The last word on Canadian Winters

[nmunnery]

Sorry for mispelling Rotarua NZ

[mikecwm]

here in the UK, some 200 people died last winter of hypothermia because they couldn't afford to heat their homes although I agree I did not know any of them.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/he...00-a-year.html

A few more than 200 died from cold in the UK I believe. Those silly warmists don't want to know about that.
Of course in Canada no one can leave their home from October to April anyway or risk being flash-frozen like a fish finger before they make it to the car.

I believe it's spelt Rotorua - lovely place - except for the bad egg smell. Stayed there 30 years ago on a 6 month NZ cycling tour.

[AlanMexicali]

Originally Posted by Cafreeb12

I am from the southern U.S. and I LOVE summer and always did. I miss the long hot summers swimming in my sisters pool etc. Summer has never been hot enough or long enough here for me and I never got used to winter. I'm not an out door winter kinda gal and hate winter sports. LOL!! HATE WINTER. So that's my preface. Now here's the thing though, there are still some very special things I do enjoy short term in winter. Christmas has snow! It's gorgeous outside at times though bleak when the winter stretches into March and April. Even though I do not like winter much, I love it the rest of the year here and I've been in Canada 30 years. The quality of life cannot be beat and winter is a trade off that I find worth it beyond measure.

My son was raised here and he's a true Canadian kid. Loves winter, shrugs it off and enjoys it. He went to stellar schools, got a great education, had great healthcare *something he needed since he has disabilities* You'll have to decide if the quality of life is worth the trade off but, for someone even like me who despises being cold it HAS been worth it. Let me say that I have a low body temp due to a medical condition so it's hard for my body to stay warm or warm up and that plays a part in why I do not like winter at all. Even still it has been so worth it to live here. I have always been able to extend my summer by traveling home or going on a trip elsewhere to someplace nice and beachy like the lovely Jeckyll Island I used to live on. Yes, I lived on a WARM ocean side island for five years before coming here. It is STILL worth it due to the quality of life issues I mention above.

I had to laugh at whoever said they get irritated with the people who get chipper in winter..hahaha! I too find myself irritated by it sometimes. Last winter it was freezing out and I had a grocery store visit. A woman walked by me and said "It's nice and brisk out eh?!!" *grumble grumble* It was minus 30!! I don't call that "brisk" I said to myself *self you will go to heaven because you've done your time in hell* hahaha! STILL WORTH IT!!

So, even for someone like me living in Canada has been a complete blessing. I wouldn't trade my years here for anything. Canada has much to offer and you CAN move to some place warmer here like Vancouver if you can afford to live there should you chose to. But even if you don't, there's a lot here to recommend. If you hate winter, you won't like the five pounds of clothes you need to wear, you wont' like shoveling, you won't like how long it drags out but, you WILL LOVE the society, the country, the people, the attitude of Canadians who seem to care for their fellow citizens so much. And if I was brutally honest, even I would say there might be some things I would miss about winter should I never see another snow flake.

Thirty years in Canada, raised my child here, plan to die here. Winter even if you hate the cold is NOT a reason to not consider Canada for your future home. I have never regretted it.

Did anyone mention "cabin fever" yet in mid winter?

[nmunnery]

Originally Posted by AlanMexicali

Did anyone mention "cabin fever" yet in mid winter?

I thought that was a myth! Who spends the winter shut up in a cabin, there is too much to do outside. I will agree however that come groundhog day I start to look forward to summer but in our neck ofthe woods even though the last snow does not go until early April in seven weeks we can be in 25c and by the end of June in the 30's.

[AlanMexicali]

Originally Posted by nmunnery

I thought that was a myth! Who spends the winter shut up in a cabin, there is too much to do outside. I will agree however that come groundhog day I start to look forward to summer but in our neck ofthe woods even though the last snow does not go until early April in seven weeks we can be in 25c and by the end of June in the 30's.

No it is not a myth. It happens.

[nmunnery]

Originally Posted by AlanMexicali

No it is not a myth. It happens.

Sorry, I was being a little tongue in cheek. However it is a fact that Finland has the highest suicide rate in winter and it is much higher in the rest of Scandinavia and Iceland than in Canada. The major factor is the dark winters, lack of sun, not the cold. If you have lived in Ontario you will know that winter is much more sunny than lets say, the UK. Short days but the sun can even feel warm although the temp is -20c. Skiing and skating on those days, and there are many ofthem, is beautiful. I have never felt more depressed in the winter than during the dark, raining, damp, miserable English winters.

Anyway I think I have said all I want to on the subject.

Take care!

[byline]

I spent 14 winters in southeastern Ontario, and I can honestly say that I don't know what a "normal" winter is there. We had everything from more snow than we could handle some winters, to very little snow but bitterly cold temps others, to very little snow but mild temps and lots of rain or freezing rain in still others. We lived in one of the cities affected by the massive power outages that resulted from the Great Ice Storm of 1998. My Canadian husband told me he was glad we were married by then, or he's sure I would have left him and fled the country.

Now we're in Nova Scotia, and the weather here has been rather different: much milder (not as hot) over the summer, but also much milder (not as cold) in the fall. So we'll see what happens this winter!

Sue

[AlanMexicali]

Originally Posted by byline

I spent 14 winters in southeastern Ontario, and I can honestly say that I don't know what a "normal" winter is there. We had everything from more snow than we could handle some winters, to very little snow but bitterly cold temps others, to very little snow but mild temps and lots of rain or freezing rain in still others. We lived in one of the cities affected by the massive power outages that resulted from the Great Ice Storm of 1998. My Canadian husband told me he was glad we were married by then, or he's sure I would have left him and fled the country.

Now we're in Nova Scotia, and the weather here has been rather different: much milder (not as hot) over the summer, but also much milder (not as cold) in the fall. So we'll see what happens this winter!

Sue

Did you spend that time near the Niagara escarpment, perhaps St. Catherines or Niagara On The Lake area?

[byline]

Originally Posted by AlanMexicali

Did you spend that time near the Niagara escarpment, perhaps St. Catherines or Niagara On The Lake area?

No, those locales are in southwestern Ontario; I lived in southeastern Ontario (south of Ottawa, east of Kingston), right along the St. Lawrence River.

Sue

[adamd]

Spent last xmas over there in brampton,on and jeeeeeez never been so cold. I don't know how you guys do it!