it's a bit trite, but knowing that just being outside can literally kill you if you're not prepared for it tends to make you feel pretty alive. I love how everything dies or hibernates in the winter, and I love the renewal and rejuvenation that comes with spring.
And like a sibling comment pointed out, you can always put on more clothes to be comfortable, but you can only take off so many. I hate heat and humidity. I bike to work five days a week year-round and run outdoors all winter. Late summer when it's so hot and miserable to be outside is when I stop running.
OK I'll say it.
I accept the meaninglessness of why most people are where they are to begin with, because most of the time
>>their choices are not objective decisions.
otherwise it would be a dense high cost of living area already
you are perfectly aware of the contrarian nature of your choice
Someone asked the question of why people want to live in climates like this. I'm answering the question from the (subjective) perspective of someone who does. You are needlessly confrontational in trying to impose your logic on other people's decisions.