If we lived in a snowy/icy country I think winter tyres are worth their weight in gold. When I lived in the SE of France, we had glorious sunshine and heat in the summer, but a lot of snow every winter. Most people are offered storage to keep their steel wheels with winter tyres on (or snow tyres depending where you lived). I had an old BMW (with no traction control) and survived every winter thanks to having winter tyres - going up roads that would leave even FWD cars struggling. However it comes down to learning and knowing HOW to drive in adverse conditions - when you do it daily with the right equipment it gets easy.
In the UK we seldom get weather that warrants a significant change in tyre, but if you're going for a second set you might as well go for winter tyres, and don't bother with snow tyres, since the winter tyres get up to temperature more quickly and offer better grip at low temperatures.