Answers

I guess it's time for a post, eh?

Life is back to normal post-holidays. I've been working out a lot, eating healthier, and going tanning. I also booked my Christmas holiday but that's not important right now.

I have yet another chapter in the book of Jaime and Her Ignorance Toward Vehicle Ownership. It's a little thing called registration. Tomorrow marks 1 year of owning my beloved Suzuki. It also marks 1 year since I had it registered and insured. My insurance is no problem, I got that covered. I pay an exorbitant amount to cover myself, it's under control. What I don't get is why the hell my registration expired in April and not August. I didn't pay much attention to the sticker on my polar bear license plate, but I knew somewhere in the back of my mind that I needed to renew it sometime in August.

Wrong! Last weekend I was pulled over by the lovely law enforcement officials of our dear city as part of Take Back The Night. The By-law officer took my insurance. "Ha!" he laughed, "Your insurance is expired!"
"No it isn't, I know for a fact it expires August 25."
"Yeah and what's the date today?!"
"August 14."
"Oh yeah."

That was a bit nerve-wracking but I chilled out and handed him my registration.
"AH HA! This is expired! It expired in April."
"Oh sh...no, really?"

I escaped without a ticket, but not without a lesson: Nunavut's Department of Motor Vehicles has seemingly arbitrary expiry dates for registration. If you know why this is, please explain.

And now, I've been getting quite a few question-comments so I'm going to answer them here.

Q: My family is also looking at Iqaluit. I am a Registered Nurse, so am looking at government positions, wondering what the housing is like that they provide?

A: There are many houses, townhouses, and apartments. Housing is decent. Any more specific, and you'd have to find out where you're living because each unit is different. I don't work for the GN and I don't live in GN housing so I'm not much help.

Q: Should I buy a car here or there, if there should I fly there..can you even drive all the way there? Is it safe, or just as safe as Ottawa for a single girl to live? I notice the salaries are quite high but does that just match the cost of living or can you actually make more money there? Is housing readily available? Is there a region that you recommend for someone that will be going to the North for the first time?

A: Whoa whoa whoa. First of all, you cannot drive to anywhere in Nunavut. You have no choice but to fly. You can buy a car down there and have it sealift'ed up, or you can buy one here. There are decent options in the larger communities as far as I know. In Iqaluit there is anyway.

It's reasonably safe but like anywhere in the world, if you put yourself in a dangerous situation, you may not be lucky. I don't walk around town by myself at night, but I don't in Ontario either. Other than that, no, you're not going to be mugged walking down the street in broad daylight. Not by a long shot.

Housing is available depending where you move and who your employer is. Some jobs provide housing, others don't. Iqaluit has some private accommodations, but it's better to have a place secured before you move here, and that goes for any community.

Yes, you will make money here assuming you don't spend it all. Don't assume it will be easy to save, but you probably won't be broke.

If you're going to the north for the first time and aren't sure if you'll like it, I suggest Iqaluit. We have familiar amenities here such as a gym, movie theatre, restaurants, bars, etc. If you're up for a challenge, anywhere in the north is your arctic oyster.

P.S. You won't be able to drive between communities. I suggest you do some more research before committing to moving here.

Q: I want to move to Nunavut. Can you email me at you@email.com?

A: Sorry, no. I do not send out general "how to move here!" emails. Please ask me a specific question and I can attempt to answer it. If I sent emails to everyone who left these comments, I'd have to quit my job and chain myself to my computer. I'm not a mind reader, you have to tell me what you want to know.

Q: Is the people friendly there? I want to spend some time there to know the mother nature and original living style of Nunavut. Is anyone willing to like to keep some one and show places?

A: Nunavut is very friendly. I can't answer your second question because I'm not on speaking terms with every single person here. Only they can answer for themselves.


As a general note, I enjoy answering questions, but please think your question through first. Don't make me smack my head against the keyboard, please. It's brand new and very pretty and I don't want to break it.

Also, welcome to Nunavut Tara and Jordan & Steph!! I've been impatiently checking your blogs for updates! I look forward to reading your observations.