The true great white North.

[Swedishchef]

Hi folks.

It has been a while since I have contributed or even read the forums. And I miss it dearly.

So we have been in Inuvik NWT for over 6 months. So far so good. Here's a list of pros and cons.
Pros: we had the arena to ourselves the other day for family skate. Tons of activities for kids here. I live .8 km to work. There isn't much wind. The school is brand new, there is a great selection of food here ( see the picture of the fruitman: a guy who drives to Vancouver and back to supply stores and let people buy fresh produce out of his semi truck! Unreal)

Cons: it is very dry. Like if you clap too hard your hands light on fire. We have 2 humidifiers running and the house is at 20 percent. Our house is too small for my liking. All of us hang in the LR as there are no basements up here. I miss my old house with trees, a yard, etc. In fact that is one thing I miss: taking care of a yard lol. Never thought I'd say that. But with the right tools,yard maintenance is fun. And I miss my woodstove. Winter lasts 8 months hahahaha. But hey, no flies right?

What is new with everyone?


Andrew

 

[jatoxico]

Good to hear from you! Those northern lights look spectacular. No wood stove , what does everyone heat with up there?

 

[Swedishchef]

Good to hear from you! Those northern lights look spectacular. No wood stove , what does everyone heat with up there?

There are small black spruce locally, the odd birch. The bigger trees are 1 hr away or so. But no nice hardwoods.

So people heat with natural gas. The problem is that our Wells have gone dry or nearly dry so they mix it with synthetic gas which they ship in from Alberta. Electricity costs $0.30/KWh For the first 700 and $0.60/kwh thereafter. Not sure what the delivery fees are. Unreal eh. Furnaces run on NAT gas as do boilers. Some heating bills can cost $1000/month

My friend has a BK King and I taght him how to use it. He gets 12 hr burns per load of semi seasoned spruce.

 

[jatoxico]

I would have guessed it was windy there. Shows what I know. Crazy heating costs, houses must be super tight.

Any snowmobiling or similar?

 

[Swedishchef]

There is plenty of snowmobiling but snowmobiles get destroyed in this weather. They are not means for -40. Most guys have their engines blow within 1-2 years (from what I have been told).

 

[ChipTam]

Hi Andrew,

Fabulous pictures of your piece the NWT especially the one of the northern lights. I have a buddy who spent all of his working life in Wabush. I know that's "down south" for you but photographs of the two look similar. Congratulations on your recent move. I know you have been thinking about it for some time.
ChipTam

 

[firefighterjake]

Great photos . . . please be sure to share more in the future . . . and keep in touch.

 

[Swedishchef]

I did create a blog...It was terrible at first but got a bit better with time. During the drive out here I updated daily. Now I update every 2-3 weeks. northernadventure.org