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Unknown
Welcome to the Move Rural Canada podcast, where every week we showcase incredible businesses and rural Northern Canada businesses that are not only growing, but are looking to hire. We're here to show you companies and communities outside of the big cities that are building stronger and more inclusive workplaces, workplaces that want and are encouraging newcomers, immigrants and refugees to work with them.

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Let us be your guides to help you find the best places in Canada to not only immigrate that build a career and settle. I'm your host, Leah Mitchell, and I am your co-host, Lindsey Rubienuk. Join us as you learn about all of the amazing career opportunities in places that you may not have ever thought of moving. Let's get started.

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Unknown

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Unknown
Hello, everyone. Welcome to Move Rural Canada. Today we’re gonna have a little bit of a solo only with the host episode being that it is November now. Lindsey and I got to thinking something that's really important for both newcomers and Canadians. Depending on where you are in Canada, is living in a country that has winter. So today we're going to really focus on what does winter in the prairies look like and what you need to be safe.

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Unknown
Right, Lindsay? You bet. I think there's, a couple important topics that we should cover. And again, as you mentioned, this is not only for newcomers, but for those who may have lived in Canada for a very long time but have not lived in the prairies. Right. So one part of Canada, in terms of winter time, you know, can be, let's say, much nicer are not as cold.

00:01:53:11 - 00:02:17:07
Unknown
So if you're moving into the prairies, we do we do have very cold winters. And it is different compared to those other provinces and territories, in Canada. And this would be, I would say, too similar to what it would be in northern Canada as well. If anything, they probably have even more precautions. But our focus and experiences are mostly in Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Alberta.

00:02:17:07 - 00:02:34:14
Unknown
But I've also lived in northern Manitoba, so I have some experience as well of how how cold it gets up there too. But let's be honest, once it gets to past -30, it's just really, really cold. Yes, yes. No. Okay, that'll be good. I'll be good to hear your perspective. All right. So let's start with the number one thing.

00:02:34:14 - 00:02:59:21
Unknown
That thing that we think, every Canadian newcomers should be prepared for in terms of living in the prairies during winter time. Well, I think number one, there's two important things. What happens to schools and what happens to work, because that's going to affect your choices, I think, as to whether you go out or not. So when we're talking about winter, we're talking about not just snow storms.

00:02:59:21 - 00:03:25:22
Unknown
We're talking about whether that's really cold. So that -25, that -30, that where your skin can freeze after a few seconds. So let's start with schools. So sure, for most people in the prairies, especially when you're living in rule now as far as I know, if you're in a city, school just stays open. Doesn't matter how cold, but what can happen is kids will often not go outside for recess.

00:03:25:22 - 00:03:51:09
Unknown
They'll have shorter amounts of time outside. Now, if you get into rural areas, things like schools can close completely. So I know where I live once it gets to a certain temperature. Number one, kids don't go outside for recess, but school is still on. But once you get and I'm pretty sure it's -45 with the wind chill, the -45 completely, or in an opposite run.

00:03:51:09 - 00:04:11:06
Unknown
Sorry. Go ahead. And so there. How would somebody know about this? And so if you are coming out and you just relocated to a rural community, is it in your school division, similar to our school divisions, where you would sign up to get a text in the morning and emails, does your work the same? Yes. Yeah. We get a we get a phone call at about six in the morning.

00:04:11:08 - 00:04:37:17
Unknown
And then then you know that there's no school. Yeah. So that's good. So a lot of people always be wondering, yeah, how would I know if this school is going to be closed. How do I prepare for the day. So I do know that schools often times try to determine it earlier on in the morning. However, sometimes there are times when it doesn't read -45 with the wind chill, but it becomes, you know, 8:00 in the morning and that's where it gets too.

00:04:37:17 - 00:05:01:19
Unknown
So it's not always a perfect working system, but I know our school divisions do try their best. And in terms of, yeah, school closures, I know our teachers are oftentimes asked to travel into the schools. Schools will remain open even with, you know, if it's -35, our schools will be open. And it is your choice to take your, child to school.

00:05:01:20 - 00:05:24:10
Unknown
But usually transportation will not be provided at that point. Yes. Yeah, there's there's that difference, right. Sometimes they just cancel busses and then school is still on or they just closed schools completely. So as a as a parent, if you have children that sort of that you have to figure out, well if you still have to work or are you calling in sick to work or are you bringing your kids with you?

00:05:24:10 - 00:05:45:05
Unknown
So that's the fun challenge. Now, something else to think about. If you work in the city oftentimes and it's just cold work is still on. So that's I know where I live that happens a lot because while we're rural, you're close to the city. People are still expected to go to work, but now the schools are closed. So and even in rural towns.

00:05:45:05 - 00:06:14:10
Unknown
So, I have not I've lived in rural Manitoba for pretty much all my life, and I do not remember any stores really closing or anyone closing, up their workplace, you know, when it's -45, you know, role model best. So, usually workplaces do remain open and they usually do say, the employer say travel with caution. And if you cannot make it in due to, you know, vehicle issues or, and you feel unsafe, then you need to call your employer and let them know.

00:06:14:11 - 00:06:41:11
Unknown
But more often than not, probably 95% of the time workplaces do remain open, no matter how cool that gets you. That now obviously we're talking about just cold, but when you get into blizzard like conditions, that can be a different story. Now for people who live in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, you know where we have the prairies. When you get a large blizzard, we often call it a whiteout.

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Unknown
For people who haven't heard of that, where you could be driving and it literally looks like there's a wall of white in front of you. You can't see past the front of your car. I'm sure. Lindsay, you've been in a few of those as well. You betcha. Every year probably. I would see on average, let's let's go from December to March, probably twice a month.

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Unknown
And then February. March is usually everybody thinks January is pretty bad, but I think that March is usually the the month where we see the most, activity in terms of whiteout. And the issue with the snowstorm is that it could happen any time of day. Right? So it's not just like, oh, they only happen in the mornings or the evenings.

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Unknown
It's, you know, you can be driving from, let's say, Dawson Manitoba, and you're going down through Biscay and you come up and you're reaching Russell, Manitoba. It could be completely different. It could be beautiful and sunny out. And then, you know, an hour and a half into your drive near Russell, it could be a total blizzard, a total whiteout.

00:07:42:15 - 00:08:05:00
Unknown
So you're right. Those are things that you have to be prepared for. Even if it's beautiful where you start, you may be reaching a destination where there's actually a blizzard or, you know, some storm cell in that area. So you always have to read, the road conditions and the weather for that specific area. You're going to not just where you are at the current moment.

00:08:05:02 - 00:08:26:00
Unknown
And you have to be aware that if you don't have a lot of experience, you you shouldn't drive if you can help it. You know, even someone born and raised in Manitoba, if I don't have to go out, I don't go out. You know, that's when accidents happen. I mean, I've been in the ditch. I'm going to say, I think three times I've been in.

00:08:26:00 - 00:08:42:11
Unknown
How about you? Oh, yeah. I've rolled my vehicle once as black ice. So if anybody wants to know what black ice is, I just look it up on the net. Maybe we'll put a link to black ice and it's really. You can't see it. That's really what it is. And, Yeah. And you lose control of your vehicle and you flip it.

00:08:42:12 - 00:09:01:18
Unknown
We are trying to scare you guys. It's just really. You have to be very cautious. You know, and very safe. Because the other thing that happens is when people that don't really drive during winter, they often go very, very slow. Right? Which I get it right. It's normal response. You want to drive slow, you aren't sure what's ahead of you.

00:09:01:20 - 00:09:28:11
Unknown
However, what happens is that encourages the people who who are confident on the highway to want to pass and that when they pass, they themselves sometimes don't know if there's a vehicle. Had they just got really frustrated at the driver. That's going slow. So even though you're someone that, you know, may want to go out and you may want to go somewhere, but you aren't really confident, you say to yourself, oh, you know, I'm just going to drive really slow and I'll get there.

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Unknown
Actually, that's a hindrance to other drivers as well, because you don't want to drive too fast and you don't want to drive too slow. There's a certain average that we pretty much I think it's like 70 or 80 that will drive during a blizzard, and then it kind of goes down if there's ice underneath. Right? So that's the you know, that's the whole thing.

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Unknown
So living out in the prairies, it takes a little time to get used to the driving. You will get used to it. But just at first these are some things that you could just be aware of as well as you know, at least we should talk about what you should have in your vehicle. For the for the winter time, which we all have in our vehicles, about actually going through this weekend and making piles for our vehicles of what needs to be in there.

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Unknown
So, I'll make a list of what I put in for my my vehicle. So number one, each has a little shovel. So like a little mini shovel in case someone goes in the ditch, you know, to help with digging out if needed. Number two, I always, I don't I usually have a couple pairs of boots as well.

00:10:27:07 - 00:10:47:23
Unknown
You know, I've got teenagers. Teenagers wear sandals and running shoes. It's not cool. So I just always have their winter boots in the vehicles. A couple pairs of. We're just going to Winnipeg, you know, it's easy enough. Something happened to get a tow truck. You know, if it's just. We slipped in the ditch. But boots, everyone always has, hats.

00:10:47:23 - 00:11:15:17
Unknown
Mitts. I always keep extra necks, neck warmers, hats and mitts, as well as, city pants. I also keep, some candles, a lighter first aid kit, and then obviously a charger in there. And two other things that I always make sure to do as well. I never leave without a full tank of gas in the winter, because if I get in the ditch, right, you want to be able to to still have your heat, a phone charger, and I try to make sure my, you know, my phone is sort of fully charged all the time as well.

00:11:15:19 - 00:11:37:22
Unknown
And also to someone knows where I'm going, you know, so that if you know and I'm not going anywhere so people don't know and I mean, I would say to you, it also sort of depends, if I'm just going to Winnipeg, you know, I might pull a few things out if I need room. But if I'm going on a longer trip to, say, Saskatchewan 100%, I've, I've got, you know, enough for everyone in the entire family.

00:11:38:03 - 00:12:01:07
Unknown
So and I also I just keep in my cars all winter. Those are great lists. You know, you just brought something. I just thought of something. The worst snowstorms of Manitoba last year. I'm going to put my cell phone line here, but I really believe people got stranded on Trans Canada outside of Winnipeg. I remember those. So here's the here's the misconception about living in rural Mattawa.

00:12:01:07 - 00:12:22:17
Unknown
Everybody thinks, well, I'm on Trans Canada. I'm going to be okay. I just have to drive into Winnipeg from these commuter, communities. Right? Actually, I remember a guy that got stuck on Trans Canada for 6.5 hours last year, and it was, because of whatever there was an accident and then whatever happened. Right. But it was during winter.

00:12:22:19 - 00:12:43:18
Unknown
He was ten minutes away from his house, and he couldn't turn around because the traffic had, you know, he had to stay there. Right? So even if, you know, you're saying I'm just going to Winnipeg, you should actually really, seriously still be prepared because a lot of the commuter, you know, highways and stuff like that, and even Trans County, you can get stuck on Trans Canada.

00:12:43:18 - 00:13:06:12
Unknown
It happens. It happens every year. So please, do what Leah says. And, you know, make sure you have a full tank of gas. Make sure you have all those things, with you and even use some snacks. Right. So talking about this guy that got stuck on Trans Canada for at least 6.5 hours, because you remember thinking he missed his whole workday because I laugh and, and I actually knew him and he I said, how do you make out?

00:13:06:12 - 00:13:20:23
Unknown
And he goes, you know, I had everything ready except he goes, you know, I didn't bring with me was a snack. So I was really hungry. And, and he said there was nowhere I could go get anything. Right. So, so also just having some, you know, some snacks with you as well would be also another great tip.

00:13:20:23 - 00:13:39:01
Unknown
But everything else he said is pretty good. Well, and you make a good point. I mean, you could be waiting for a tow truck for six hours if there is a huge blizzard and you get in the ditch and there's a lot of people in the ditch, it can be hours and hours. And that's why it's important to have things like if you run out of gas from heating, you know that you have candles.

00:13:39:01 - 00:13:57:03
Unknown
But just a note on the running your car is that if you are in the ditch, make sure that your exhaust pipe is not covered by snow. That's right. So that's something else that sometimes you get in the ditch. There's snow around your car. You need to make sure that exhaust pipe is clear. So that's not coming in the car.

00:13:57:03 - 00:14:13:12
Unknown
And we're not doing this to terrify everyone. You know, I think every region in the world has the, you know, to people don't live here. All this stuff might sound crazy, but, you know, I think of other places that have other things. And I think that just seems crazy. But we're just so used to this. This is just how we grown up, you know?

00:14:13:14 - 00:14:40:07
Unknown
Yeah. So I think I to, wrap up the vehicle section for we're talking about winter driving on the prairies and really what we're saying is be prepared, have a full tank of gas, let people know where you're going. If you do not feel comfortable driving your vehicle, then don't drive. That's as simple as that, right? And make sure you're checking the area to your destination of where you're going, not only currently where you are, but where you're going to end up.

00:14:40:09 - 00:15:02:21
Unknown
Because it might be really, really nice, where you are. But come, you know, two hours later, you may be hitting a snowstorm, right? So I think, our vehicle section is actually pretty good. And as well you can also log on to, there's different websites like my toolbars, websites and so on and so forth to check the quality of the highways as well.

00:15:02:21 - 00:15:23:13
Unknown
And it'll show if they're icy, if they're snow covered, all of those things. And I would also add to that to people too, that oftentimes storms get so bad that highways will be closed. And if there's anything I can recommend, do not go on those highways when they're told that they're closed, because oftentimes living in rural right, people take back roads.

00:15:23:13 - 00:15:45:03
Unknown
But if a highway is closed, that's telling you all the roads should be closed. They just can't block all the roads and they don't have to come get you. Once they closed the highway, there is nobody coming to get to fully reopen it because they aren't getting a little truck and they're in. The RCMP is not going to let their staffs, staff travel on the closed road.

00:15:45:05 - 00:16:05:20
Unknown
So if the main road near you is closed, that's a sign you shouldn't be going out at all. Just stay home. That's right. You know, the the one thing we got to add before we leave the vehicle section is about plugging in your car. So yes. There. So there are some things you should know. My daughter has a VW, a Tig one and it's a plastic oil pan and so on and so forth.

00:16:06:02 - 00:16:22:22
Unknown
So when I went to get her a plug in for her car because it didn't come with it, and even though they said Tig, one shouldn't need it, we actually had to get that oil pan replaced. So you're going to hear people talk about plugging in your cars because the, the engines can get very cold and not start.

00:16:22:22 - 00:16:44:02
Unknown
So in order to keep the heat going, we do literally plug in our cars. So you want to make sure that you're able to access, an extension cord and that your vehicle does have a plug in. And if you take it into a dealership or a local mechanic shop, you need to make sure that your car is suited to, to be able to be plugged in.

00:16:44:02 - 00:17:00:04
Unknown
So that's something else that we should, talk about our reference in terms of, maintaining a vehicle. And I would add, it is it is very hard. Some cars still might start, but it it is very hard on your car. Now, if your car is in a garage, you don't need to do that. Right. Or even if it's in a garage, you're probably okay.

00:17:00:04 - 00:17:20:00
Unknown
We're talking about cars that are outside all night long. When it's, you know, minus one year colder. You know, you want to keep that car plugged in. Yeah. So that's what to us. So when you pull up and you are sitting there and you see in a parking lot and you're at your condo or your apartment or something, and you see these plug ins, that's what that's for is for your vehicle.

00:17:20:00 - 00:17:35:07
Unknown
It's not to plug in this area or anything. It's actually for your vehicle. Because I know a while back somebody stopped and asked me what the heck these plug ins are for, and we just take it for granted that everybody knows what they are. But of course, if I walked into or if I move to another country, I wouldn't know what they were either.

00:17:35:13 - 00:17:54:12
Unknown
Unless I also add, don't forget to unplug, because every year you will see people driving downtown with their core dragging with their car. We've all done it. No, I haven't yet, but oh my gosh, I've done oh my gosh, now you're going to pull out your whole year. Oh yeah. You've got to remember to unplug as well okay.

00:17:54:16 - 00:18:12:11
Unknown
Let this not be the year I do that. All right okay. What's her next one? Dressing for the weather. We talked about kind of what you should have in your car, but what do you have just for yourself in general to keep warm? Because, you know, just because it is -30, you can still go out and go sledding and have fun.

00:18:12:11 - 00:18:32:10
Unknown
But what what do you make sure to have to wear? So we have these this under is like underwear, long underwear. And we call them long johns. So I always wear them. We can either people either choose to wear, skidoo pants. Right. Or one piece do pants or ski pants. Other people might hear that. Oh, yes.

00:18:32:10 - 00:18:54:06
Unknown
Or pants. People might also call them snow pants. Snow pants. Thank you. And, so I choose to usually wear long johns. And so that's because when I dress up and I'm wearing, like, slacks and so on and so forth pants, I you think those can go on underneath and they keep you wore so they're like flannel or they are like there are certain material where it's warmth.

00:18:54:06 - 00:19:13:20
Unknown
Right. So I always have those on and as you said, I'm, I'm older, so I don't have to be cool. I do have, my truck with me at all times. I do have mats. I have my dress, winter jacket. I also have my winter jacket. So if I do hit the ditch, I'm going to put that on instead of my dress jacket that I wear to work.

00:19:13:22 - 00:19:40:05
Unknown
And I also have my dress boots that I wear to work. But I also have, as you said, I have my, winter boots with me as well. So I think it's more just, you know, making sure you have your to your mitts, a scarf, I, you know, a scarf can be something where it's basically where it goes around your neck and it because oftentimes your coat doesn't, cover your whole neck and you'll get that cold, cold when going down, your throat area.

00:19:40:05 - 00:19:59:09
Unknown
So I also make sure I have a scarf as well. And of course, winter boots. Right. I think I said that already, but yeah, that's my list. It's funny, you sort of mentioned it. It's absolutely. I think most of us who work in the prairies have kind of two sets of winter gear. We have our our dress, winter gear and our we're going to be outside for a couple hours, winter gear.

00:19:59:09 - 00:20:29:13
Unknown
So yeah, I'll sort of talk about, I'll be outside all day. It's -20 or colder weather. Same thing. I wear my my long underwear. I wear my ski pants. So long underwear. Then probably a pair of sweatpants or something, then my ski pants. So basically three layers on your legs, you know, depending on the boot. I will say to people, invest in a good boot because and invest in something that says, you know, warm from -30 or yes, you want, you know, it gets cold out here.

00:20:29:13 - 00:20:44:22
Unknown
You need a good warm and your kids need good warm boots, because even if it's -20, they're going to be outside playing. So they need to be warm. You can wear that with a wool sock. You can wear that with regular socks. You don't want to sweat because then your feet get cold. So you want to try to keep it just warm.

00:20:45:00 - 00:21:02:22
Unknown
So I'll put it even put some links to sort of boots or things that we recommend to people get get a, get a sense of what a good quality boot is. And, you know, I think also we should mention Hot Paws, we are not being paid by the brand of hot pots, but they are not a sponsor.

00:21:03:04 - 00:21:20:09
Unknown
But, there could be other things too. But, everybody always thinks since you grew up on the prairies, that you're just thinking you're tough. And I am so. Not so even though I have these, really, I only have one pair of great. And this I absolutely love. And I won't leave the house without hot paws. Like, I'll leave the house with those one pyramids.

00:21:20:09 - 00:21:42:11
Unknown
But everything else. I usually have this thing called hot paws, and you put them in your mat so you can get them at, gas, like gas convenience stores and other places. I'm sure at Costco you can get a full box of them and you put them in your, your mitts or in your boots. And over time, like in, like 3 to 5 minutes, like, you kind of rub them and it warms up.

00:21:42:16 - 00:21:59:08
Unknown
So if you're somebody that has a, you know, just fairly cold hands or cold feet, just to start with, even the best foods that you wear, you might still find that you get pretty cold. So having a couple, plot paws is a little bag. So warm your hands up really fast so you can wear them on your gloves.

00:21:59:08 - 00:22:23:22
Unknown
And everything might also be something that you look at investing to. I know a lot of people even that have lived here for quite a while, still don't know about Hot Paws. I've never really seen them before. So, we use them to I, I totally they they can be very helpful. And speaking of myths to go for the invest in a good pair of mitts like we're not when we talk about mitts, we're not talking about just hand knitted mitts.

00:22:23:22 - 00:22:46:05
Unknown
We're talking about there's like insulation in them. The outside is like a waterproof, you know, that's going to block the wind and keep you warm. You need something solid to, to keep you warm. And that's not going to get super, super wet when you're outside. Yeah. We aren't talking magic minis. Yeah. You're right, those are. Those are barely good for fall.

00:22:46:07 - 00:23:14:08
Unknown
But, and you're and you're perfectly right in those pretty and, you know, they're it's fun and all that stuff with your hands. It's really not going to help you. So I think Lee is really right. And you gotta look for the boots. For the jacket, for your mitts. Really look at, look at the tag and make sure it says minus, you know, that is built for minus whatever, because that's really going to help you, you know, spend a day outside or even a couple hours outside.

00:23:14:13 - 00:23:37:23
Unknown
And I would even say, if you're going to spend money, spend on the boots and the mitts. Yeah, ski pants and jacket, you can wear layers underneath to, to keep yourself warm. Right. Your Long John, your extra sweaters, you know, your puffy vest underneath. Because jackets can be quite expensive. And I totally understand, so you're going to spend the money spent on the mitts and your boots, and the long underwear and then that'll, you know, and then obviously the same thing.

00:23:37:23 - 00:23:57:01
Unknown
Scarf or I like neck warmers and then a good, a good to a good hat, that you can cover your ears and make sure that jacket has a hood, because when you are walking and that wind is blowing, having that neck warmer to and then a foot over it, just that hood just makes all the difference. So that wind's not getting in your neck.

00:23:57:03 - 00:24:27:16
Unknown
Awesome. Okay, so I think that is, good. Oh, yeah. One more thing. If you have children, you should really look at getting a couple of pairs of mitts as well. And we have, even for older kids, even for myself, I actually worn where you can tie them together so they hang out the sides of your jacket, like in the, in the sleeves, but specifically for kids, you might want like, I'm investing in a couple pairs because, they're notorious for just leaving stuff behind.

00:24:27:16 - 00:24:47:20
Unknown
So, you know, try and invest and just, a pair of backup mitts as well, because the chances of of children losing them or misplacing them is very high. Yeah. Or like you said, get those. You know, I know when my kids when I had exactly the clips on their things because I mean. Yeah. Or a string or something that's going to keep those, those mitts with their jackets.

00:24:47:22 - 00:25:12:10
Unknown
So yeah, I think that pretty much covers all of our, our winter recommendations for the prairies. I mean, we don't have any snow yet, but I'm crossing my fingers. I, I need some snow now that it's November, I want snow. So I'm putting it up. Yeah. And you know what? Before we go, let's just talk. Just really quickly, though, about some winter activities that people can go ahead and look at doing right.

00:25:12:10 - 00:25:40:12
Unknown
So there is often you can learn how to skate, right. There is small towns often have free, free times when you can, you can learn how to skate. And oftentimes as well is you could go and get a pair of skates from if you go down to the local rec commission and, they might be able to find you a pair of skates for free or, you know, a pair of skates that are not as expensive as what they would be if you walked into a store.

00:25:40:12 - 00:25:56:18
Unknown
So, learning how to skate is something that maybe you can spend. It's good family, fun activity. And you're right. You can go to Canadian Tire and get a cheap pair. There's lots of use places you can get. You don't have to go on the buy and sell like I was selling a while back. You know, skates for five bucks.

00:25:56:20 - 00:26:18:02
Unknown
You know, just we don't really skate a lot, so absolutely. I another one I would recommend is, sledding and tobogganing. That's. Oh, yeah. Pastime. Most, most towns have some kind of hill where kids can go and sled. You can go and get. We call them crazy carpets. You know, they're not that expensive. And you can kids can fly down that hill.

00:26:18:04 - 00:26:39:05
Unknown
That's great. And then if you're doing that, if you're doing, skating at Outdoor Pond or if you're doing, sledding down a hill, make sure you bring some hot chocolate with you. So you might want to invest in a thermos, right. And, right. And bring yourself some styrofoam cats. And that because there's nothing worse when you when you don't really know a community or where you're at.

00:26:39:05 - 00:27:02:04
Unknown
And, when I travel, I often see this, and all these families show up prepared, and you can sure tell you you're you're the last to the party or you don't know what's going on because everybody's pulling out all this stuff. You're like, well, if only someone would have told me, I would have done that, right. So, you know, like, bring hot chocolate and those kind of things with you and adults just make even the day a little bit more fun.

00:27:02:04 - 00:27:19:14
Unknown
So, yeah. So skating, tobogganing, even hiking, if you're new to an area, that's a great place to meet people as well, because that's what everyone's doing. I mean, that's what we do in the winter. My kids want to go tobogganing and sledding like that's, you know, on a nice day, the hill will be packed. Yeah. No.

00:27:19:14 - 00:27:35:02
Unknown
Exactly. Yeah. So I would add to that, I'm, I'm trying to think of the more or less expensive, cross-country skiing. You know, that's all I know around here. There's a lot of trails, and you can rent skis for fairly cheap. There's like a community club that does, does that similar to what you guys have as well.

00:27:35:02 - 00:27:53:18
Unknown
Do you have a lot of Christmas? Yeah. Yeah, we do anything too. So if you come up to the ducks and stuff like that, there's nothing that prevents anyone. It is free. As long as you have a good pair of boots, you know, I make sure you have a good quality pair of boots, and you're set up like we just said, prepared to to be out in the cold.

00:27:53:20 - 00:28:15:03
Unknown
And hiking is cheap. It's free, and it's actually really cool. But you can see and at winter time, you know, you have a totally different perspective. And it's beautiful. Sometimes it's just breathtaking to see the snow, not sun on the snow. And, and it actually, could be actually fairly warm too. Right? So and it's a cool place to for those of you who have not heard of snowshoeing.

00:28:15:05 - 00:28:32:22
Unknown
So you don't actually have to purchase snowshoes, I know we have a local, place near us. It's, it's called Oak Hammock Marsh, and you can actually go there and rent snowshoes for, like, a couple bucks, and you can hike around. And if you want to try out snowshoes. But snowshoes are another thing. People can try snowshoeing, hiking, you can all do at the same, same place.

00:28:33:00 - 00:28:48:23
Unknown
Yeah. Excellent. Okay. So yeah. So that's I just want to mention that, before we wrap up, wrap up the show is just end with something a little positive because I guess I want people. Yeah, exactly. Like winter isn't. Of course, there's going to be days you stay inside, but there's so much to do in the prairies in the winter.

00:28:48:23 - 00:29:04:19
Unknown
Like there's tons of festivals. There's lots of amazing opportunities. And that's you don't want to sit inside all winter like it's it's good to get out and get that fresh air. I mean, it might be cold, but we've got the sun, you know, most of the time. Yeah. So yeah, you know, believe it or not, it's actually pretty nice most of the time.

00:29:04:19 - 00:29:25:07
Unknown
Most of the time, lots of us just wear a big sweater. And you know, I think it's the Canadian persona where you see there's some the person wearing a sweater and maybe some like locks and a tuck and, you know, you see us and that's usually the way how we dress, right? I just, you know, every so often we get that brutal snowstorm where it comes in and it takes us over for 2 or 3 days.

00:29:25:09 - 00:29:43:22
Unknown
But, for the most part, it's actually usually pretty nice. So you get a little stir crazy and you want to go outside for your mental and physical health. You do want to continue, going outside and, and helping your family thrive in a community where you want to be. Absolutely. Yeah. I think we covered it. But as always, please reach out.

00:29:43:22 - 00:30:03:13
Unknown
We're going to have a lot of links at the bottom, just so you can see the types of things that we're talking about and have access to those resources, obviously ours, because we're Manitoba will be a bit more Manitoba focus, but most provinces and territories will have the same thing. It's just a matter of typing in where you are, you know, Saskatchewan Highways, you know, that sort of thing, and they'll have something similar.

00:30:03:18 - 00:30:31:07
Unknown
So thank you everyone for coming today, listening to us reach out as always if you have questions and we'll see you next time okay. And just say before we go, let's, maybe Tanner, from Girl Media, he produces our show for us. He also does, he also does social media and production. So maybe he can add on a link or two to show you, some beautiful winter scenery and the parkland area or rural Manitoba as well.

00:30:31:11 - 00:30:38:00
Unknown
So until next time, everyone live real. Live well.

00:30:38:02 - 00:30:52:23
Unknown
If you feel this could assist other people like yourself, please like and share a podcast as well. We will leave links below to the topics we spoke about today. Thank you for listening and join us next time to learn about another great company and community. That is a great place to work and settle.