Is the North Really that Bad

I want to call this a review although I have never really used one.

So we all know those big bright red and some times blue winter jackets better known as a Canada Goose Jacket and how you need to have one in the north! Well how true is that statement? As I think about it I think about all of the things that contribute to the argument that has gone beyond just the jacket but to the north and whether or not it really colder than the rest of Canada. Lets begin.

Pretty much all of this winter has be a cold one or so it seems. I was recently jumping around forums and news articles and found someone comments on how cold the weather has been here in Yellowknife and how they were looking forward to the spring. That was it they didn’t say that Yellowknife and it knifers were tougher than the rest of Canada but somebody else had to pipe up and bicker about how Winnipeg was cold to ya know! This person went on proclaiming that they had experienced -40 temperatures which was with the wind chill for over a week. That is fine and yes the rest of Canada in some places does get the cold temperatures as well but I don’t think they realize that Yellowknife and the rest of the north is constantly that cold up until recently we use to have -30 to -40 weather for weeks at a time with only 1 or 2 days where it was above 30. But that is not a pity cry its just a fact this year. For me its not necessarily the cold weather that effects me here in Yellowknife it is the conditions such as our roads that make the winter a little bit hard.  On a side not I would like to point out that if you live in the north by mid winter you have generally dropped the habit of saying “minus” before the number when telling someone the weather because we all know its cold out there.

What some “southern” people don’t realize is we are just like the rest of Canada (For those who live up here by choice and complain about it, you shouldn’t because you moved here, if you don’t like how it is. Leave. You should know the only road out of here.). We have most of the amenities that any town down south would have we are just a bit further away. So when some one starts looking in to coming up here, they think it will be a total culture shock. But its not! So once they actually move here they quickly realize its not the just a frozen waste land with everyone hiding inside. While doing my internet traveling I found that a lot of people coming north spring for those big, horrid, heavy Canada Goose Parkas for their everyday use. I think they are the most over rated things of the north. I have lived here for 12 year, since I was 7 years old and I have not once ever worn one of those things. Maybe this is because my mother didn’t care enough about me to spend a couple hundred dollars on a jacket but I thank her because maybe its why I can stand the cold so much better now. I actual prefer it cold inside than too warm. You must know that I did not just hide inside as a kid. I was outside all the time. Playing in the snow and doing numerous other outdoor activities were higher on my list than playing any video games and I am proud to say I have never owned a gaming console. Back to the point, which is I don’t think you actually need one and considering the price of one I have to ask, are they really worth it? Lets look at the average persons day. So you work downtown, you have got three ways to get down walk, your own ride or the bus. I rarely see as body walking with one of those parks because they are to thick and heavy to walk in, you end up sweating to much just before work. When you have you own vehicular or you get a ride from a friend you only going to be actual outside for what 30 seconds. If you take the bus you might be outside a little longer but not long enough you going to freeze. At lunch you might run across the street but that is it, and then getting home is much the same as the morning.

To sum this all up I think those who choose to move here need to research a little better and need to realize before they come up that we are not the north pole and it is not that cold that you need a Canada Goose Park. If you think about it the only time you really might need one of those parkas is if you go for a Dog Sled ride and are just sitting out in the cold  not doing anything. Expects and even common sense tells us that if you are doing any activities out in the cold you need to dress in layers so if you become to warm you can remove a layer and avoid sweating. Which can cause you to freeze quicker. Now you know what I think.

I’m The Bushman.