We came up here saying 3years. We are a young family and wanted to save up money. Price of living is two high however. Rent is extreme, we just moved from a 3bedroom at $3300 plus utilities to a 2bedroom of $2600 plus utilities. Food is very expensive. School system up here is far from southern school standards. Oldest daughter will be going in to grade 1 in the fall and we don't want her falling behind with this school system. I grew up in northern Ontario so I am used to the cold however when you have kids there's not much for them to do when there's 4months of -50 to -65'C weather plus another 4 months of -20 to -40'C weather. My kids like being outside a lot and aren't used to being cooped up. FLights up her are expensive from Ottawa, Ottawa to Iqaluit is $2600 roundtrip so times that by 4 for our family if we ever want to go on vacation. Luckily I work for an airline so I use my benefits for us to travel and go on vacation. However by working for an airline the pay is pretty much nothing. Actually my lowest paying job ever but in this scenario its worth it for the benefits.
We have saved some money. But we are ready to leave. Its amazing the small things you miss when you live in a tree less environment. I flew down to Ottawa in October and the first things I noticed was the smell of fall. May seem weird to say but its true. A couple months ago we flew to Vancouver for a few days before going to Maui. First thing my oldest daughter did was run onto the first patch of grass and roll around on it saying how much she missed it. Needless to say I spend all my free time hunting and fishing. As a family we love hiking, fishing and camping as much as we can and we can't do that up here. It will be nice to rejoin civilization. Settle down, our family will be growing and time to buy a place. Although now I need to start figuring out employment for the big move. Jan/Feb wil be here in no time and need to secure employment.