Airseir

Ours are really freindly - they even say please and have a nice day.

Rich_007

Oh yeah ours did that way back when it was warm and they could lounge around all day basking in the sweet sunshine in Waterfront Park.
Oh and they give directions too

Now its colder they're a bit more cranky like. It's a tight market now as there are far less bling-bling tourists chucking their cash around

> We'll have to compare notes on the quality and quantity of BC interior hobo's. There's 400 in Kelowna presently, allegedly.

Rich

dbd33

Oh. I assumed the roll of quarters was for punching the bums and wondered why you didn't have a roll of pound coins like at home.

Posidrive

I tend to find that walking around with two german shepherds stops them from even thinking about approaching you

Rich_007

Why would I want to punch them ? Fair enough having a degree of caution and being aware when wandering the streets, but as far as punching them goes

I guess some people laugh at 'Bumfights' eh ?

Rich

R2D2

At -5 deg C, we in the great white north, go out strolling the vast
open countryside wearing nothing more than our under-garments and a
jolly old smile. Granted, at -30 we might resort to a beaver skin
cod-piece and whale blubber vest, but only when it gets down to -50
might we throw on our caribou jackets and partake in conversations like
'bit nippy today' or 'oh dear, I think the frost has ruined my
pertunias'.

sysclp

My husband (born in Toronto and lived in the area all his life) wears something similar to that although he is more of a button down shirt and dress pants guy under the leather jacket. He won't break out anything warmer until it gets below -10, and even then I think he is under dressed for the weather. It is a Canadian thing to pretend you don't feel the cold and to try and wear as little as possible. The joke above about the -50 and "it is a bit chilly" isn't far off from how the "born here" Canucks like to act.

Pretty Flowers

Hmm not so over here, everyone's been complaining about the weather today. Not quite cold enough for the down coat and a hat, but too cold for the regular coat...

britishvixen21

Yeah its been bloody freezing the last couple of days!! As soon as my first winter approached I realised one thing. Dorothy Perkins had not made there winter jackets for the North American Climate and off to good will ti went with all my other English bought winter apparel.

The only thing I do treasure from Blighty is the once a year package my Grandma sends of Marks and sparks long johns tops and bottoms invaluable!

I still havent mastered the art of layering i guess that comes with time, but i have new this year to the knee snow boots, that go are good to -40. a coat with a huge hood that does the same and lots of scarves, hats and gloves.

By the time im done I look like the Michelin TIre man but im warm.

A warning to all dont get ankle high snow boots thy dont work and on two very embarassing occasions last winter I lost them in snow banks and ended up on the other side with very wet and cold socks on the floor!!!

triniangel

Most of you have lived in temperate regions so you are familiar with cold. What special advise can you give me, who have lived all my life in the warm Caribbean? I have started reading up on "winter" ..my wardrobe hardly has anything with long sleeves.
Thanks.

mandyrawlinson

kicked a bit early on this one.
bought meself a columbia gortex, titanium jacket with bags of room for layers, £130 only available in europe for some reason, i luvs it, anyroom for the burberry scarf lol.

britishvixen21

All of the above really, I have a freind from Trinidad and he has never gotten used to the cold, theres only two seasons with Chris, "the summer season" and "complaining chris season"
Just lots and lots of layers, and buy it here, nothing on the Carribean market will keep you warm enough.

britishvixen21

My dog has a burberry coat for the winter he looks sooooo cute!!! and after paying out for that I got a coat from Value Village (aka Oxfam) hehehehehe

sionnach

Hey folks..
as an immigrant that has lived in Wisconsin for the last 12 years and found out the HARD way about winter, here is a little something I learned about dressing for winter.
Start out getting some long johns/thermals or whatever your local area calls them.I find that I can wear just a sweater over these for running down the street..it is unbelievable how warm these keep you as they trap your bodyheat where its needed..Parkas and a ton of outer clothing will not do this for you..Parkas and the likes are good if you are going to be outside for quite a while..like skiing/skating walking the dog etc..try buying some thermals and you will be happy..you can even wear jeans and you wont feel the wind blowing thru freezing yer hinder off.
Declan

sysclp

I moved up here from Alabama which is pretty tropical and probably gets hotter than Trinidad since I was well inland and you do get ocean breezes to cool things off. If you can wait until at least April to move up, that will help. Don't move in the middle of winter if you can avoid it, or you will never get used to the cold. Come in the spring (which will feel pretty cold anyway) and then you get to ease into the next winter so your body can acclimatize.

I wouldn't bother buying much in the way of warm clothing there as they won't sell anything of much use here. Get a few heavy sweatshirts and sweatpants to wear short term when you arrive and then go buy stuff up here. You can get one coat, the warmest and coldest rated you can find, but wait to get a real coat after you arrive. All you need is enough to get you from the airport to your hotel (or wherever you plan to stay short term) and then to shopping.