dbd33

https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...esults-indoors

I, for myself, stepped outside earlier this week.

Danny B

When I first moved to Canada I was outdoors every weekend in the summer doing something 'outdoorsy'. Now 11 years later I can't be bothered. I'd rather sit on my deck and enjoy the weather with my feet up drinking a cold one.

Don't get me started on the winter, I hate the cold.

BuckinghamshireBoy

Good on you, I've been outside a few times myself this week, but likely to far less visually stimulating landscapes.

I do wish that the Guardian had posted a link back to the survey, that would help with credibility.

We all are capable of skip-reading, but sometimes these fill-in articles annoy rather than inform....

"a typical Canadian is more likely to spend their leisure time cuddled up in front of a television."

Err....

Atlantic Xpat

Nice picture of Western Brook Pond, Gros Morne in the article. I've been to that spot myself. Mind I went during the winter, by snowmobile rather than hiking for a day!

dbd33

I've been there. I don't remember the details but assume I went in the sedan chair.

MillieF

scrubbedexpat091

I go out sometimes, but not often. I don't really enjoy it.

Aviator

Sunny weather - out riding enjoying the mountains and spectacular scenery.

woodworm

I always thought of myself as an 'outdoorsy' person.... hiking, sleeping in a tent, skating, snow-shoeing etc..... that was when I arrived here 15 years ago..
Now I am still outdoors, but I find a few more excuses : too dangerous (bears, cougars, lions , tigers) , too cold , too windy, too many bugs, too hot, too wet, too smokey, too much to do, nobody to go outside with, too far to get to a nice place, too much traffic to get there, etc....

sad , really.... anyways, today I drove to Point Roberts and walked in a park and I enjoyed being the only person there... that's the good part about nobody being outdoors any more: when you finally decide you go outside, it's an exclusive experience, because all the others are home on the couch, eating and getting fat :-)

ann m

Atlantic Xpat

Might one suggest that getting older is a contributory factor to finding reasons not to go outdoors? I've pondered on whether I am more outdoorsy here than back in the UK. In the UK I spent my leisure time boating, generally in high speed craft on the ocean. Immigration and two kids put paid to that from a financial perspective & my FiL passing here put paid to the family sailing we used to do. I didn't hike, seldom biked and didn't have a dog to walk except when visiting my folks. Here we have more access to countryside than I did in Essex. (& probably more than in other places in Canada). With small kids, one of which is unable to walk for long periods, we don't hike although we do walk and we do have two dogs to walk daily. Our big outdoors thing is ATV/SxS riding - nice to get out into the backcountry with the family & go for a ride, cook some food outdoors etc. But family time and commitments gets a bit in the way of that as does the weather. (of which we have plenty in Newfoundland!).

Something we do, do more of, is pottering/working around the yard. Probably because we have an acre here and had a 14x70' backgarden & no front garden in England! Does that count as being outdoorsy? We do try and encourage the kids to play outside as much as possible and I'm very proud of their ability to get completely covered in mud having fun rather than sitting peering at a tablet!

Oakvillian

I was thinking very much along the same lines. As a kid, I spent loads of time outside (albeit not in Canada at the time except for a brief vacation in the winter of 1974-5). Playing football/rugby/cricket/marbles/conkers/whatever, or just hanging out with friends on bikes. My kids are very much the same today, except that their indoor downtime is somewhat more likely to involve an iPad than a Meccano set, but they're still outside during daylight leisure hours more often than not.

In my young adulthood, outdoor leisure time was a bit more hardcore - multi-day hiking and hillwalking trips, intensive sports training, long walks to country pubs with the young lady of the moment... now it's much more sedate and mostly involves hanging out in the backyard, sitting in the bleachers watching the kids play sports, walking the dog. But given the choice, in reasonably clement conditions, of "cuddled up in front of the television" or outside enjoying the fresh air, my preference would almost always be for the latter.

BristolUK

Most of my outdoors time in England would be playing amateur football - did that up to around age 40 - watching football, cycling on Saturdays and summer evenings with a pub often involved, on holiday or weekends away.

I did a fair amount of cycling in early days here, getting to know the city and then just shopping and other errands. Sadly there's little here to compare to the cycle tracks or routes in and around Bristol. The only football is the University team and, of course, the season is in summer

rivingtonpike

Our yard takes up the lion's share of our outdoor time. I never thought I would have such a downer on trees as I do now. Every time we cut down a line of trees, there's another line of them behind, so it seems to make absolutely no difference whatsoever!

Phaedru5

I love the outdoors and was the primary reason for moving to the Okanagan, and I am outdoors almost every day, I cant sit for more than 10 minutes infront of the television and am only indoors when work demands, spending too many hours infront of a computer screen. I certainly find though that Canadians themselves are far less outdoorsy than those of us that move here - I have spoken to several about this who suppose it is because they grew up with it and dont know any different and know its always there if they want to go and do something outdoorsy so dont feel the need to rush out there. I, on the other hand, spent 30-something years of my life wishing and dreaming of living somewhere that I could hike, bike, camp, dirtbike minutes from my house, swim in warm clear lakes, basically everything I did in the southern alps for 1 or 2 weeks once a year on summer holiday, then ski and explore in the winter, like i did for about 1 week every other year. Now I have this eternal playground on my doorstep and I cant get enough of it. Yes, ok, its only my first year here but I cant see myself changing, I cant sit still long enough. So the article is probably correct, about Canadians, but not about those who relocate here for what the Canadians seem to take for granted.