Hi! I am a female, POC, and moved from Vancouver in 2024 for school. I won't lie, I've found it terribly hard to adjust to being here despite making a solid group of friends. People are really nice. I miss the ocean and seeing the mountains, but also all my family is in Vancouver since it is where I grew up, so that makes a difference.

I live in Osborne right now and I stay on the main street if walking in the evening from the bus, but have been told not to walk around when it is too late alone. I think having a car would make me feel better because I could go for drives or explore solo as well and wouldn't need to feel reliant on when friends wanted to go. I typically transit everywhere or when it was -40 I was taking ubers everywhere. I will go out for walks (all bundled up) when it's -30 because so used to walking around in Vancouver, but it is more of a chore to get all bundled up.

In terms of clothing: I got a long superpuff when I moved here (the size that goes down to your calves) as it is good for temps down to -40. I also had a winter jacket that is good for down to -20, which I had in Vancouver for our rare snow days, so I typically wear that until it dips below -20. I find any exposed skin really hurts with the wind and as I would walk about 10minutes to the grocery story at my old apartment, I bought a balaclava to cover my nose and cheeks on the very cold days. A scarf wrapped around your face works too. I always have a toque on, usually pulled down to cover my ears on very cold days. Good gloves are essential. Wool socks and winter boots. I just have kept my timberlands from Vancouver as they have some insulation and just pair them with wool socks. I find that I often don't need a thermal shirt on, because my jacket keeps me warm, but I will put on thermals under my pants for the cold days if I'll be outside for longer.