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| Subject: For Richard re: Winnipeg |
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You might want to check it out for yourself. I found it pretty depressing (sorry again to any who live there), though it has been a few years since I´ve been there. Literally you drive across the prairie (beautiful) for ages, blink, and you´re in the middle of the city. Very odd.
There were some interesting places, like the Forks, an experimental type shopping and restaurant area at the confluence of the Red and Assinboine rivers, but downtown struck me as pretty seedy. Lots of homelessness, and as I understand it, quite a bit of crime. I don´t think it´s high on many lists for immigration purposes.
Sorry if these impressions are no longer valid. The area around the city is beautiful, and Riding Mountain Provincial Park nearby is lovely. Lake Winnipeg is amazing, and Lake of the Woods is a stunning area and not too far away (a few hours I think).
[29-06-2008,00:04]
[**.189.189.252]
wannabecanadian |
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(in reply to: For Richard re: Winnipeg)
winter and mosquitos are enough to strike it off my list. :)
[29-06-2008,00:28]
[**.155.160.37]
Sharon |
(in reply to: For Richard re: Winnipeg)
OMG the mosquitoes!! They were by far the worst I´ve ever experienced. While backpacking in Riding Mountain, our dog was literally rolling around on the ground to try to get them off of him. When we´d get to camp, he´d hide underneath the tent while we were trying to set it up, then crawl in and refuse to come back out. We had to wear full rain gear in 90+ degree weather just to try to escape them. Awful. But then we saw the northern lights, and all was good. It really is pretty in that part of the country.
[29-06-2008,00:34]
[**.189.189.252]
wannabecanadian |
(in reply to: For Richard re: Winnipeg)
they are foundly called Manitoba´s national bird. After that comes blackflies.
my friend was an aircraft mechanic in Winnipeg. He told me one time they used to sweep dead mosquitos off the floor of the hanger with a large push broom and a shovel.
no thanks.
is Vancouver the only place - of course not... just the only place for lil old me!
[29-06-2008,00:40]
[**.155.160.37]
Sharon |
(in reply to: For Richard re: Winnipeg)
You guys have some really good information and experiences. Winnipeg scratched off my list now too. Was almost going to make the trek up there from Chicago. So much for the movie "My Winnipeg". But maybe worth to see from a local´s point of view.
Those mosquitos sound pretty bad. Have a bit of them now here too now due to the unceasing rains these past many weeks. Same rains that have hit Iowa so badly.
I guess some of this could apply to all the prairie provinces as well - Regina, Saskatoon (Saskatchewan).
[29-06-2008,01:13]
[**.53.225.29]
Richard |
(in reply to: For Richard re: Winnipeg)
Sorry, meant to add this. Long ago I visited Jasper and Lake Louise in BC. Is it still as unbelievably beautiful as I remember it?
[29-06-2008,01:16]
[**.53.225.29]
Richard |
(in reply to: For Richard re: Winnipeg)
yes. I am going there for a conference in September. I can hardly wait. It is a national park so hopefully nobody is going to mess with it for a very long time.
[29-06-2008,03:03]
[**.155.160.37]
Sharon |
(in reply to: For Richard re: Winnipeg)
ps... did not mean to scare you that badly about Winterpeg. they have great perogies there!
[29-06-2008,03:08]
[**.155.160.37]
Sharon |
(in reply to: For Richard re: Winnipeg)
Winnipeg may have changed since I was there about 10 years ago, and I don´t want to be unfair to the city. Some time ago I read about some ambitious projects the city planners had in mind, hoping to make it a more attractive place to live. Not sure if they ever came to fruition.
I do know they´ve had their issues with crime, although in Canada that means a very different thing than we are used to in the US. I think in Winnipeg the problems were mainly within the native community, which seems to really struggle there (as in cities here as well).
Re: mosquitoes: I don´t think anything we have anywhere down here can prepare you for Canadian mosquitoes. I lived for many years in Minnesota (who also considers mosquitoes the state bird, and for very good reason) and the annual onslaught there was nothing compared to what was experienced on the Manitoba prairie. The don´t talk much about them on Corner Gas, but I´d suppose the same would be true in Saskatchewan as well. :)
[29-06-2008,08:43]
[**.189.189.252]
wannabecanadian |
(in reply to: For Richard re: Winnipeg)
Mosquitos in Saskatchewan are not as bad. There is a lot of water around Winnipeg so the environment is perfect for the pesky creatures.
There is good and bad in every city. I saw a play last Wednesday called the Back Kitchen Release Party. It was about a Newfoundland group of friends who had formed a bit of a garage style band. The songs are all about sinking ships, no work, and leaving the horrid island. The story line takes them across the country in a Volkswagon van to Vancouver. En route they encounter hilarious realities about Canada (like Saskatchewan being so flat and without landmarks).
Anyway... on their journey they discover that home is not so bad after all. why? because its home.
If you ask someone living in Winnipeg where is a great place to live - I can bet you many would say - right here.
[29-06-2008,15:00]
[**.155.160.37]
Sharon |
(in reply to: For Richard re: Winnipeg)
Something keeps sticking in the back of my mind. It´s the comment from anonymous about Windsor, "this city is good for u if u work in Detroit area and wants safe place to live. because there r no jobs here."
Brings back the jobs issue many here have talked about. Is it that these cities and towns are on the economically depressed border, or is it a wider jobs issue throughout the country? Although Windsor is smaller than Detroit, there must really be a problem if the observation is don´t come unless you can line up a job on the U.S. side first. Gives pause to think.
Agree, best place is often one´s lifelong home (i.e., Winnipeg film maker), where you feel psychologically comfortable and everything´s familiar. I think most people are in that mode and remain rooted all their lives on one place. The real challenge is to climb out of that routine, and find a new, different, and fresh environment. They´ll always be ups and downs, and of course regrets, but one never knows what great things are on the other side unless one tries something different.
Other comment I wanted to make is that Canada is so huge, it´s just too expensive and time consuming for us outsiders to personally investigate and explore every potential place to live. So this board and friends here have been invaluable for many of us trying to choose and make the right decision.
[29-06-2008,17:09]
[**.53.225.29]
Richard |
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