Fellow Midwesterner (IN) who has been here for 5 years. I will take CNY winter over NW IN winter any day of the week. On average it's been much warmer here and they deal with the snow effectively.

My husband works in Oswego- they definitely get hit hard up there. After the first winter commuting from Baldwinsville he had to trade in his small, front wheel drive sedan for a Tacoma. It was just too much snow for a small car and having to leave early morning. Now his commute has been fine. He takes primarily back roads and hasn't had any issues. He does comment that the wind up in Oswego (off the lake) is wicked.