Life in a Northern Town

I was always a huge fan of the TV show "Northern Exposure". Perhaps that's partly why I've ended up in "The North". So just how closely does it resemble that erstwhile vision of life in a quirky northern community? Strange as it may sound it does have some similarities...a hodge podge of interesting characters, the "community doers", the moose walking around town (OK...so no moose, but there have been mountain goats seen atop rubbish bins, bears and coyotes).

But more than that, there is just a sense of time moving at a different pace to anywhere else. And lifestyle is the first priority...anything that interferes with lifestyle is generally frowned upon. And this includes business. So don't be surprised if your call or email is not returned; or if you can't get hold of anyone during the lunch hour (yes, businesses here actually do close their doors over lunch)...you kind of just get used to it here. But I recall that it was quite a shock for me when I arrived with my city ways of "now, now, now". You can try to keep that up but it will just wear you out and you won't get anywhere anyway. So you might as well just relax and deal with it.

But maybe these folks have it right...maybe its those of us from the cities with our obsession with instant gratification that need to reassess how we do things....life is, after all, for savouring. And surely having a lifestyle that suits us is one of the most important things we can strive for.