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Reading about reports of apartment buildings without heat reminds me of the Moldovan practice of just not turning it on until a certain date (which I believe was sometime in November.) Our Peace Corps winter fuel increases for host families started then. In school we just wore coats until the magic date. One year there was a hard freeze in October but we just carried on.

And then there are those thick polyester fleece blankets that people got as wedding presents and lasted forever because washing and drying aren't cheap, not to mention the weird-but-warm knit leggings that I wore on cold days and as also sometimes as PJs. Moldova knows how to stay warm, but I hope they don't have to draw on that knowledge too much this winter!

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Yes, the date has already passed here now. It's based on a 7 day running average temperature. When it gets to a certain point the heat gets turned on for everyone. Not a great system but then again central heat is a very outdated system in general like this.

I remember lots of cold days in Peace Corps but I had gas heating in my apartment! It just wasn't insulated well and we didn't have a ton of money to crank it up and waste it. Far better than feeding the soba in the village though :)

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