I remember once I went from -30C in St.Petersburg to -18C in Helsinki. Just a tiny little bit of humid wind from the Baltic Sea ... Helsingfors felt frigging cold compared to Piter!

I think the biggest problem with wintertime in St.Petersburg is ... car traffic, studded tires tearing up the asfalt, salty roads and other sources of pollution ... this combination makes it so dirty, sad and miserable, particularly on days when it's snowing and around 0C. It's not so bad when it's -30C.