Anybody moved out to Yukon, NW territories, or even Nunavut?
Oct 8th 2009, 7:19 pm
#16
Part Time Poster
Joined: Jan 2004
Location: Worcestershire
Posts: 4,219
Re: Anybody moved out to Yukon, NW territories, or even Nunavut?
, and in reality walking down the streets in parts of New York will feel much more dangerous than a small town.
Same as the case in Canada, a lot of the crime in these small small communities tend to come from Native communities where there is a lot of alcohal and drug consumption. These facts tend to screw the numbers and bottom line you are extremely safe in any of these 3 very rural.
.
Same as the case in Canada, a lot of the crime in these small small communities tend to come from Native communities where there is a lot of alcohal and drug consumption. These facts tend to screw the numbers and bottom line you are extremely safe in any of these 3 very rural.
.
That would seem true if you tried to analyze it by manipulating the statistics , the reality is there is more crime per person, you’re more likely to run into it, the areas under discussion are primarily native, you walk the street you’ll see it… lots of natives and lots of drunks most native
I’ve been north, upper Alberta, NWT and Yukon, beautiful views nice scenery and some jobs in tourist land, outside of that its grim and poor
This is an area which makes some money in the few months tourists want to come, the rest is mining, welfare, drugs, alcohol or a combination of your choice , it’s as close to the wild west as you’ll want to get..
Oct 8th 2009, 7:28 pm
#17
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Jun 2009
Location: Finally back home in Scotland
Posts: 1,031
Re: Anybody moved out to Yukon, NW territories, or even Nunavut?
Unfortunately, heavy drinking of more than just the regular substances, suicide and drugs are a way of life in Northern Canada. Education for the children is way below average and costs of living extremely high as everything has be flown in. Remember paying $12.00 for 1lb of apples, and they were not even nice. North West Territories is not so bad and if I was given choice would go Yukon, Whitehorse's temps are sometimes warmer than way down south. Great for the people, very bad for the animals.
YOu honestly cant look soley on crime statistics numbers to compare what it is really like to live somewhere. If you look at the stats the provinces with the lowest crime rates are the ones with the vast majority of the population. Similar to the United States, New York has a relatively low crime rate because there population is enormous compared to other smaller cities. But that still doesnt negate the fact that NY has a fair amount of crime, and in reality walking down the streets in parts of New York will feel much more dangerous than a small town.
Same as the case in Canada, a lot of the crime in these small small communities tend to come from Native communities where there is a lot of alcohal and drug consumption. These facts tend to screw the numbers and bottom line you are extremely safe in any of these 3 very rural.
For example there were a whopping total of 11 murders in 2007 in these 3 territories combined. While there were over 84 murders in the city of Toronto alone.
Same as the case in Canada, a lot of the crime in these small small communities tend to come from Native communities where there is a lot of alcohal and drug consumption. These facts tend to screw the numbers and bottom line you are extremely safe in any of these 3 very rural.
For example there were a whopping total of 11 murders in 2007 in these 3 territories combined. While there were over 84 murders in the city of Toronto alone.
Oct 8th 2009, 8:17 pm
#18
Born again atheist
Joined: Jul 2005
Location: Europe (to be specified).
Posts: 30,259
Re: Anybody moved out to Yukon, NW territories, or even Nunavut?
How to lie with statistics. Although the rate is high, the volume is much lower than is clear on Wikipedia since there aren't 100,000 people in the Yukon. Where the population is less than 100,000, they have extrapolated (that is increased) the crimes to give a x in 100,000 figure so all provinces are comparable.
"They" haven't increased the crimes, they've simply expressed the crime rate per 100,000 people to get conveniently sized numbers. If you'd like to have them per 1000 people then perform the massively complex mathematical operation of dividing the given numbers by 100. With practice you can even learn do this without using a spreadsheet.
Oct 8th 2009, 9:06 pm
#21
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Jun 2005
Location: Oz -> UK -> San Diego
Posts: 9,912
Oct 9th 2009, 1:45 am
#22
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Dec 2007
Location: Calgary
Posts: 2,092
Re: Anybody moved out to Yukon, NW territories, or even Nunavut?
My sister lived in Yellowknife (YK) for 7 years. Her OH was a manager at a diamond mine. I visited a couple of times.
Impressions: it feel very much like a frontier town, and because of the dark and cold (I visted at Christmas) suprisingly alien - even though I've lived in Canada for a long time. It's cold, dark and frontier like. There were so few people to work that 12 year olds were running Tim Hortons etc. Fresh food could only come in when the ice road was open, so if there was an ice jam in the river which took out the road then you were hooped for veggies and fruit. In summer the ice road is not open, so again supplies are problemmatic.
The scenary: flat, dull and brown.
And the cold is REALLY cold!
And the dark is really dark! My sister used one of those daylight lamps to help her cope: she was affected by SADS.
It's like Edmonton without the character, architecture and fancy restaurants
, except colder, darker, smaller and duller.
In summer monster mosquitos (my neice and nephew had to wear hair nets), and constant daylight - which some say is almost worse than the dark.
My wife, however comes from Whitehorse and her parents loved living there.
BTW YK is cold and dark.
Did I mention it was cold and dark?
Impressions: it feel very much like a frontier town, and because of the dark and cold (I visted at Christmas) suprisingly alien - even though I've lived in Canada for a long time. It's cold, dark and frontier like. There were so few people to work that 12 year olds were running Tim Hortons etc. Fresh food could only come in when the ice road was open, so if there was an ice jam in the river which took out the road then you were hooped for veggies and fruit. In summer the ice road is not open, so again supplies are problemmatic.
The scenary: flat, dull and brown.
And the cold is REALLY cold!
And the dark is really dark! My sister used one of those daylight lamps to help her cope: she was affected by SADS.
It's like Edmonton without the character, architecture and fancy restaurants
, except colder, darker, smaller and duller.In summer monster mosquitos (my neice and nephew had to wear hair nets), and constant daylight - which some say is almost worse than the dark.
My wife, however comes from Whitehorse and her parents loved living there.
BTW YK is cold and dark.
Did I mention it was cold and dark?
Oct 9th 2009, 1:01 pm
#24
Forum Regular
Joined: Apr 2009
Location: Toronto, Ontario
Posts: 208
Re: Anybody moved out to Yukon, NW territories, or even Nunavut?
Ive never been, but ill take your response is truth. I guess its just a different type of crime from citylife to rural areas. In one you have drivebys and such and the other you have drunk people getting into fights and doing drugs.
Either way I know I would be and feel extremely safe living or being in any of the Northern Territories (which is usually the case in large cities as well). Seeing drunk, drugged up people everyday would however have a bearing on where i choose to live.
Either way I know I would be and feel extremely safe living or being in any of the Northern Territories (which is usually the case in large cities as well). Seeing drunk, drugged up people everyday would however have a bearing on where i choose to live.
That would seem true if you tried to analyze it by manipulating the statistics , the reality is there is more crime per person, you’re more likely to run into it, the areas under discussion are primarily native, you walk the street you’ll see it… lots of natives and lots of drunks most native
I’ve been north, upper Alberta, NWT and Yukon, beautiful views nice scenery and some jobs in tourist land, outside of that its grim and poor
This is an area which makes some money in the few months tourists want to come, the rest is mining, welfare, drugs, alcohol or a combination of your choice , it’s as close to the wild west as you’ll want to get..
I’ve been north, upper Alberta, NWT and Yukon, beautiful views nice scenery and some jobs in tourist land, outside of that its grim and poor
This is an area which makes some money in the few months tourists want to come, the rest is mining, welfare, drugs, alcohol or a combination of your choice , it’s as close to the wild west as you’ll want to get..
Jan 15th 2010, 7:00 pm
#25
Beat Girl
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 16
Re: Anybody moved out to Yukon, NW territories, or even Nunavut?
Thought I would add my experience to this thread....having visited many places in Canada, America and Europe, lived in the UK most of my life but moved to Ontario for 4 months prior to coming to Yukon I have to say 'Yukon is the friendliest place I have ever been'. More importantly or relevant to this site is it has lots and lots of work!!!!!!!!!! Yes the cost of living is higher but so is the salaries - it balances out. We moved to Ottawa and after 4 months had only one job offer that we couldn't afford to live on. So we decided that we ahd to be more flexible in our outlook and started to explore areas where we would be more successful.
It is cold but it is very dry so clearing the car in the morning takes 2 seconds! Unless I am going for a walk or doing outdoor activities I simply wear a ski jacket, hat, gloves etc usual winter garb and have no probs at all getting around. The darkness is something I notice only in the morning - get light about 9:30 and I notice this morning it was a bit earlier. Evening time the darkness sets in about same time as in UK....hey in the Uk I went to work in the dar and came home in the dark during the winter...cannot see any major difference here in the Yukon.
At the moment we are living in Carmacks which is 170K north of Whitehorse. It is a small village and has more amenities than you would expect from a population of approx 400. It has a brand new school, a health centre, food store, recreation centre, day-care, social services office, bank, post office, a motel..you get the picture.
What it doesn't have for me though is 'night-life', starbucks, cinema, book shops......I drive to Whitehorse every couple of weeks and get a city fix. The rural communities are really is suited for people who want to take life really slow and easy. It is safer than where I lived in the UK....(Newcastle Upon Tyne) where is was risky standing in a taxi queue on a Saturday night!!! Here I leave the door unlocked and after being here only 3 months everyone knows who we are and now have many friends to spend time with and our kids play together.
The crime here is mainly alcohol related and child protection issues, and it tends to be pockets of the community who struggle with the functions of everyday life. However it is not 'in your face', all tends to be behind closed doors and since moving here I have not had one intimidating/unpleasant experience. Yes 'the north' has alcohol issues...hey but so does the UK, who are we trying to kid!
On saying all that I am bored out my head lol.....I am a city girl used to concrete and traffic
and although I used to complain about city living I now realise that it is part of my identity.
This is a great life experience for us......but we are looking to move to Whitehorse soon as this does offer city living albeit in a small scale. After a couple of years here getting some Canadian experience under our belts and hopefully a small amount of $$ saved we will maybe have a look at another area of Canada.
It is cold but it is very dry so clearing the car in the morning takes 2 seconds! Unless I am going for a walk or doing outdoor activities I simply wear a ski jacket, hat, gloves etc usual winter garb and have no probs at all getting around. The darkness is something I notice only in the morning - get light about 9:30 and I notice this morning it was a bit earlier. Evening time the darkness sets in about same time as in UK....hey in the Uk I went to work in the dar and came home in the dark during the winter...cannot see any major difference here in the Yukon.
At the moment we are living in Carmacks which is 170K north of Whitehorse. It is a small village and has more amenities than you would expect from a population of approx 400. It has a brand new school, a health centre, food store, recreation centre, day-care, social services office, bank, post office, a motel..you get the picture.
What it doesn't have for me though is 'night-life', starbucks, cinema, book shops......I drive to Whitehorse every couple of weeks and get a city fix. The rural communities are really is suited for people who want to take life really slow and easy. It is safer than where I lived in the UK....(Newcastle Upon Tyne) where is was risky standing in a taxi queue on a Saturday night!!! Here I leave the door unlocked and after being here only 3 months everyone knows who we are and now have many friends to spend time with and our kids play together.
The crime here is mainly alcohol related and child protection issues, and it tends to be pockets of the community who struggle with the functions of everyday life. However it is not 'in your face', all tends to be behind closed doors and since moving here I have not had one intimidating/unpleasant experience. Yes 'the north' has alcohol issues...hey but so does the UK, who are we trying to kid!
On saying all that I am bored out my head lol.....I am a city girl used to concrete and traffic
and although I used to complain about city living I now realise that it is part of my identity. This is a great life experience for us......but we are looking to move to Whitehorse soon as this does offer city living albeit in a small scale. After a couple of years here getting some Canadian experience under our belts and hopefully a small amount of $$ saved we will maybe have a look at another area of Canada.
Jan 15th 2010, 9:11 pm
#26
slanderer of the innocent
Joined: Dec 2008
Location: Vancouver, BC
Posts: 6,695
Re: Anybody moved out to Yukon, NW territories, or even Nunavut?
Thought I would add my experience to this thread....having visited many places in Canada, America and Europe, lived in the UK most of my life but moved to Ontario for 4 months prior to coming to Yukon I have to say 'Yukon is the friendliest place I have ever been'. More importantly or relevant to this site is it has lots and lots of work!!!!!!!!!! Yes the cost of living is higher but so is the salaries - it balances out. We moved to Ottawa and after 4 months had only one job offer that we couldn't afford to live on. So we decided that we ahd to be more flexible in our outlook and started to explore areas where we would be more successful.
It is cold but it is very dry so clearing the car in the morning takes 2 seconds! Unless I am going for a walk or doing outdoor activities I simply wear a ski jacket, hat, gloves etc usual winter garb and have no probs at all getting around. The darkness is something I notice only in the morning - get light about 9:30 and I notice this morning it was a bit earlier. Evening time the darkness sets in about same time as in UK....hey in the Uk I went to work in the dar and came home in the dark during the winter...cannot see any major difference here in the Yukon.
At the moment we are living in Carmacks which is 170K north of Whitehorse. It is a small village and has more amenities than you would expect from a population of approx 400. It has a brand new school, a health centre, food store, recreation centre, day-care, social services office, bank, post office, a motel..you get the picture.
What it doesn't have for me though is 'night-life', starbucks, cinema, book shops......I drive to Whitehorse every couple of weeks and get a city fix. The rural communities are really is suited for people who want to take life really slow and easy. It is safer than where I lived in the UK....(Newcastle Upon Tyne) where is was risky standing in a taxi queue on a Saturday night!!! Here I leave the door unlocked and after being here only 3 months everyone knows who we are and now have many friends to spend time with and our kids play together.
The crime here is mainly alcohol related and child protection issues, and it tends to be pockets of the community who struggle with the functions of everyday life. However it is not 'in your face', all tends to be behind closed doors and since moving here I have not had one intimidating/unpleasant experience. Yes 'the north' has alcohol issues...hey but so does the UK, who are we trying to kid!
On saying all that I am bored out my head lol.....I am a city girl used to concrete and traffic and although I used to complain about city living I now realise that it is part of my identity.
This is a great life experience for us......but we are looking to move to Whitehorse soon as this does offer city living albeit in a small scale. After a couple of years here getting some Canadian experience under our belts and hopefully a small amount of $$ saved we will maybe have a look at another area of Canada.
It is cold but it is very dry so clearing the car in the morning takes 2 seconds! Unless I am going for a walk or doing outdoor activities I simply wear a ski jacket, hat, gloves etc usual winter garb and have no probs at all getting around. The darkness is something I notice only in the morning - get light about 9:30 and I notice this morning it was a bit earlier. Evening time the darkness sets in about same time as in UK....hey in the Uk I went to work in the dar and came home in the dark during the winter...cannot see any major difference here in the Yukon.
At the moment we are living in Carmacks which is 170K north of Whitehorse. It is a small village and has more amenities than you would expect from a population of approx 400. It has a brand new school, a health centre, food store, recreation centre, day-care, social services office, bank, post office, a motel..you get the picture.
What it doesn't have for me though is 'night-life', starbucks, cinema, book shops......I drive to Whitehorse every couple of weeks and get a city fix. The rural communities are really is suited for people who want to take life really slow and easy. It is safer than where I lived in the UK....(Newcastle Upon Tyne) where is was risky standing in a taxi queue on a Saturday night!!! Here I leave the door unlocked and after being here only 3 months everyone knows who we are and now have many friends to spend time with and our kids play together.
The crime here is mainly alcohol related and child protection issues, and it tends to be pockets of the community who struggle with the functions of everyday life. However it is not 'in your face', all tends to be behind closed doors and since moving here I have not had one intimidating/unpleasant experience. Yes 'the north' has alcohol issues...hey but so does the UK, who are we trying to kid!
On saying all that I am bored out my head lol.....I am a city girl used to concrete and traffic
and although I used to complain about city living I now realise that it is part of my identity. This is a great life experience for us......but we are looking to move to Whitehorse soon as this does offer city living albeit in a small scale. After a couple of years here getting some Canadian experience under our belts and hopefully a small amount of $$ saved we will maybe have a look at another area of Canada.
I agree with this. I spent a summer (3 months) in Whitehorse last year and loved it. The amenities for a city of it's size were impressive. Found it v. v. easy to make friends.
I love being back but something about WT has stuck with me...I keep thinking about it...it's not like anywhere else I"ve been in Canada. Outside of here it's a place I'd consider living. It's kind of a weird mixture of losers who can't make it down South (agree there are a lot of opportunities up there) and amazing people who are attracted by the lifestyle. It's also very European - met lots of German, dutch and French expats.
BTW, I'm not saying you're a loser, HA! Was thinking more of some of the cradles I met who clearly couldn't hack it and the only reason they had the jobs they did in YT is share lack of people.
Jan 15th 2010, 9:31 pm
#27
Beat Girl
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 16
Re: Anybody moved out to Yukon, NW territories, or even Nunavut?
he he - didn't assume you were calling me a looser.... we geordies (folk from Newcastle UK) have thick skin
I too can see the pull of YT, but I think someone has to experience it to appreciate it. I'm sure one day we will move back to a concrete jungle and traffic jams but will always look back on our time in YT with fondness.
I found that having no job/income/foreseeable prospects in Ontario was sooooo stressful and the competition was much more of a hurdle than I expected. This made us become more flexible with our 'wishlist'.
I love the slower pace of life in the north........it is so civilised. People have time in the day to talk, make new friends, take a lunch break, just do things other than work, cos it only takes 5 mins to commute
I too can see the pull of YT, but I think someone has to experience it to appreciate it. I'm sure one day we will move back to a concrete jungle and traffic jams but will always look back on our time in YT with fondness.
I found that having no job/income/foreseeable prospects in Ontario was sooooo stressful and the competition was much more of a hurdle than I expected. This made us become more flexible with our 'wishlist'.
I love the slower pace of life in the north........it is so civilised. People have time in the day to talk, make new friends, take a lunch break, just do things other than work, cos it only takes 5 mins to commute
Jan 15th 2010, 9:37 pm
#28
Born again atheist
Joined: Jul 2005
Location: Europe (to be specified).
Posts: 30,259
Re: Anybody moved out to Yukon, NW territories, or even Nunavut?
he he - didn't assume you were calling me a looser.... we geordies (folk from Newcastle UK) have thick skin
I too can see the pull of YT, but I think someone has to experience it to appreciate it. I'm sure one day we will move back to a concrete jungle and traffic jams but will always look back on our time in YT with fondness.
I found that having no job/income/foreseeable prospects in Ontario was sooooo stressful and the competition was much more of a hurdle than I expected. This made us become more flexible with our 'wishlist'.
I love the slower pace of life in the north........it is so civilised. People have time in the day to talk, make new friends, take a lunch break, just do things other than work, cos it only takes 5 mins to commute
I too can see the pull of YT, but I think someone has to experience it to appreciate it. I'm sure one day we will move back to a concrete jungle and traffic jams but will always look back on our time in YT with fondness.
I found that having no job/income/foreseeable prospects in Ontario was sooooo stressful and the competition was much more of a hurdle than I expected. This made us become more flexible with our 'wishlist'.
I love the slower pace of life in the north........it is so civilised. People have time in the day to talk, make new friends, take a lunch break, just do things other than work, cos it only takes 5 mins to commute
Jan 15th 2010, 9:39 pm
#29
Beat Girl
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 16
Re: Anybody moved out to Yukon, NW territories, or even Nunavut?
lol - funnily enough I do!
Jan 15th 2010, 9:58 pm
#30
Account Closed
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 7,284
Re: Anybody moved out to Yukon, NW territories, or even Nunavut?
I know someone, a Canadian, who moved to Iqaluit. She had a one year contract and stayed for 2. Working in a restaurant she earned enough in tips to live on and her salary was used to pay off her student debts within 6months.
No booze unless bought and drunk in a bar/hotel/restaurant. You can bring some in with you but no off sales allowed. She liked it better than Peterborough..
No booze unless bought and drunk in a bar/hotel/restaurant. You can bring some in with you but no off sales allowed. She liked it better than Peterborough..