So how nice is it exactly here?
Well recently we have started to warm up a little bit. We are in the 30s-40s Fahrenheit (so 1 to 6 degrees Celsius) and people are switching from the triple layers to a simple T-shirt around the freezing temperature of the water!!
As opposed to some misconceptions, it is not permanently cold in Minnesota. The winter might be harsh, but the summer is difficult too. The hot summer might not be as bad since people don't have to deal with the snow or the frigid wind but still. I come from a city where it is 25-30 degrees Celsius, all day of the year, and here I truly enjoyed having that change in seasons. It's like, if you don't the warm anymore, just wait a couple of months and here comes the snow, or if you are tired of triple layers with a hat, scarf, gloves and some boots to "fight" the 3 inches of snow, here comes the spring!! My favorite season though is the fall, because you come out of the hot summer, and mild/cold pleasant temperatures come along, refreshing and just...nice!!! The spring is different because an increase of temperature by 10-20 F (i.e. from 20 to 30) and you feel like it's 60 F!! That's why people are simply wearing light clothes...
So Minnesota do have cold winters, some days with temperatures below 0F (that will be about -24 degree Celsius), some nice days with a simple breeze (20s F), some snow days with a lot of traffic-jams and road accidents, but also a lot of fun for people who like to ski. All you need is a really good coat to help you out, with a scarf, gloves, a hat or a head-band and you might to get some boots too!
Like I said, fall and springs are nice. The summer is an entertaining season. Might be hot but there are a lot of activities on campus at that time and since the days are longer, people are more active!