He left out SAD and a general sense of having to live a full year's worth of life condensed into the three months where it's tolerable being out of your house.

Even the most winter wary Minnesotan will venture out far more than three months of the year! Spring, summer, and autumn are fantastic here as well. The winter can be long, but if you get outside and enjoy it, you find that you look forward to large snowfalls etc. A mid winter holiday somewhere warm also helps!

I'd take the northern winter over the LA smog and traffic any day (and I say that as someone who loves visiting LA!).

Stockholm syndrome.