No worries, I promised you a beer and I stand by my word.
Thank you again for checking this for me!
And I’ll be sure to let you know.
Ha ha ha ha! It is to laugh.
The Prairies have an inland continental climate, like Mongolia. Translation: extremes of temperature. My mom was from Saskatchewan and told us stories about walking to school during the winter along the board sidewalks of Regina in -40 temperatures. And believe me, when it’s that cold, F or C doesn’t matter. Toronto is a LOT warmer than that in the winter.
There are ads in the Toronto subway advertising a beautiful job-filled life in Saskatchewan. I notice the pictures were taken in the summer.
OTOH, nearer the mountains in Calgary, it still gets that cold in winter, but the cold is broken by chinooks, föhn winds that come down the mountain slopes, warm and dry the air, and can cause the temperature to rise thirty degrees in a couple of hours.
We’ve heard from San Francisco and Portland, so you may as well hit the other city worth living in on the West Coast: Seattle. Kinda wet and rainy, but friendly people and decent jobs, plus a state government and local population whose political attitudes are much more in line with European ones than much of the country.
I would just like to confirm that it snows in Hawaii. On Mauna Kea, on the Big Island. That’s up where they have the observatory. People can snow ski up there, then hit the beach WAY down below for some balmy surfing.
Hawaii: It really is as close to Paradise as you’ll ever get on Earth.
That more-or-less covers the weather aptly. Calgary’s summers tend to have peak temperatures in the mid-20s Centigrade, with a handful of days over 30C. Winters temperatures can dip into the -20 or -30 range at times but are generally more in the -10 range and the occasional chinooks make the coldest periods much more bearable. And, yes, I have lived here long enough to have experienced snow here in all 12 months. The upside? We live right on the edge of the mountain rain shadow, so there’s very little humidity, which makes the cold days survivable and the hottest days less sweat-inducing.
The first picture with the white domed building in the background is indeed Hawai’i. The building is part of the observatory. Many of the rest of the pictures seem to be from field trips to places outside Hawai’i.
I’ve worked as a bouncer outdoors in -30c, with skimpily dressed Swedish co-eds waiting in line 
so I know I can survive those temperatures. And my current lack of training-regime might even increase my survivability (that’s not even a word, right).
As long as it’s drier than here, it’s all ok.
The Rainy City doesn’t sound that cool The music-scene is quite cool though.
Yummie, yummie 
But those pics from Sunspace where from Whistler mountain 
**ETA: Apparently I was wrong 
**
Schucks… Hawaii, US West Coast, Toronto, Calgary, Down Under, Singapore… the list just gets longer and longer
Eva, correct me if I’m wrong, but if Worm’s got a bit of money, could he buy a business - hotel, laundrette, whatever - and immigrate that way?
Time to get a Round-The-World ticket.
I moved to Hawaii specifically for school, but when I first arrived some weeks before the start of the semester, I had to find a place to live and so stayed in a “youth hostel” for a few nights at first. I use quotes because they weren’t all youths. And I met so many people who had gone to Hawaii just for a year or so “to take a break and figure out what to do next.” Even some of the staff were ex-guests who had stayed on when employment there presented an opportunity.
Interesting hypothetical. But I’m gonna have to work for someone else, for now.
I just need to win the PowerBall (or similar) first
I’d still need that visa.
Where are all those totally hot American women I see on TV when I need them
Nooooooooo! You’re an islander, Worm. Do not go to the dark side. Consider BC and Vancouver Island.
Our provincial capital is desperate for skilled workers. All those baby boomers are retiring, and they need both employees and contractors to fill the gaps until the current wave of young graduates have matured in their jobs and are suitable for advancement. The island also has a good reputation for high tech companies, especially on the Saanich Peninsula, about 30 minutes north of Victoria.
There are concerts to go to, loads of great casual, fine, ethnic, and bistro-type restaurants at which to dine, many with al fresco seating. There is the fabulous Royal BC Museum and an IMAX theatre. There are wineries galore, and scads of local farms offering fresh (and often organic) dairy and produce.
Elsewhere on this island we have a glacier or two, mountains, and snow-capped mountain views (and a volcano, too). You can golf all year here, and ski in the winter. You can get waist deep in a river to get the grail (Tyee) yourself, or you can buy FRESH oysters, salmon, halibut, and rockfish. You can trap your own crabs and shrimp off some docks.
We have the cold and crashing Pacific on our east coast, the deliciously warm Desolation Sound on our west, even an island with a tropical white sand beach. You can kayak on lakes or ocean, and bicycle trails abound. You can cool off in deep, jacuzzi-like holes in the river, and dive off short but high volume waterfalls.
You can be outside in the heat of summer here. Back east is hot and humid as hell. Calgary is high in altitude, and to say it’s dry is to laugh. It is parching. On the plus side, it gets tons of sunshine. The island is wetter but warmer. A chinook in Calgary can cause a temperature fluctuating from -20C to 10C in the same day. Expect snow in May and June. Gardening is maddening in Calgary. Palm trees grow here.
I’m just sayin’…
And Victoria has, or at least had, a thriving Pagan scene.
BC… Vancouver Island… mountains… must go back…
My aunt used to live in Courtenay. Visiting her was a rare treat (3500 km away, remember). And she would always call in February and talk about how the flowers were coming up, while we Ontarians struggled through the depths of midwinter.
A friend’s parents had a cottage on Savary Island in the strait. There was a palm tree in front of it.
Vancouver Island is quite nice. I’ll concede that.
Gardening in Calgary is only maddening if you try to plant things that won’t normally grow here. Virtually every plant we’ve stuck in the ground at my house has grown far beyond our expectations with little or no fuss – it’s simply a case of choosing the right plant for the right place.
Chinooks kick ass. And they look cool too!
Yeah, mostly mine when I lived there. Freaking headaches!
Should I mention there’s at least 5 microbreweries in Victoria, or is that too OTT?
Yes, your lichen garden is likely quite stunning.:p:p
(note I am half Canadian myself)
It’s possible, but the money required is more than what most people would call “a bit” - $1 million in most cases, or $500k if you are investing in a “targeted employment area.” More details here.
I loooooove good beer. Actually, I just love beer And my friend who’s doing his PhD in Vancouver says it’s a great place.
This list just keeps getting longer and longer… at least I won’t have any problems finding jobs, considering I’ll be searching on half the planet