We're about halfway through December and it seems like so far we're gonna avoid having any kind of serious snow in the first month of Winter. But if Michigan winters have taught us anything, it's that we still have roughly 4 months until we're out of the woods. For as beautiful as winter is in our state, the worst parts of it all is the commute to our jobs, stores and homes during heavy snowstorms. Our roads do not treat us kindly, and although our cities do the best job they can to keep them clear, it's the most brutal part of the year.

There are some cities that, for some reason or another are far worse than the rest, and these areas should be avoided at all costs. Of course, if you live in these cities there's just no what around it, so look at this list as a sympathy letter, considering we're most likely in one of them:

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Battle Creek To Paw Paw

Anyone reading this not living in Southwest Michigan should know that I-94 is one of the most unforgiving highways during the winter, and massive back ups and multi-car accidents will absolutely slow traffic down to a crawl, so between these two cities please drive extra careful.

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash
Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash
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Southfield

I used to have to take Telegraph Rd. to get the the radio station I worked at in Southfield and what was normally a 25 commute to work, ended up being 2 1/2 hours during a heavy snow day. That was almost as long as my time spent at the station. Getting off of 75 and driving past Woodward to this long road was a nightmare.

Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash
Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash
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Rochester/Rochester Hills

As a kid who was raised and lived in Rochester, all I have to say are two words: Hall, Road. M-59's merger into Hall Rd. in Utica/ Sterling Heights is the thing that night terrors are made of. It's bad enough without snow, but with it? You may as well just stay home. The amount of business alone in the area has increased traffic to ridiculous amounts the last 10 years. Sure, The Big Bright Light Show is great, and during peak season the traffic is so heavy downtown, you'll have a great view of the lights from your car driving down Main St.

Photo by Charlie Wollborg on Unsplash
Photo by Charlie Wollborg on Unsplash
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Detroit

I mean, you can't really leave them off the list. It always seems like Detroit is in a perpetual state of construction, and with people driving terribly on top of bad weather, causes driving down here to be filled with anxiety.

Photo by Sajjad Ahmadi on Unsplash
Photo by Sajjad Ahmadi on Unsplash
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Grand Rapids

If there's another city whose highway traffic can give Detroit a run for its money it's Grand Rapids. The twists, the turns and the speeders make driving here in winter as disaster. Side roads are heavily suggested.

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Michigan has so many amazing spots that it's hard to really pinpoint what the BEST cities are, but we can narrow them down to 10 that perfectly describes everything about our state that is so unique and awesome.

10 Southwest Michigan Small Town Restaurants You NEED To Visit

The nice thing about all these locations is that they'll take no more than an hour to get to and it's also a good chance to explore Southwest Michigan and do something off the beaten path. Here are 10 small town restaurants near us that you seriously need to check out:

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