Sara in NWT

When we were deciding to move to the Northwest Territories we spent a great deal of time budgeting. Yellowknife has the highest cost of housing anywhere in Canada. (I am paying $2850 plus electricity to  live in a 3 bedroom condo!) But it wasn't just rent or a mortgage we needed to account for, it was all the other expenses- food, running a vehicle, sports, and all the little things that add up. We didn't want to make a move for higher salary but find ourselves poorer for the move. Turns out we over budgeted. Groceries is the first place we over budgeted. We assumed groceries would be as expensive as when we lived in Grenada for fresh foods. Unlike Grenada where at least there was an ample supply of inexpensive local fruits and vegetables- the north has a short growing season and everything needs to be trucked in. About the only local thing we buy is fresh eggs from Hay River, which cost about 50 cents more a dozen but we support local farmers. However the cost difference has...

While Twitter is abuzz (daily) with Trump’s latest gaff or sexual predators in politics and entertainment, Canadians prefer to generate their excitement via the weather. #ONStorm or #BCStorm are often trending on Twitter. It is interesting to note that the weather as an “event” is relatively new. Growing up in rural Ontario it was frequently -20, and yet we rarely had weather alerts or winter storm warnings. It was a given that people would adjust their attire for the weather outside. We used to call a “snowstorm” – snow. Sometimes it was a snowstorm, and sometimes we had blowing snow advisories, but that language of an advisory is very different than a watch or a warning. An advisory is meant to inform you so that you can act. It assumes that the audience is intelligent enough to come to their own conclusions about the content. Twitter with its 140 characters or the endless media cycle seems to be targeting an audience whom it believes is either too inept or too distracted ...

It has been a few years now since I have sworn off high heels. I saw a post similar to this picture, that showed how unnatural your foot is in a heel. Even a small heel. So I donated all my heels and moved towards much flatter footwear. However, giving up the pain of gorgeous shoes meant that I had to settle for rather boring and kinda ugly flats. Turns out people up here have that problem licked. Moccasins and mukluks. Moccasins are the short version of mukluks and mukluks are generally for outside (although I do see people wearing a hybrid inside that is mid calf). Before moving here I would have said a moccasin was a slipper- to be worn at home in the morning. I was wrong. People here wear moccasins at work and it makes so much sense. As anyone who works in an old office building knows, the coldest part of you is your feet. This takes care of that problem. It also makes your co-workers really stealthy as there is no tick, tick, tick of a heel. In fact when I do wear even a bit ...