When will the snow start, realistically? I have to drive 3200 miles by 10/31.

[9thmoon]

So I've had a more-than-slight change of plans and I'll be moving to NH (by myself) in four or five weeks.  Is it too late?  Am I going to be able to make that drive safely?  Do I need to wait until spring? 

I'm coming from Seattle... I'm going to start at the begining of Interstate 90 and drive it all the way to the end, just to say I did.     Then I'm going to turn around and go north to ... wherever it is I'm going to settle.  Probably Manchester area, or thereabouts.

Anyone looking for a short-term roomie starting in November?  NS, ND, no pets, quiet, professional, and financially independent and reliable... 

[Kat Kanning]

It doesn't usually snow before thanksgiving, and the snow doesn't really stay until late december.

[9thmoon]

It doesn't usually snow before thanksgiving, and the snow doesn't really stay until late december.

Thank you!  I feel so much better now.  I was having this awful vision of sitting on the side of the road struggling with chains and all my worldly posessions packed into the back of my truck and nobody to call for help and...

[dawn]

Should be no problem. For rents in Manchester, if someone has the contact info for the big houses that have rooms for rent, could you please PM it to the requestor?

[9thmoon]

I'm looking at Craigslist and stuff, too.  I just haven't decided yet if I should settle down and then find a job, or find a job and then settle down.  I kind of want to see what winter's like and just how tough a commute really would be if I, say, worked in Salem and lived in Manchester, or worked in Manchester and lived in Derry, or worked in Concord and lived in Auburn, etc. etc. 

[Kat Kanning]

They plow the roads, btw.  I've never used chains here.

[maineiac]

Realistically, I would be more concerned traversing I 90 in late October than anything else, but you can just keep an eye on the Weather Channel for potential disasters, I guess.

Re: jobs, settling down--get your job and then settle nearby. IMO, commuting sucks, and commuting in the winter sucks bigtime.

My current commute is 10 1/2 miles, one way. I wouldn't want it to be ANY longer!

[9thmoon]

I know, I hate commuting, but on the other hand, "I just work here" is a lousy reason to pick a place to settle down. 

Here in the Seattle area, I commute 7.2 miles - and that takes 45 minutes.  I would like to not commute.  Maybe I can find a telecommuting job. 

[aries]

I'd worry more about snow on the way here than actually being here.

Yes it routinely snows before Halloween, but it doesn't normally build up and create icy roads and treacherous conditions. That occurs between January and marc

[9thmoon]

Could be bad through the middle part of the country, huh?  I've never been further east than Missoula Montana. 

[Russell Kanning]

Some of the worst weather could be from Seattle to Missoula ..... and it could happen at any time. Driving way up North .... all the way across .... is dicey from Thanksgiving until March. If you have to drive in winter .... you may have to schedule extra time to deal with blizzards. Come before then and you should have it much easier. Leave in the next month and see great leaves from MN to NH.

Please call the FSP welcome wagon lady in Nashua and get a feel for if there are any openings at Free Stater places. You also might like renting from our guy (Freedominnh) in Hampton Beach over the winter. You could easily commute to Bahh-stun from there. If you can PM him and call him, you can reassure him that you are a decent person.

[toowm]

The worst snow section of I-90 is when you jog north around Buffalo, NY. Still not expected until December.

[9thmoon]

Some of the worst weather could be from Seattle to Missoula ..... and it could happen at any time. Driving way up North .... all the way across .... is dicey from Thanksgiving until March. If you have to drive in winter .... you may have to schedule extra time to deal with blizzards. Come before then and you should have it much easier. Leave in the next month and see great leaves from MN to NH.

Please call the FSP welcome wagon lady in Nashua and get a feel for if there are any openings at Free Stater places. You also might like renting from our guy (Freedominnh) in Hampton Beach over the winter. You could easily commute to Bahh-stun from there. If you can PM him and call him, you can reassure him that you are a decent person.

I've talked to him on the phone, he's a good guy.  That was back when I thought I was bringing my spouse and we were going to buy a place, though.

Shouldn't have too much snow to worry about over here on the west side, not before Thanksgiving. 

[9thmoon]

Crap.  I didn't think my day could get any better.  So I'm getting a divorce and moving cross country by myself.  I already sold my most beloved Battlewagon so I could buy something bigger that would get me and my spouse and our two dogs and two cats across the country.  Now, that's not happening - it's just me.  So of course, last night, that "something bigger" I bought broke down in a spectacular way.

The shop just finally called.  It needs $2200 worth of repairs just to feel safe getting me from here to there.  That's not for anything fancy - just brakes and shocks. 

Should I trade it in?

Do you think I could get around in winter in a little tiny hybrid like an Insight?  Because that's what I really, really want. 

[error]

I'm coming from Seattle... I'm going to start at the begining of Interstate 90 and drive it all the way to the end, just to say I did.     Then I'm going to turn around and go north to ... wherever it is I'm going to settle.  Probably Manchester area, or thereabouts.

You'll probably see your worst weather just east of Seattle, in and around Snoqualmie Pass. Once you get past there, at that time of year, you'll probably be fine.

But just to be safe, I wouldn't take I-90 when there's severe weather imminent over eastern Washington, Montana, North Dakota, etc. The alternate route is to hit I-82 right after you come out of the mountains, follow it down to I-84, and hit I-80 in Utah. Then follow I-80 across to Chicago, where it meets up with I-90. I think the mileage is just about the same.

If it's the mountains around Seattle that are getting the severe weather, they usually do a good job of keeping the interstate clear, but you can always jog down I-5 to Vancouver/Portland (take the bypass) and take I-84 from there, but that adds about 100 miles or so...

Yes, I spent way too much time driving around the Pacific Northwest in a former life...