you dont need snow tires. they help, but you dont need them. you just need some common sense and driving skills. dont drive fast, learn to use engine braking instead of slamming on the brakes to stop, etc. also instead of buying new tires, you can just buy tire chains that fit your current tires (designed for speeds under 30 mph i believe)

Source(s):

lived in a very snowy place before

When driving stickshift, can you stay in first gear while standing still (i.e. with the brakes down all the way and car stationary)?

Or do you HAVE to switch to neutral. I learned how to drive stick a while back, but I never really mastered it. I'm proud to say I'm buying a manual transmission vehicle this Friday, but I'm having trouble remembering some of the finer details and I don't want to look like an idiot driving it off the lot.

You actually don't need to have the mirror adjusted all the way down to see the curb. Adjust it so you can see enough of the curb but still have a good view of what's behind you on that corner of the car. Then you don't have to keep moving the mirror, just leave it in that position. That's what I did when I did my road test.