I live in an apartment with on-street parking. Where do you suggest I store these tires for the other seven months of the year?
Yeah of course this doesn't exist in the US, but if they made winter tyres mandatory surely someone will start this business.
Where did you get this impression? This absolutely exists in the US.
https://www.belletire.com/tires-and-wheels/off-season-storag...
sometimes safety isn't free.
Winter tires are worth it if it snows regularly where you live, you'll probably save money in the long run by not crashing and your insurance might even give you a discount for putting winter tires on.
I don't put on winter tires nowadays because it only snows 0-2 times a year here so I simply don't drive in the snow instead. When I lived in a very snowy area I got winter tires put on every winter.
Of course, you could buy used, but I would wager most of the things that make winter tires good in the winter tend to wear out by the time they make it to a used tire shop.
probably not. the main thing that makes a winter tire good in the winter is the rubber compound. as long as the tire has enough tread and is less than about six years old, it will outperform all-seasons in cold weather. every rubber compound has a temperature window where it performs optimally. too cold and the tire is like a rock; it doesn't grip well even on dry pavement. too warm, and the tire is too supple and will wear out much faster. if you expect to do a lot of driving in ambient temperatures much below 40F, you need winter tires. you might get away with all-seasons for a long time, but you probably don't realize how close you are to the tire's limits.
but seriously, there is an observation to be made here about social norms around vehicle safety. all-season tires are not safe for winter use in large swathes of north america. why do we scoff at people who prepare appropriately?
most people i know who drive in the northeast don't have any qualms with having a 2nd wheelset and storing it.
i think there's a rather NA quirk to GP's comment -- they live in a small urban apartment, with no storage space available, but still have to own a car.