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Post by bixaorellana on Aug 19, 2009 0:26:14 GMT
......... of misconceptions, that is. Let's ask each other questions about where we live, as we surely must have foggy, completely incorrect notions about various other parts of the world.
For instance, Canada -- is all of Canada locked in a giant freeze from October to June? What do people do then? Do they stay indoors as much as possible?
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Post by imec on Aug 19, 2009 1:02:20 GMT
Not all of Canada, but that is pretty much true for Manitoba, Saskatchewan, all but the Southern part of Ontario and all of northern Canada. As for what people do, it would be misleading to say we don't stay inside for much of the time but we also get out a lot too.
Cold, doesn't mean cloud - and in fact on the prairies, cold usually means clear. We have an awful lot of VERY sunny days in January (usually the coldest month). As well, on the prairies, when it's cold it's still VERY dry, so you can put on warm clothes and actually stay warm outside (I find it very difficult to stay warm in areas such as Toronto, where the temperature is higher but the dampness is brutal).
There is nothing like a walk in the dead of winter (as long as there's no wind) either on the road, on the frozen river or on a packed trail through the woods). The sound is incredible - a silence you can actually hear when you're still (very hard to describe) and amazing noises when your boots are moving over the surface. The bare trees can look very dramatic against the white backdrop - and shrubs whose bark is yellow or red look incredible. (I'll take some pics this winter - most of what I have are buried in boxes somewhere).
Kids like to toboggan, skate, play "road hockey" (boots, not skates). Adults like to Nordic ski or risk there lives on snowmobiles that can go faster than many cars. The longest ice skating trail in the world is created on the Assiniboine River. We have a winter festival, "Festival du Voyageur" which celebrates the fur trade of the 18th and 19th century, largely created by the French.
On the surface, it sounds like hell to be in a place where everything is frozen (we plug in our cars to keep the engine relatively warm), everything is white and exposed human flesh can freeze in less than a minute when it's very cold. But if anyone comes to visit, I guarantee they will have a time more wonderful than they could imagine and one they will never forget.
Edited to add - it's NOT October to June, but it often IS November to the end of March and sometimes even into April a bit
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Post by traveler63 on Aug 19, 2009 1:55:08 GMT
That everyone in Arizona hibernates when it is hot and that there is nothing but desert. Not really. Also, remember that we do have mountains, skiing (snow) lakes and rivers. So, if you want and can get away from Phoenix, Scottsdale, Tucson a lot of people go to the White Mountains and it is beautiful. The picture was taken in Greer, AZ.  |
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Post by bixaorellana on Aug 19, 2009 2:39:10 GMT
Oh, Imec ~~ you really do evoke the beauty of a cold, bright landscape. I have lived where there is ice and snow, but mostly when I was a kid. The last time I was in that kind of climate was about 30 years ago, in Boulder. Everyone kept saying, "But it's a dry cold!". All I could do was to wonder if my buttocks were simply going to snap off in the cold. I think I don't realize how much of Canada must be still unspoiled, as Canadians frequently talk about getting out in the woods or tobogganing or other activities you can't do in town. You really do make it sound like a lovely place to live. Wow, T63, I would have guessed all day long and never said Arizona for that picture! My mother lives in southern Oklahoma, so I know the kind of blast furnace heat you're describing. Of course my attitude to heat is that at least it's not cold.  Who has questions? Who wants to expound on where they live? |
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Post by Kimby on Aug 19, 2009 4:58:13 GMT
Small misconception about Montana, which is known as the "Big Sky" state.
That really only pertains to the eastern two-thirds, the prairie part of the state. The western third, where most of the people live - and most of the tourists visit - actually is too hemmed in with mountains and tall pine trees to have a very expansive view of the skies.
Though gorgeous sunsets are nice, I'll take the mountains and the trees, thanks.
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Post by bixaorellana on Aug 19, 2009 5:00:18 GMT
I didn't know that! Guess it stands to reason, when one thinks about the mountains there. Kimby, when did Montana get discovered by the tourist and Hollywood crowd? Did that influx affect where you live?
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Post by Kimby on Aug 19, 2009 5:39:28 GMT
We live in the same neighborhood as Andie MacDowell lived in when she rented a house here while building her lavish ranch house in the Nine Mile Valley about 30 miles away (she's since divorced and sold it), and author James Lee Burke lived up the road till he built a house near Lolo, about 15 miles away (his daughter - not named Alifair - still lives in the house up the road). Huey Lewis (& the News) lives on the Bitterroot River about 30 miles from here, and has made the news more than he wants to lately, since a court case overturned his attempt to privatize a small stream, cutting off public access which is protected by Montana law.
However, most celebs who move to Montana seem to keep a pretty low profile, and don't seem to glam it up. Maybe around Bozeman - which is near the Paradise Valley (Livingston area) where lots of celebs have places - is more Hollywood glitzy. I'm not sure when the celebrity invasion began, perhaps when California, Colorado and Utah got too crowded, or too mundane. Montana is sort of a celebrity "last frontier".
But personally, we made our choice to live here based on previous trips through Montana when we were much younger, before we knew each other. Something about the mountains and scenery drew us here. And the skiing, hiking, canoeing, fishing, etc, didn't hurt either.
A lot of people claim that there is a force of some sort that draws people here, similar to a vortex in Arizona, that pulls some people here without their understanding why.
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Post by bixaorellana on Aug 19, 2009 15:15:40 GMT
That is truly good to hear, Kimby. It sounds as though almost all the famous people who've come there came for the same reasons you all did, with the same respect for the integrity and beauty of the place.
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Post by imec on Aug 19, 2009 16:26:52 GMT
Maybe around Bozeman - which is near the Paradise Valley (Livingston area) where lots of celebs have places - is more Hollywood glitzy. Big Sky Country Big House Country   |
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Post by Kimby on Aug 19, 2009 21:34:53 GMT
imec is right, the Big Sky area (meaning around Big Sky ski area) is definitely trophy house country. But these mostly aren't celebs, they are just folks with more money than sense!
They build a gazillion-dollar house that's big enough for all their friends to visit at once, then use it only a few weeks a year. But pay taxes and heat and insurance, etc. for it all year.
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Post by bixaorellana on Aug 20, 2009 0:20:23 GMT
Gawd -- you just want to weep looking at that hillside!
Here's a popular misconception -- that it's warm in the US Gulf south in the winter. Ha! It may not have the extremely low thermometer readings of other parts of the US, but it's a damp, seeping cold that can make you miserable. Sometimes temperatures in the mid-fifties cause uncontrollable shivering. People who move down there from further north are disconcerted by how unpleasant a little cold can be.
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Post by Kimby on Aug 20, 2009 0:30:29 GMT
Yep, bixa. Humidity sucks, whether it's hot or cold out.
People in Wisconsin where I grew up always think Montana is SO COLD, but you don't know cold till you've walked up Bascom Hill on the University of Wisconsin campus in the middle of a brisk Wisconsin winter wind. BRRRR.
Western Montana is more influenced by Seattle's weather than the Canadian air masses that sweep down into eastern Montana. You can often look at the temps on the weather map and the low ones are all east of the (continental) divide. The mountains keep the cold out.
They also tend to keep the sun away too. We have far less winter sunshine than would be ideal on this side of the divide. No solar panels for me, though in Bozeman they might make sense.
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Post by bixaorellana on Aug 20, 2009 1:55:23 GMT
Hmmm ~~ isn't it that high, clear sky that makes for cold weather as described by Imec? The low cloud cover must keep it a little warmer.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 20, 2009 5:04:34 GMT
A lot of people think that Paris looks like this: But fewer than 3 million people live inside the city limits and "Paris" looks more like this to another 10 million: |
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Post by bixaorellana on Aug 20, 2009 5:07:01 GMT
 Do large parts of Europe look like that now? I saw a contemporary movie that took place in Madrid and didn't recognize anything. It all looked like outskirts and high-rise apartments.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 20, 2009 6:54:34 GMT
Yes, lots of the big cities are all "outskirts and apartment blocks." People just can't afford to live inside the cities anymore (most of the urban cores have become richer and more sophisticated, rather than what happened to places like Detroit, for example). In my own office, out of my 25 or so colleagues, I think only about 6 of us live in Paris itself. The only reason that I could afford it was that I was happy to live in a "poor" part of town. And it won't be a poor part of town anymore in about 5 years, with so many things being redeveloped and renovated.
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Post by traveler63 on Aug 20, 2009 17:59:43 GMT
Kimby, Your posts about Montana are very informative. I have always wanted to visit but just haven't put it on the list. Also, I know what you are saying about the West side as our next door neighbor's parents live in Kalispell. K2, I agree, from what I have seen of both France and Italy, most people live in the outskirts because it is truly more affordable. Some more misconceptions of Tucson and Arizona. The desert is all the same. One way to dispell that is to go to the magazine Arizona Highways site, and look at some of the photos. They are truly beautiful and if you haven't seen Sedona, you will be surprised.  This is Red Rock State Park - obviously in the fall. This is the cover of Arizona Highways September issue and was taken in Tucson www.arizonahighways.com/images/db/static/909/port909B2.jpg?0.4442619328265576 |
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Post by lagatta on Aug 20, 2009 20:22:50 GMT
Not all of the suburbs are quite as dreary as kerouac shows - though some stretches certainly are.
I cycled into December and started again quite early in March this year (I don't cycle when there is more than a bit of snow and it is icy). It really varies, and I think we - and certainly southern Ontario - are more likely to get a melt in the winter than the Prairies, with the exception of Alberta which gets the warm chinook wind.
I'd MUCH rather live here, despite the humidity (which hurts my arthritic joints) than in the Prairies, as I simply couldn't breathe in such severe cold.
Though I'd certainly rather live somewhere with mild winters, even if they are somewhat rainly.
We get more winter sun than Paris, but far less than the Prairies. We are an island, after all.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 20, 2009 20:29:06 GMT
And yet, we generally have very mild winters in Paris. Quite a few years, we have not gone down to freezing a single day within the city limits. (Not at all true last winter when we had a dusting of snow on the ground and ice in the gutters for two weeks.)
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Post by Jazz on Aug 20, 2009 20:49:57 GMT
I have found in my travels that the difference between the inner, old city and the suburbs is very similar throughout the world. Be it Toronto, Paris, Mexico City, London, Caracas, Prague, Budapest etc....Kerouac's two first photos remind me of one of the most moving parts of the film Paris, je TAime. The section called Loin de 16e or, Far from the 16th. The young mother each day leaves her baby in the suburbs while she travels by metro to attend to the baby of the wealthy couple in the 16th Arrondissement. It also brought back memories of driving from the airport to inner Paris. I have not spent any time in the suburbs of Paris and can't comment on them. However, I seem to be an 'all or nothing' person...loving the heart of a city, or loving country isolation...little in between.
Today, I think it is almost impossible to buy a home in the inner core of major cities. This is on a sliding scale. Cities such as Paris, London, Rome and New York are almost out of reach. Even Toronto has become like this to a lesser degree. To buy a house with land (not a condo) within the city would probably cost, rock bottom 350,000Euro for a very modest dwelling. Three years ago the cheapest inner city property was 110,000Euro for a garage only!!!
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Post by lagatta on Aug 21, 2009 14:40:22 GMT
I've been perfectly happy staying in some of the older suburbs: Montreuil, St-Ouen, St-Denis and Pré St-Gervais come to mind. But once I had to stay with a colleague at her HLM home (very nice flat, and pleasant, well-kept grounds and buildings) far from Paris in southern Ile-de-France. We shopped only at a hypermarket, and at the twice-weekly market at her HLM itself (great African textiles). It would have been a very boring life; friend has a car so does not mind, but without a car it is a long commute into Paris.
Jazz, NYC and San Francisco are more like Europe and Canada in that respect, but there are many US cities where the suburbs are still seen as more desirable than the city centre - of course Detroit is an extreme example, but the impact of so-called "white flight" is still felt to some extent.
I couldn't bear living outside the city; don't mind a short stay in the country to enjoy nature, but I don't like country life and I can't abide isolation. I feel cooped-in and dependent. I would like a stay in a village in southern France or Italy where I could get round by bicycle (that is, not very high hills as where the imecs were staying; rolling hills are fine and good exercise but I mustn't overtax my joints any more.
Where I was staying in Montreuil was very similar to the 20th arrondissement in Paris, but there are also public housing estates. Needless to say, the areas closest to the métro stations are the ones gentrifying to some extent (though none of these areas will ever become the 16th).
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Post by Deleted on Aug 21, 2009 15:35:26 GMT
I love living in Atlantic Canada. It's the most picturesque area of Canada that I have ever lived in. One of the best things about living here is that so much of it is still unspolit, (hopefully it will stay that way for some time to come). I can go to any number of beaches and only a handful of people will be there. We have miles of forest land, one of the oldest universities (if not the oldest) in Canada. It really is a beautiful area. The village I live in is surrounded by lakes, but the ocean is not too are away, where tourists come to do whale watching and many other activities. Some of the houses date back to Victorian times, and just seem to bring history back to life. And people are the friendliest I have met anywhere. The winters can be cold, but are not as bad as some the other areas of Canada. Last year we only had a sprinkling of snow in December, and by April is was melting away and getting warmer. Many people around here have snowmobiles, go skiing, snowboarding and participate in other winter sports. Here's some pics of the area:      I had to stop myself from posting any more pictures, there's just too many areas that catch my eye. |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 21, 2009 16:54:29 GMT
Fantastic pictures, Deyana. It would be nice to give us at least a vague idea of where you live. There are no stalkers here.  |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 21, 2009 19:35:21 GMT
Kerouac, I live in a very small village, (actually around 7K outside of it). It was named after one of the very first settlers here.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 23, 2009 20:20:49 GMT
I was just wondering which province. Nova Scotia?
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Post by spindrift on Aug 23, 2009 21:50:35 GMT
Great pictures, Deyana.
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Post by bixaorellana on Aug 23, 2009 22:06:47 GMT
So, no one has any questions, misconceptions, anything like that about places where other members live?
I neglected to say thank you to Kerouac for the photos showing how much parts of the first world look like other parts. Only by squinting at the pictures could I even guess it might be somewhere French-speaking.
No one has asked, but from looking at other travel forums and talking to people in the US it seems that the news presents Mexico as a lawless place where one could lose ones life at any moment. Nothing could be further from the truth!
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Post by Deleted on Aug 23, 2009 22:47:20 GMT
Kerouac, I'll PM you the location, in hope you may visit one day.  Thanks Spindrift, I didn't take those though. Bixa, it's true, Mexico does have a certain reputation. Glad that you have clarified that misconception. |
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Post by hwinpp on Sept 3, 2009 7:25:31 GMT
So, no one has any questions, misconceptions, anything like that about places where other members live? ... No one has asked, but from looking at other travel forums and talking to people in the US it seems that the news presents Mexico as a lawless place where one could lose ones life at any moment. ... Damn right! Drug cartels fighting each other, the police and the army too! If it wasn't for the food I'd never consider going there! ;D ;D ;D |
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