What's life like in northern Canada?

In My Humble Opinion
1

Every once in a while I’m tempted to leave everything behind and go tough it out somewhere like Whitehorse or Dawson. As purely idle speculation, what would that really be like? Anyone lived up there in the Yukon or Northwest Territories?

Really, I’m far too much of a city guy for that sort of thing, but it’s lately been my destination of choice in my “I need to get away from everything” moments.

(I suppose IMHO is the place for this, as I’m looking mainly for opinions and people’s personal experiences. But please don’t hesitate to provide any factual information either.)

2

How very “Northern Exposure,” and, more recently, “Men in Trees”! Maybe some of this televised research can help you.

3

I just watched Northern Exposure today from Netflix. I agree that might give you some idea but the show is great as well.

4

Cities like Dawson and Whitehorse are on the continental road net and are not greatly different from other Canadian cities of similar size and importance. Yellowknife NWT is a modern city with office buildings and buses and all, although it’s probably easier to find a caribou (Rangifer tarandus, or reindeer in Europe) there than in, say, Toronto.

For real Arcticness, you need to go outside the cities, or to Nunavut. Iqaluit, the capital of Nunavut, is accessible only by sea or air. I know we’ve had at least two posters from Nunavut.

5

[QUOTE=Sunspace]
although it’s probably easier to find a caribou (Rangifer tarandus, or reindeer in Europe) there than in, say, Toronto.

[QUOTE]

But Toronto is full of Mooses!

I don’t know about living up there, but I noticed my local newspaper where I used to live used to have adds for jobs up in the territories and the pay was ridiculously high compared to equivalent in the Toronto area. There are all kinds of bonuses and allowances for working in remote regions, which I have to think might offset the cold and dark somewhat! I was quite tempted a few times. That kind of thing is even true in the provinces… if a professional like a teacher or doctor wanted to work in the more northern areas, pay increases and benefits are pretty significant, to try and convince you to stay.

6

However, the price of virtually all consumer goods is correspondingly higher, as those places are generally far more expensive to ship goods to.

You NEED the extra pay.

7

Nunavut Boy is one member who probably can answer a few of these questions.

8

Allow me to unveil a hilarious joke I made up:

The Canadian government decided to give self-determination to native peoples, but the Inuit were having Nunavut.

9

Many places in Northern Canada are staggeringly beautiful and incredibly vast. Many tourists go just in part to see the “Northern Lights” which are pretty, but can be seen (less dependently) further south. People are paid well and are given good tax breaks. But things like food and gas cost a fortune. And shipping is expensive.

It’s isolated. Roads are few and unreliable in the winter time. Food is expensive and many people arrange delivery of canned and frozen items by “sealift”. Internet connections are more sparse and often fail. There aren’t a lot of gyms or places to work out outside the cities. Substance abuse, alcohol use and suicide rates are higher than in south. Proper clothing is essential and in the winter should be rated to temperatures of minus sixty. Getting to the hospital often means a ride on the air ambulance.

The native culture is interesting but very different from southern Canada. I know many people who have worked up north – they either love it or hate it. My Northern experience is limited; others will give you a better answer.

10

Ginger of the North and Rube E. Tewsday could both speak to the OP - maybe they’ll check in.

11

Whitehorse isn’t that much different from any place in southern Canada in terms of roughing it – just colder. 20 years ago you could get Bass Ale and steak tartare there, and I imagine it’s only gotten nicer in terms of creature comforts. Even Yellowknife now has Walmart, Domino pizza and the like, things that would have gobsmacked me in the eighties. If you are serious about a cultural change, go someplace small, and where Europeans are in the minority.

Northern Canada encompasses a lot of territory, and there’s huge cultural differences between the various communities. If you really like outdoor activities, you’ll get more out of it.

Be prepared – the long days and nights are hard to wrap your mind around unless you’ve actually experienced them. In particular, the long days lead to a lot of craziness, and the farther north you go, the longer they get.

These are just a few random observations that jump to mind.

12

Yellowknife is a modern city which is growing by leaps and bounds due to diamond mining in Nunavut. Diamond polishing facilities are in town now. People from all over Canada and indeed the world have gone North to cash in on the boom.

The weather is something you get used to fairly quickly, but it sucks unwashed caribou ass. I will admit that when it’s colder than -20 (Celsius) you can’t tell the difference between -25 and -40, though. So there’s that small consolation. I had a Command Start on my car, as did most people I knew. It’s not that much of an issue unless you’re an outdoorsy type of person; you go from your house to the car (already running) to your office or store or wherever. When you leave for the day, it’s the opposite. Just dress for it and it won’t be an issue.

Living there is just like living in any other small city (town, by US standards), just one that isn’t accessible by road for about six weeks out of the year; when it is, it’s 5 hours to the next biggish town (Hay River) and something like 12 to Peace River or Grand Prairie. You get paid very, very well as compensation for living in such an isolated place, but airfare is outrageously high and the highway wasn’t even paved all the way up to YK until last year. There’s a drug problem which has come along with the population boom, but it’s still way less bad than you’d find in an American city of the same size.

I lived in Yellowknife for 8 years. My sister and one of my best friends in the world still live there and will gladly furnish more information for you. Ask me specific questions and I’ll give you more info.

Warning: It’s NOTHING like Northern Exposure.

13

Hiya everyone. I just stared re-reading the boards. Couldn’t resist this one.
Nunavut…how I miss it. I lived there for two years, but had to leave to go back to school (again).

It is definitely isolated. I bought a car up there and was quite entertained by the thought that if i turned left on the ‘highway’ the next settlement I would reach would be somewhere in Russia. The winters are cold and long, the men are men and the women are…well, women.

I lived in Iqaluit, which is the capital city (of 6,000 people). There are two grocery stores (one with a surprisingly extensive selection of obscure Asian foods) hotels, banks, gift shops, a Radio Shack, at least one pool, a TWIN theatre, a couple of movie rental places, three bars, etc. Most everything else can be bought on the internet or during the biannual trips ‘down south’ everyone takes.

The summer days are long and have close to 24hr. daylight. This is my favorite part. Everyone should experience the awesomeness of 24hr daylight. The winters are long, cold and the sun sets around 1 o’clock in the afternoon.

The absolute best part about living up there is the speed and intensity of which you make friends with people… Because it is so isolated and has very few new ‘permanent’ residents (‘permanent’ in this case being longer than a year) you end up making close friendships with many people very quickly. People are very quick to take in an ‘orphan’ from the South and show them some proper Northern hospitality.

Moving to Nunavut is in some ways like moving to a 3rd world country. As another poster has already said, there are many social and medical problems. I worked as a medical professional, and many diseases considered 3rd world occur there. Many people find it a place where they can do ‘real good’ as in the problems that need surmounting are not trivial.

Many jobs are more well paid up north, although the cost of living is so high that it does not really make it worth it. I make pretty much the same wage in Alberta as I did in Nunavut; I only stayed as long as I did because I liked the people I met so much. It is possible to save a lot of money if you live like a monk, but I imagine that’s true anywhere.

Seriously, the greatest thing about Nunavut is the people and the culture. This one of the most recently colonized places I think you’d find in North America. Things get done when they get done and no one seems to mind. It seems that any tourist you meet there is extremely interesting, if only for their reasons why they spent a shitload of money to come and visit a place most people couldn’t be paid to visit.

Anyways, the point of all this rambling is that anyone who gets the opportunity to visit, should. You won’t regret it.

The Poster Formerly Known as Nunavut Boy

14

I have never lived in the far North, but I lived far enough north in The Pas, Manitoba to know that it’s not for me (and I was born and raised just outside of Saskatoon - I was no stranger to a cold winter). I don’t want to live any place where you can get “square tires.” That said, I was glad I had the experience of living as far north as I did. You should give it a try, waterj2. I can only imagine that it’s a different world way up there.