
ive seen pictures of st petersbourg . it does look fantastic

Thank you, lumpyv.
It does... Wouldn't trade it for any other city in the world.
Not terribly cold, no. It's a coastal city, so the climate is maritime with the smooth transition over to humid continental. If you're looking for an extreme cold, you should visit Kolyma, my mother's from there. Maybe go on an excursion or two to the Gulag there, fairly popular activity with foreigners.
Yay! I'll be sure to take you up on this offer. If all goes well for me in the next two years, I see absolutely no reason why I shouldn't do this.