Outdoors is safer, but how do you make outdoors someplace you want to be? | Sarah Lawrence for Vox

How one woman decided to improve her backyard and made 200,000 new friends.

Winter will suck. We gathered some of Vox’s coziest minds to help you make it suck less.

Since March, when our new pandemic-affected reality set in, socializing has become incredibly complex. We’ve been continually told by health and government officials that, if we’re going to be physically near others, getting outside is safer than being inside. The science says the coronavirus spreads more easily indoors and outdoor activities are inherently less risky. Americans have been encouraged to shift their social lives outside and put a premium on spaces like patios and backyards.

Now, with the weather getting colder, those of us lucky enough to have outdoor access are figuring out