>>1936740I was once stuck in a Manitoba ditch for 10 hours after I slid off the road in the middle of a winter storm. Couldn't see 5 feet in front of me, I didn't have proper layers, food, nor equipment to survive. No one was able to get me, not even search and rescue.
At about 4am my truck battery died. I had two more batteries in the cab of the truck for this exact reason, so I wasn't too worried. The heater was on the whole night, and my feet were slightly sweaty from the direct heat. I walked to the hood of my truck, and replaced the battery. took 5 minutes total. When I got back in my truck, I turned on the heater to warm my feet, but couldn't feel it. All I felt was cold numbness. That was 5 years ago. I haven't been able to feel my feet since. A five minute mistake led to permanent nerve damage. A half hour later, the storm cleared enough for me to see a polar bear pacing around about 100 yards away. Just watching me, waiting for me to make another mistake.
People really have no idea how uninhabitable and expensive this place is during winter. Between the cold, costs and the polar bears, a northern Canadian winter is a frozen hell on earth. If your brave enough to stay north year round, your living inside for most of it. Grizzly are some of the toughest animals on the planet, but even they don't fuck with winter, and hibernate through it.
Overall, I wouldn't live there year round since the winters are so bad. Your only able to truly enjoy the outdoors half the year. I live in Niagara region now, but still visit the north during the summer to see my mom. I genuinely think the areas two hours away from Toronto are equally amazing /out/ places, and much more accessible for the majority of people.
Tldr: Amazing during the summer, deadly during the winter
