Re: How was your 1st winter there
 

I found the most frustrating thing was the inevitable putting on of layers and boots for the shortest trip out anywhere. To start with it's novelty then it becomes a chore. However I certainly didn't have any health issues and didn't get my first cold until my third winter although it proved to be a bad one.

Re: How was your 1st winter there
 

I also did not get a single cold our first winter here, which was amazing cos I normally suffer 2-3 bad cold a year, but I did start getting them once I started work back in a hospital ...... too many sick people in hospitals!!! :frown:

Re: How was your 1st winter there
 

The winter in P'boro ontario was fine. no snow till january, no huge dumps of snow or storms though the locals tell me it was extra cold a few days- around minus 20 though i cant remember exactly it may have been colder

I am finding the heat/summer worse, and am suffering from many mosquito bites, even with loads of DEET.

Re: How was your 1st winter there
 

Just to echo a few other posters here - our first Winter (05-06) was not that bad. Lowest it reached was -26C and that was only for about a week or two. There were suprisingly numerous above zero days! We were well prepared as the people we bought this place from were concerned about how us "British City Folk" would cope with the winter weather, so they gave us loads of advice and also let us buy winter gear and have it shipped ahead. We were completing on the house purchase mid Nov., so it was pretty cold on our arrival! I'd second whoever recommended the Columbia Sportswear clothing...really snug, light and hard wearing. Ours was all off eBay and still looks in great shape :)

Last winter wasn't particularly cold, either, but again there were a couple of weeks that were much colder than the rest...this time the low was -35C, I think. The main difference was the snowfall - WOW!!! Even people who have lived here for years said that it was exceptional. We have 5' high fence posts that were under the snow, and that's on flat land, not where it drifted!:eek:

Regarding getting ill - none of us have had anywhere near the number of coughs, colds, gastro, etc., that we used to get in the UK, but maybe that's just down to moving from a city to a sparsely populated rural area? We see/meet people more often than we did in the UK, but it's the same group of people, rather than loads of strangers in a more confined area.

Re: How was your 1st winter there
 

Our first Vancouver winter, 1998, it rained 80 odd days on the trot. Mind you the summer was blistering after.

Re: How was your 1st winter there
 

Three winters so far and find the novelty of lots of snow enjoyable for at least the first month. After that it tends to pale a bit. Don't find that I get any sicker during the winter here than in UK but do have more aches and pains from shovelling!:D

Re: How was your 1st winter there
 

Not wanting to sound dumb here but what's all this about plugging your car in? :confused:
Plug it in what? The mains? Is this every car or certain types?
Enlighten us please.
Ta.

Re: How was your 1st winter there
 

Block heater. Stops the engine block from freezing. Yes, you plug it into the mains. Not all cars have them.

Re: How was your 1st winter there
 

Its interesting to read how you all got on in the winter. As I am going in the summer I am only taking mainly all my summer clothes. Taking a couple of jumpers but will buy winter stuff out there when I get there and its time for it. That way can keep the weight down in my suitcases. I think my winter clothes are probably no good for winter in canada. I will have to buy thicker jumpers and proper boots. I am heading out to Toronto.

Re: How was your 1st winter there
 

The first winter was fine, the novelty of proper snow and cold temperatures, of seeing the bay steaming like a warm bath and finaly freezing, and the general newness of it all carries you through for a few years. Illness was not a factor, its too cold for bugs to breed I guess.

Now the novelty has worn off, the last couple of winters have dragged on. Its fine for a few months, but march and april could easily be skipped in my book if we could just go straight to May.

Re: How was your 1st winter there
 

I feel the exact same way about the Jan-March thing in the UK. I don't mind the cold and dark up till round the New Year - in fact I quite enjoy them - but then Jan/Feb/March can get you down. There's nothing to celebrate, no public holidays, no light in the evenings, too wet/cold/windy or all three to get outside in the garden, etc. But then April pops up and you're away again.

Having said that we haven't seen any real sun here in southern UK since those hot couple of weeks in April. My memories of Canadian summers are that they are hotter and have bluer skies than this damp little island.

I recall trying to drive in Canada during a snowstorm; it was quite the experience! I thought it was pretty goddam exciting actually, but I suspect that this was because of the novelty factor, as has been pointed out by people on this thread with much more experience of the winters.

Re: How was your 1st winter there
 

Hmm. I dont even think of it as winter until around Xmas and the first proper snowfall. November and December are just the wet cloudly part of the fall after the nice sunny golden leafy part. Winter I generally think of as a sunny season now.

Theres alot to be said for curling up in the evening by a roaring fire with the wife, or a good book, and the sunshine in the winter makes it bearable. I guess thats why I prefer Ontario to BC.

Re: How was your 1st winter there
 

The first three Winters can be classed as follows:

"Oh look!!!"

"Oh well..."

"Oh f*** not again"

Subsequent Winters involve more complex terminology, such as "contractor" and "Expedia".

Re: How was your 1st winter there
 

Sorry for sounding daft, but what does AWD stand for and what is the difference between that and a 4WD and is one better than the other?

Lisa

Re: How was your 1st winter there
 

The first winter wasn't so bad, although it was long. Waiting for a bus in -29 with -40 wind-chill was a bit extreme. I certainly learnt how to dress properly rather quickly. It was a little strange seeing the locals getting on the bus in ski goggles, scarfs and wearing coats that look like they were going on a polar expedition. Oh and the temperature gage in the car stuck at -32 for a few days.

Having said that we only had a couple of really short spells of where the weather was -29.