A guy recently emailed me on Gay.com saying he was thinking of moving up here, and asked me to tell him about Whitehorse. Here's my reply:
These are all excellent questions, and ones that I wish I had asked first...lol. Don't get me wrong, I love it here, but there are some surprises, both good and bad. I'll prolly type more info than you need, so I'll apologise in advance:
Rental Housing: I've heard it's not that good, however I've lived in the same apartment since I moved here 5 years ago (from Oshawa) so I'm not very knowledgeable on the subject anymore. Umm.... not sure if there's any websites about it, but Googling Whitehorse and Rental should be a good start.
1BR Apt: Rent here is RIDICULOUSLY cheap, when comparing similar places in Toronto, and even in Oshawa. I have a two bedroom and it was $700 a month when I first got it. A similarly spaced apt in Oshawa cost me $1100. However, I believe everyone else in the building is paying about $850 right now, but the landlord says she likes me and hasn't raised my rent beyond th $25 last year. Expect to pay between $650 and $900 for a 1 bedroom.
Condos: A lot have gone up in the past few years. If you are able to, I am told that this would be a better option than renting. I'm considering it, but haven't got the means quite yet.
Utilities: Water is free. It comes from the Yukon River and is minimally treated, since everything's still pretty "natural" and untainted by pollution here. It tastes wonderful, no chlorine or any other of the chemicals I've tasted in Toronto....lol. Electricity (for me) is about $50/month in the summer, and upwards of $130 in the winter. Phone about $45, internet between $45 and $80 (depending on what package you choose). Cable, not sure, haven't had it since 4 years ago.
Fruits and Veggies: Food in general is more expensive, as it has to be trucked up from down south. Actually, it's a lot more expensive... I recall visiting Toronto last summer and buying the groceries at Superstore, and for the same amount of money, I got about twice the product. But, the selection is the same. Sometimes in the winter, the trucks fall off the road (no, seriously) on the way up here, and we go without some things for a few days.
Weather:
Summer: Next-to-perpetual sunlight. June 21st, sunrise at 3:30am-ish, sunset around 2:00am-ish. Never fully dark between mid-May and mid-August. Temperature as high as 35° and as low as 5° at night. Any combination in between. We had snow one day in June last year. It seems to be a five-year cycle from what I've seen so far, when it comes to overall conditions. Super hot one year, then a little crappier the next and so on. Last year sucked. We had like 2 weeks of sunshine, and the rest of the time is rained and was cloudy.
Winter. Next-to-perpetual darkness. Dec 21st, sunrise at 10:30am, sunset around 3:30pm. Grey and depressing from mid-Sept to about mid-April. Your body actually suffers from lack of sunlight, and everyone is depressed. Buy some Vitamin D or go tanning. Seriously. Temps, doesn't matter day or night, you could get anything. The lowest I've experienced is -48°. Very rarely above -20°C during the day. Some days calm, more often winds from hell. But... NO HUMIDITY. In summer or winter. Makes winter more "bitter", but less kill-me-I'm-chilled-to-the-bone. The jacket I bought up here that works great (as in I had only a t-shirt on under it and felt warm), failed miserably in Toronto. All due to humidity. Snowfall is weird due to the extreme cold and lack of humidity. Apparently snow isn't formed below -25° so it all happens at the beginning and end of winter when the temps are transitional.
Cars new and used: Tons. People apparently like buying new cars up here. There are 7 major dealers in town (Ford, GM, Toyota, Honda, Kia, Subaru and Nissan) and GM alone has about a hundred used cars on the lot at any given time. New cars are generally about $1000 more expensive here, again due to shipping. Used cars are used cars wherever they are. Here's a link to the Ford dealership's online inventory (GM doesn't seem to have one...) http://apps.dealerconnection.com/dealers/whitehorse/usedvehicles?lang=en
Driving: Summer is great. 'nuff said. Winter, it gets a little hairy. Snow buildup on the road sometimes gets as thick as 6" before they plow. Black ice is everywhere, especially after they plow. Snow tires are recommended, however I've survived so far without them... You will notice a distinct lack of guardrails on the roads. Everywhere. It's nuts. There are sometimes literally 200 foot dropoffs in some places, and no guardrails. But, you get used to it, and you learn to drive carefully. Oh yes, I have to tell you this: Square Tires. It gets so cold at night, that the flat spot on the bottom of your tires (from having it parked all night) doesn't go away when you start driving. It takes about 1km before they gets pushed back into a round shape. Block heaters are not enough. You NEED a battery blanket, or an oil pan heater.
Employment: Everyone in every position in every company is paid WAY better up here. Tim Horton's starts at $12.50/hr. And even though supplies are more expensive here, you still walk away with more. The best jobs are with the Territorial Gov't and the Feds. Most employers, after you've been there 2 years, give you what's called a "Yukon Bonus", which is where they hand you anywhere between $1000 and $2000 per year for the purposes of taking a vacation. "Escaping" Whitehorse once a year (never more than two) is ESSENTIAL to surviving up here.
Taxes: Typical, but some perks. Firstly, rent paid is irrelevant, and does not get claimed anywhere. But... that's because we get a credit of $7.50 per day for living up here. If you live alone, its $15 per day, which comes out to about $5475. You also get to deduct the costs of your trips "out" to places down south. Kinda a thank you from the Gov't for being so kind as to populate the North...lol
I'm not sure what else to tell you. During the winter, I hate it here. HATE IT to the point of saying "fuck it, I'm outta here." But then I look up and see a mountain next door, or the Northern Lights, or stop and listen to the absolute silence and think "Crap. I do love it here. Crap!" Sounds romantic, but it's the truth. During the summer it's just great. If you are someone who likes hiking, canoeing, kayaking, or anything "outdoorsy"... this is the place. I'm not overly active myself, but every day I tell myself I should be...lol.
Anyhow, I guess that's enough info-overload for now. Lemme know if there's anything else I can tell you about, and I'll be happy to. Check out Whitehorse on GoogleEarth. The pics are from 2006, but not much has changed. Like I said, I love it here, and I know if I ever did move down south again, I would surely miss this place.
Enjoy!
Steven
