As far as actually living through it, it shouldn't be much different than a normal winter. Just the snow tires never come off and winter depression might become more of a thing.

The real trouble would be with the food industry. Not only would crops be affected, cattle wouldn't have anything to graze on. Actually all the wild animals that normally hibernate and/or store food for the winter would likely die off. The ecosystem as we know it would be boned.

Food would still be available frim equatorial regions, but it would cost considerably more. You might see some of the proverbial waiting in line for beets. But it's theoretically survivable.

Ummm...I would be very glad I don't live in Canada 😉
I doubt that I'd cope with one of your normal winters, let alone one that went on longer!

Just reading some very interesting stuff about Mount Tambora...

The eruption caused global climate anomalies that included the phenomenon known as "volcanic winter": 1816 became known as the "Year Without a Summer" because of the effect on North American and European weather. Crops failed and livestock died in much of the Northern Hemisphere, resulting in the worst famine of the 19th century.

The presence of ash in the atmosphere for several months after the eruption reflected significant amounts of solar radiation, causing unseasonably cool summers which further drove populations to a food shortage.[6] China, Europe, and North America all had well-documented cases of abnormal temperatures, decimating their harvests. These climatic shifts also altered the monsoon season in China and India, forcing thousands of Chinese to flee coastal areas due to regional flooding of the Yangtze Valley (Granados et al. 2012). The gases also reflected some of the already decreased incoming solar radiation, causing a notable decrease in global temperatures throughout the decade, between 0.4-0.7 °C globally. It was so dramatic that that an ice dam was formed in Switzerland during the summer of 1816 and 1817, earning 1816 the title "Year without a summer" or YWAS.[28] The winter months of 1816 were not very different from years previous, but the spring and summer maintained the cool to freezing temperatures. However, the winter of 1817 radically differed, reaching temperatures below -30 °F in New York, which were cold enough to freeze lakes and rivers used for transporting supplies. Both Europe and North America suffered late freezes that lasted well into June with snow accumulating up to 32 cm in August, which killed recently planted crops, crippling the food industry.

Unseasonably cool temperatures reduced the output of crops worldwide: the growing seasons in Massachusetts and New Hampshire were less than 80 days in 1816, citing freezing temperatures as the reason for harvest failure (Oppenheimer 2003). These were visually connected to unique sunsets observed in western Europe and red fog found on the Eastern Seaboard of the US. These unique atmospheric conditions persisted for the better part of 2.5 years (Robock 2000).

The documented rainfall was as much as 80% more than the calculated normal with regards to 1816, unusually high amounts of snow were found in Switzerland, France, Germany, and Poland. This is again contrasted by the unusually low precipitations in 1818 which caused droughts throughout most of Europe and Asia (Auchmann et al. 2012). Russia had already experienced unseasonably warm and dry summers since 1815 and this continued for the next three years.

This pattern of climate anomaly has been blamed for the severity of typhus epidemic in southeast Europe and the eastern Mediterranean between 1816 and 1819.[6] The climate changes disrupted Indian monsoons causing three failed harvests and famine contributing to worldwide spread of a new strain of cholera originating in Bengal in 1816.[33] Much livestock died in New England during the winter of 1816–1817. Cool temperatures and heavy rains resulted in failed harvests in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Families in Wales traveled long distances as refugees, begging for food. Famine was prevalent in north and southwest Ireland, following the failure of wheat, oat and potato harvests. The crisis was severe in Germany, where food prices rose sharply. Due to the unknown cause of the problems, demonstrations in front of grain markets and bakeries, followed by riots, arson and looting, took place in many European cities. It was the worst famine of the 19th century.[6]

Well, My internet just came back on and not sure how long it will stay on. The ice storm is now over and its snowing again. Im indoors working on a concept cargo bike. No bags, all baskets, with a loading platform for oversized items....in between dehydrating a few more carrots over the wood stove...just in case. I think I will dehydrate another of the squashes from the back room next.

Heated greenhouses would be necessary to extend the season. Hoops and plastic over anything on in the ground....and firewood would be a life or death struggle. Refugee status would follow in the fight to get south if you can hold on till the next year

Eventually we would adapt to the new norm with the technology of today. We would know why it's happening and have a good idea what tomorrow would bring. We would not, as in the past, increase our sacrifices to the gods in the hopes of making things better.
In the meantime there would be the same result as always when you are exploiting the resources of your area to their limits and those resources suddenly cease to provide.
Competition for dwindling supplies and conflict. Today that would probably mean vastly increased cost for basic food items if you're buying them.
We have a global food network today and it will go where people can afford to pay the premium. Can your house afford a food bill 3 or 4 times what it is today?

At home you would cold frame everything, plant plenty of cole crops (Brussels sprout, cabbage, cauliflower, collards, kale, kohlrabi, mustard, broccoli, turnips).
This would be impossible on a large scale - at least in the short term.

I haven't posted in a long while, but being house bound today, this topic caught my attention.

With the recent wild weather and the steady increase in food prices over the last many years, it strikes me that a long term solution is necessary. Desiring enough food storage to last a decade or more is seriously problematic whether the obstacle is financial or the sheer lack of space that would be required. For that reason, I have been trying to mull over the idea of setting up a small aquaponics system that would successfully run off a 1 kw solar system. Given that I'm not (yet) a proficient gardener, perhaps I would be wise to direct my energies towards something that will provide food year round.

If winter never ends I'm on the first plane south never to come back. I'll take skin cancer over vitamin D deficiency any day.