Manageable most days, genuinely difficult on a few — and the difference between the two is worth understanding before you choose a house.
Most winter days here are dry and cold rather than snowy, and driving is normal. What complicates it is the pattern: a snowfall, then a chinook that melts everything, then a hard refreeze overnight. That cycle produces ice on residential streets far more reliably than continuous cold would.
The first significant snowfall each year is the worst commute of the season, every year, for reasons that have more to do with drivers than roads.
The City clears on a priority system: major routes first, then bus routes and connectors, then residential streets much later — and in a normal winter many residential streets are not cleared to pavement at all.
Practically, that means the last few blocks of your commute may be the hardest part, long after the main roads are fine. Worth knowing when you compare two homes: a house on a hill on an uncleared residential street is a different winter than one on a flat street near a priority route.
Winter tires are not optional here in practical terms, whatever the regulations say. Budget for a set, and factor storage for them if you are buying a condo without a locker.