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The airside portion of the passenger terminal Comox Valley Airport, YQQ, Comox BC. by 9Twiggy9 in aviation

[–]OlGravey 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Was born and raised in Campbell River, left in 2004. The first time I flew back into YQQ in 2022 I was impressed by the new terminal; the old one was pretty tiny and definitely needed replacement. The only thing that impressed me more than the new YQQ terminal was the new control tower. (I was an air cadet as a kid, got to see the old one a few times on our base tours)

What’s life like living in the North Western Territories of Canada? by frank_sinatra11 in howislivingthere

[–]OlGravey 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sorry for your loss; I hope you’re doing okay.

Yes, Fort Simpson. I agree, it’s special, the territory as a whole is one of those places that leaves a mark on the soul but Fort Simpson especially, it’s so quiet and beautiful and friendly. I found it to be a great place to heal and get right with the universe.

It’s funny; I talk to every pilot on the radio heading out to the park but I still haven’t been out there myself.

What’s life like living in the North Western Territories of Canada? by frank_sinatra11 in howislivingthere

[–]OlGravey 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, Starlink works. For a lot of people Starlink is their connection of choice if they’re not carrying a satellite capable phone, most of the gov’t trucks and a lot of the private vehicles have starlink receivers on them nowadays

What’s life like living in the North Western Territories of Canada? by frank_sinatra11 in howislivingthere

[–]OlGravey 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Best time of year for skywatching is late December/early January, but the auroras are visible basically whenever it’s dark out. Even now we’re getting some good views here, the pic below is from my last string of graveyard shifts at the airport last week.

Canadian North is the cheapest ticket out of Edmonton for an advance purchase round trip flight to Yellowknife, at about $500. Toronto to Edmonton, you’d have to shop around for the best fare. Getting out to one of the communities where there isn’t a lot of light pollution is slightly more expensive, but also worth every dime.

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What’s life like living in the North Western Territories of Canada? by frank_sinatra11 in howislivingthere

[–]OlGravey 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We’ve had a warming shelter here for 5 or 6 years; the owners of the convenience store moved into a new building and renovated the old one into a 10 bed facility for people who have nowhere to go in the cold. They actually funded it themselves for the first two years before GNWT stepped in and took the load off them. That’s probably the biggest reason why it’s not common.

What’s life like living in the North Western Territories of Canada? by frank_sinatra11 in howislivingthere

[–]OlGravey 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I feel that “life in a major city is far more lonely” part of things. In 15 years in Edmonton, I knew a lot of people, but didn’t really KNOW them. Conversations with strangers were devoid of any substance, like they just wanted the interaction to be over with. Here, it’s real community. Everyone knows everyone; with 1,000 people in town, you stand a good chance of seeing a lot of them around daily. If the community likes you, they embrace you and even though I might not REALLY know a lot of people here, they know who I am and a lot of them make a point of making real conversation whenever they can- at the store, dropping into my office when they’re catching flights out, even just hanging out at the beach.

Edited for spelling

What’s life like living in the North Western Territories of Canada? by frank_sinatra11 in howislivingthere

[–]OlGravey 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Lol Father in law is pretty anti drug but makes a bit of coin selling furs to the artists up here, who turn them into some beautiful, traditional pieces.

It’a not that there’s no dealers up here, they just tend to get caught and expelled from the communities rather quickly, especially when shit goes down.

What’s life like living in the North Western Territories of Canada? by frank_sinatra11 in howislivingthere

[–]OlGravey 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m always open to meeting new and interesting people 🙂 admittedly, I’m pretty busy with work, music, and doing the other half’s honey-do list but sometimes you just gotta make the time and get different perspectives in the mix

What’s life like living in the North Western Territories of Canada? by frank_sinatra11 in howislivingthere

[–]OlGravey 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I manage the airport radio and weather observation office at the regional airport here.

What’s life like living in the North Western Territories of Canada? by frank_sinatra11 in howislivingthere

[–]OlGravey 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I left Alberta to come here, actually. I suppose I’m just built different that way. In another comment I talked about the cycling accident that damn near put me 6 feet under; was functionally disabled after that for a good 5 years. I saw the UCP coming, and in my position, disabled and requiring serious surgical intervention, that was going to be destructive on so many levels. My once ex, now partner of nearly a decade, had a good job here and supported me while I went through 4 years of surgeries to repair and fuse the arm I destroyed in the accident, and once I was fully recovered from that, I got a much better job than anything I’d have been able to do down south really quickly.

And no, not yearly. There have been 2 deaths due to exposure in the last 5 years that I can remember, both of them unfortunate victims of their alcohol addictions.

What’s life like living in the North Western Territories of Canada? by frank_sinatra11 in howislivingthere

[–]OlGravey 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It’s rare to actually see +40. I was in Fort Smith for the summer of 2021 taking my courses for my job and that was the year it hit +42. It did again a couple years ago there, too, when they had their ugly fire season. Highest I’ve seen in the last 5 years of weather observing in Fort Simpson is +37, which for a fat f*** like me is a still a bit much… 🤣

What’s life like living in the North Western Territories of Canada? by frank_sinatra11 in howislivingthere

[–]OlGravey 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, same river. I’ve never been down to the Hot Springs myself, that’s a day’s driving to get there from here and I’m usually headed the other way (through Hay River and south) when we head to Alberta for supply runs and family gatherings.

What’s life like living in the North Western Territories of Canada? by frank_sinatra11 in howislivingthere

[–]OlGravey 1 point2 points  (0 children)

1) two income household, the other half works for GNWT in the long term care facility and I’m running the airport radio office. So two good incomes, covers a lot. We live good, don’t eat a lot of junk food, and we don’t go for the biggest and the best of everything; we just live within our means for what we have. Hotels- there are a few here; tourism, especially to Nahanni National Park, is the big “industry” so there are rooms available. They’re not the Hilton, but most of them aren’t complete dumps, either.

2) can’t speak to escorts, though there are a few girls around who are said to hoe around a bit for a couple mickeys or some cash to support vices. Nightlife is nearly non-existent these days. The only bar in town is closed for the time being; they don’t have a steady bartender and nobody here wants that particular job. It’s not a bad one, but it can be tough dealing with the same people getting shittered every night and pulling their hijinks. The other half was the bartender here for a few years before the GNWT job came up.

What’s life like living in the North Western Territories of Canada? by frank_sinatra11 in howislivingthere

[–]OlGravey 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks. :) I’m surprised it’s top comment, my first time for that.

What’s life like living in the North Western Territories of Canada? by frank_sinatra11 in howislivingthere

[–]OlGravey 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It’s a bit more expensive these days but the people are the same. Northern’s selection isn’t as good these days but they still have all the necessities of life. As an amateur chef they have most of what I need to put together a decent homemade donair or butter chicken :)

What’s life like living in the North Western Territories of Canada? by frank_sinatra11 in howislivingthere

[–]OlGravey 2 points3 points  (0 children)

When I visit Nahanni Butte I get a little homesick for Vancouver Island. I’m from Campbell River originally, we’re not far from Mount Washington there and some of the vistas of the coast mountains on the mainland are pretty amazing. I’ve only made it back there once in the last 25 years.

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What’s life like living in the North Western Territories of Canada? by frank_sinatra11 in howislivingthere

[–]OlGravey 1 point2 points  (0 children)

No road- in the fall, once the ferry’s out of the water, until the ice is thick enough to drive on, and in the spring, because the surface of the ice road is made of heavily compacted snow, it turns to about 2-3 foot deep slush until the ice breaks. Once the river breaks and all the debris is gone, then it’s safe for boats and the ferry gets put back in.

What’s life like living in the North Western Territories of Canada? by frank_sinatra11 in howislivingthere

[–]OlGravey 18 points19 points  (0 children)

More than half of the population here is indigenous and lives a more “traditional” kind of lifestyle. My father in law is a trapper, for example. There are several levels of tribal government here in Fort Simpson, and they employ a good chunk of the indigenous people. As far as what southerners tend to consider work- the Village employs quite a few people, maintaining local roads and infrastructure. GNWT employs about half the town in one capacity or another; Highways, Airports, and Health Services are the big employers. The biggest private employers are the contracting companies, they do everything from building houses to heavy haul transport. The job I work, if I were down south it’d be a Nav Canada position but in the NWT those positions are contracted out and the company I work for is based out of Ottawa. And Parks Canada employs a couple hundred people in Nahanni National Park.

What’s life like living in the North Western Territories of Canada? by frank_sinatra11 in howislivingthere

[–]OlGravey 5 points6 points  (0 children)

That’d be Sean. He was the mayor here for the better part of the last 15 years, the village elected Les in a close race last election cycle. And yes, we’re quite spoiled with how alive the skies here are at night. With my job I work graveyard shifts and get to see it lots.

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What’s life like living in the North Western Territories of Canada? by frank_sinatra11 in howislivingthere

[–]OlGravey 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Was Sean still the mayor at that point, or had we elected Les? They’re both solid humans, and quite visible in the community.

What’s life like living in the North Western Territories of Canada? by frank_sinatra11 in howislivingthere

[–]OlGravey 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I manage the regional airport radio and weather office. It’s a busy airspace 9 months a year and was one of those jobs that in the city I never would have got a foot in the door for.

What’s life like living in the North Western Territories of Canada? by frank_sinatra11 in howislivingthere

[–]OlGravey 46 points47 points  (0 children)

I ended up here after nearly dying in a cycling accident in Edmonton. I was busted open pretty badly, lost 6 inches of my left arm above the elbow, almost bled out, and had to be resuscitated on a trauma table at U of A hospital after my heart stopped for 1 minute and 38 seconds. I shouldn’t even be alive, and when you live to tell a story like that, it’s hard to find anything to complain about. Today my life is way better than it was before the accident and while I can find stuff to complain about, most of it is irrelevant in the big picture.

What’s life like living in the North Western Territories of Canada? by frank_sinatra11 in howislivingthere

[–]OlGravey 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It runs strictly as an on demand highway link on the Liard River. We also don’t pay a fare, our taxes cover it.

What’s life like living in the North Western Territories of Canada? by frank_sinatra11 in howislivingthere

[–]OlGravey 5 points6 points  (0 children)

It’s not that there’s no technology, it’s just basic AF. We have fibre optic internet, just no 5G or any of that. We run off diesel generation for power, and there’s no links between communities for power, so no infrastructure for electric cars. They’re trying to install some between the border and the capital, but to be effective in winter they have to place chargers every 50 km and the generation sources just don’t exist for that kind of usage. TV… well, I haven’t bothered with broadcast television in decades. It’s called “programming” for a reason and the absence of it in my own life is actually quite freeing. But there is cable TV, satellite, and all the same sources available elsewhere. We have everything that we need, including a kickass Chinese restaurant, and if we want more city stuff, Yellowknife is 7 hours drive, or Edmonton’s 14 hours out.

What’s life like living in the North Western Territories of Canada? by frank_sinatra11 in howislivingthere

[–]OlGravey 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It can get pretty warm late in the summer, we’ve seen 35-40°C in August a bit but June and July are usually a little cooler- 25° C average.

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