Reader Questions

In the spirit of not usually having any idea what to write about these days, I've decided I'll start answering reader questions again. If you've written me a comment that ends in a question mark, you'll notice it went unanswered. Well, I'll try to start answering them again. However, think about your question before you ask. If you presume it's going to require me to spend time finding the answer, or spend time writing the answer, I won't answer it. I'm not going to go out and take photographs of things for you and I'm not going to engage in time-consuming research to find what some random word in Inuktitut is. Maybe someone else will but I have a Nintendo Wii and a comfy bed, and I prefer those things over unpaid research.

Recent reader questions...

Q: "Do you have a picture of the palteua subdivision that I heard so much about in Iqaluit."

A: I assume you mean the plateau subdivision? No, I don't. I have photos I took looking at town from the plateau, but not photographs of the houses there. They're just new, nice looking houses.


Q: I am originally from Ontario as well and am interested in moving to Iqualuit to be a research analyst (if they will hire me). What is it like being an outsider there?

A: It's about the same as being an outsider anywhere else. Iqaluit isn't very traditional, chances are you will only feel the stress of moving to a new town and figuring things out. English is spoken everywhere and the percentage on non-inuit here is about 40%. So you won't really be an outsider, you'll just be another person living and working here.


Q: If you could sum it up in one sentence or so, what is it that makes you love the north so?

A: One sentence! That's difficult, you know. But okay, you got it. What makes me love the north is that I can go outside and hear absolutely nothing, just complete silence. I love quietness. I'm aware there are many quiet places in Canada, but I wound up here and that's what I choose to love about it.


Q: What is your job?

A: Sorry, but I do not share that information publicly. I work for the federal government, that's all you need to know.


Q: Is there stuff to do for children? activities?

A: In Iqaluit, yes. There are sports teams and if your kids are young enough, there are daytime playgroups. In Rankin Inlet there were some sports teams and gymnastics. There is also Sparks/Brownies/Guides/Rangers/etc in some communities, it would just depend. I don't know about smaller communities.


Q: Can someone eMail/post a typical grocery list cost? Milk, bread, bananas?

A: I had plans to do this before I moved out of my old house. I can't remember if I kept all the receipts. If not, you can still expect a post like this from me in the next 3-5 months or so.


Q: What kind of internet connection is obtainable in Nunavut?

A: Qiniq is available in all communities. Check the site for packages. Northwest Hell Tel also provides Internet in some communities.

Q: Also, I know there are no roads, but is there a chance any ATV trails or the such exist that could get you into the area?

A: Possibly, but I have no idea. You'd have to ask somebody in Thompson or Churchill.


On a completely opposite note, I have a question for anyone able to answer. Does anybody have experience with I Shop 4 U, or with buying IKEA items online (from the IKEA site)? Their site doesn't list any shipping prices and the only way to find out is to call them.

Advice

I've seen an influx of people about to make the move north, so I had the idea for this post.

This is open to anyone who's ever lived in the north.

What is your #1 northern moving tip?

Please try to give more thought out answers than "Bring warm clothes" or other obvious things. The point is to give advice that a person moving north wouldn't necessarily have thought of yet.

My tip is to buy all the household things you need before you move north. Anything household-related is very expensive and there is little selection (usually none at all!). So buy your waste paper baskets, cooking utensils, small appliances, and cleaning supplies before you come. Also, stock up on dryer sheets before you come. They weigh virtually nothing so they aren't a burden to pack, and when you see the prices of fabric softener here, you'll be glad you have your sheets.

(posted by Jaime)

New Course Day

In case anyone is interested, I started a new class today called Management Communications. It's great because I get my second textbook so far. My tuition is ridiculously cheap and it included books. I am lucky to have ended up at the ideal college for me: cheap, close to home (a whopping 100 metres!), small, and personal. Although I was looking forward to attending Fanshawe College in London, I am much more happy in such a tiny college. My program now has about 8 people in it. I was thinking today and I realized our campus has only 3 classrooms plus a "lecture hall" (a small room) and a computer lab. There is literally no possibility of getting lost, which is something that always worried me about southern colleges...as lame as that is!

I am looking forward to the rest of this class because I think communicating is something I do well.

Our instructor for this course is also a newbie to Rankin, although she just arrived and is only staying for the duration of the course (about 2 weeks). She's from Ontario, too. It was nice to talk about Ontario for a little while today. She told me that she's going through a bit of culture shock, which I think is interesting. I think Jeff and I researched the crap out of Nunavut before we came, so overall we weren't shocked. Admittedly, the only shock to my system was the home-cooked meals. Jeff and I ate out every single day during the month of July and probably most of May and June, too. By the time we moved here, we were so used to giant portion sizes that I was constantly hungry. Now I'm just the opposite; I hardly ever eat anymore!

One thing I've been thinking about lately is care packages. Jeff's mom sends up some packages sometimes and a few other people have told us they're going to send us one. Of course, they all want to know what we want. I find it pretty hard to come up with something on the spot like that, but the more I think about it, the less I really miss or want. Maybe I'll feel differently when we go to Ontario next year on vacation, but right now the only thing from Ontario that I would really like is a Homestyle Chicken Fillet Combo from Wendy's. That's about it. Heh, I should add the fact that you shouldn't let my newfound indifference towards retail therapy stop you from sending us free stuff. ;)

So I beg of you fellow Nunavummiut/Nunavikkians (please for the love of all that is holy, somebody correct me) ...what would you want in a care package?


A Wendy's Homestyle Chicken Fillet, Jaime's only real request.


(posted by Jaime)

Questions

A few questions to those who would know:

1. Jeff and I are looking at winter boots from Winnipeg Outfitters. We'd like to buy most of our winter gear from the same place to cut back on shipping. I've found some nice boots (seen here) but they are only rated to -40C and the temperatures here can get down to -50C.

My question is, would -40C be good enough? I own wool socks and during the winter I'll probably be wearing the wool socks over a cotton pair of socks. Fortunately I live 1 minute from school and 1 minute to the Northern, so the majority of my time spent outside in the cold will be for less than 60 seconds. Of course, we do plan to get out on the ice and land this winter too, but that would only be a few times.

Maybe it's trivial, but I am trying to buy things I like aesthetically as well as for their practicality. I know I'll be wearing this stuff many times and for hopefully more than a few years so I want to like it and feel good wearing it.

For the ladies reading this, I also plan on getting these. As of right now, the warmest and most rugged pair of shoes I own is a pair of Nike runners so I figure I need to work on my sadly southern-Ontario-wussy footwear collection.

2. Are ski goggles a necessity? We don't want to buy anything we don't need.

3. Also, if anyone has ever purchased anything from Winnipeg Outfitters, we'd like to know if you had a good transaction or not.

(posted by Jaime)

Poll

Yeah, yeah. I know. Enough with the entries today.

Well I can't sleep and I was lying in bed thinking about people I miss which led me to this idea. Please answer it, even if you're just our parents or whatever. It also took me about 45 minutes to find a poll that would work on Blogger and then I had to edit the script so it didn't look messed up. So after all my hard work, I deserve some accurate answers! :)

Who are you?


Someone you know in person.

A regular online reader whom you've never met.

Someone who Googled their way in looking for info.

Neither, just passing through.



View Results

I have edited the wording here to better suit the answers I'm looking for, so don't be alarmed if what you selected is worded slightly different on the poll's result page.

(posted by Jaime)