# Please talk to me about Winnipeg



## barberry99 (Sep 22, 2015)

I have been offered a job in Winnipeg. Starting salary circa 61k/ year plus medical and dental (I can pay circa $40 to add the family). We have 3 young children (7, 3, 1). I am from the US. My husband is British. 

I have read a lot on the internet about "never move to Winnipeg" and to be honest this is scaring us. We are leaving friends and family to start a new life. The job is a great offer (I think??), definitely in terms of career progression. 

How do I proceed? Do I visit before accepting the offer (i.e. in the next 2 weeks)? If so, who can I contact that will show me around? How are schools around Winnipeg? I am looking at the St. Vital area as I hear this is a nice area with nice schools. How would I go about getting my child enrolled? Does the sun shine there (it doesn't here in the UK)? My husband will be a stay at home dad but will be bringing income in from investment properties here (circa £1k/month) so we aren't living just on my paycheck. 

We aren't in a hurry to move to Canada, but if Im honest this is a good opportunity career wise and all other potential employers wouldn't consider me as I was outside of Canada. 

What would you do?


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## WestCoastCanadianGirl (Mar 17, 2012)

The 'Peg isn't as bad as they say... it isn't as "cool" as say Vancouver or Toronto or Montreal, but you could be in worse places.

It's an easy-ish drive from the MB/North Dakota border - i.e. it's less than half a day... I can't remember the exact distance or timings, but it's possible to drive down to Minneapolis in about 6 hours or so. With that in mind, consider that the winters _will_ be cold à la the US Mid West (No. Dak, Wisconsin & MN).

The summers _are_ sunny and hotter than Barbados, or so a former boss of mine told me (he's from Barbados and went to university in Winnipeg). I've been told that the black flies can be a problem... I don't know how bad they are, as I've only ever been in the city of Winnipeg for 3 days and never saw any while I was there.

As for going to school, here is the Department of Education's website with links to all of the school districts in the province.... Manitoba School Board Contacts. It should also have information on what grade your 7-year-old will be put into... likely Grade 1 or possibly Grade 2, depending on what part of the year they were born in and how they did academically here in the UK.

Quite like in the US, there is no Reception/Infants program in Canadian schools (I have 2 nephews who live in Vancouver... the 5-year-old just started Kindergarten 2 weeks ago and his younger brother, who is 3, is in daycare; I have a nephew and a niece in Toronto who are 5 & 3. The 5 year old started junior Kindergarten last year and is in regular "K" this year and his sister will start junior K next year), so your 3-year-old won't go into Kindergarten until he/she is 5 or 6, but you are welcome to enroll him/her in play school.

As Canada is officially bilingual, you also have the option of sending the kids to a French immersion school, if that suits you, without having to pay to send them there (my two brothers went to late French Immersion for Grade 6 and Grade 7 before going on to the English language secondary I was at).


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## WestCoastCanadianGirl (Mar 17, 2012)

Oh, one other thing I just remembered... if your husband is a football fan, he'll be _very_ pleased to know that a good chunk of the Premier League is broadcast on tv (SportsNet, I think... or possibly TSN The Sports Network), including the blacked-out 3 p.m. kick-offs. 

My own husband (Yorkshire born/raised) is a die-hard Tottenham fan and was very impressed to see how much of the Premier League was broadcast in Canada whenever he came to visit me in Vancouver before we were married.


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## ejw07 (Apr 24, 2015)

I am from Toronto and the peg is ok good community and very cold in the winter, lets be honest here after awhile you wont like the cold it goes into the minus 5 and up.. good city thou..Everyone hates Toronto..can't blame them..i hate it and i live here ll


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## colchar (Oct 25, 2011)

WestCoastCanadianGirl said:


> The summers _are_ sunny and hotter than Barbados, or so a former boss of mine told me (he's from Barbados and went to university in Winnipeg).



The summers are nowhere near that hot. A couple of years ago I saw a story on CTV national news talking about how the city was handing out bottles of water to help people deal with the heat because it had hit a scorching 25 degrees celcius! At the time those of us in the GTA were sweltering in temps in the high 30s (with humidity) so I laughed my arse off about them freaking out over 25 degrees in the 'Peg.





> Quite like in the US, there is no Reception/Infants program in Canadian schools (I have 2 nephews who live in Vancouver... the 5-year-old just started Kindergarten 2 weeks ago and his younger brother, who is 3, is in daycare; I have a nephew and a niece in Toronto who are 5 & 3. The 5 year old started junior Kindergarten last year and is in regular "K" this year and his sister will start junior K next year), so your 3-year-old won't go into Kindergarten until he/she is 5 or 6, but you are welcome to enroll him/her in play school.



Keep in mind that education is a provincial responsibility here. In Ontario we now have all day kindergarten which, I think, takes younger kids. Normal school (ie. first grade) starts when they are six.


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## colchar (Oct 25, 2011)

ejw07 said:


> I am from Toronto and the peg is ok good community and very cold in the winter, lets be honest here after awhile you wont like the cold it goes into the minus 5 and up..



Minus five is springtime weather in Winterpeg.


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## barberry99 (Sep 22, 2015)

Colchar, do you live in Winnipeg?

Can anyone guide me on good neighborhoods and how it works with getting a elementary school?


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## WestCoastCanadianGirl (Mar 17, 2012)

colchar said:


> The summers are nowhere near that hot. A couple of years ago I saw a story on CTV national news talking about how the city was handing out bottles of water to help people deal with the heat because it had hit a scorching 25 degrees celcius! At the time those of us in the GTA were sweltering in temps in the high 30s (with humidity) so I laughed my arse off about them freaking out over 25 degrees in the 'Peg.


I'm just going by what my former boss told me.




colchar said:


> Keep in mind that education is a provincial responsibility here. In Ontario we now have all day kindergarten which, I think, takes younger kids. Normal school (ie. first grade) starts when they are six.


Yes, I know that it's a provincial responsibility. Ontario certainly _does *not*_ own/run the monopoly on "all day" Kindergarten... it is also in effect in British Columbia, and has been, for a long time. On the other hand, Junior/Senior Kindergarten _is not_ recognized in BC... the kids generally start Kindergarten the year that they turn 5 years old. If parents want them to receive tuition prior to that, it's almost exclusively privately funded (i.e. if my brother and sister in law wanted to send their son to a Montessori play school instead of just the Joe Average, bog standard day-care he and his younger brother attended, they would have had to pay for it themselves (there is no government program similar to what is available to 3&4 year olds who live in the UK.


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## colchar (Oct 25, 2011)

barberry99 said:


> Colchar, do you live in Winnipeg?


No. As I said in a post above, I live elsewhere and saw the story about it being 25 degrees in the 'Peg on the news. I have friends who have lived there, but I have never lived there myself.




> Can anyone guide me on good neighborhoods and how it works with getting a elementary school?


With regards to schools, if it is anything like Ontario the child simply goes to the closest school to their house. All schools are basically of similar standards here and catchment areas aren't the issue that they are in the UK.


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## Ourdon (Jul 15, 2015)

I wouldn't be too terrified of moving to the Peg. every city has its' positives and negatives. As Canadians...we enjoy poking at Winnipeg as much as Toronto.

Work is what is bringing you there. Find some place to live that is fairly convenient to your work. You are going to be making that trip at least five days a week.

Winnipeg is the center of cottage country. There are many lakes around for summer relaxation. Everybody that can seems to have bought or rents a cabin at the lake for at least part of the summer. Doesn't matter which lake...or it might. Ask the opinion of people whose company you enjoy. Everybody will have an opinion and it is a safe conversational ice breaker.

The seasonal variations in temperature are very hard on pavement. Winnipeg may be the pothole champion of Canada. This is a trifle tongue in cheek but any chance to poke at the Peg will be taken.


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## WestCoastCanadianGirl (Mar 17, 2012)

Ourdon said:


> I wouldn't be too terrified of moving to the Peg. every city has its' positives and negatives. As Canadians...we enjoy poking at Winnipeg as much as Toronto.
> 
> Work is what is bringing you there. Find some place to live that is fairly convenient to your work. You are going to be making that trip at least five days a week.
> 
> ...


As a native Vancouverite (and life long, die hard Vancouver Canuck fan), I'd rather live in CowTown (Calgary) than the 'Peg.. that's saying a lot, considering Canucks fans are _not_ overly fond of the Calgary Flames :boxing: (then again, the hatred is not unrequited... just imagine if Arsène Wenger and José Mourinho represented the life blood of the Canucks and Flames hockey teams and transposed their football personas from the technical area(s) of the Premier League to the hockey, you'd kind of get the idea)... that said, I'd happily join Ourdon in trashing Toronto (who seem to collectively think that the sun shines out their butts) as much as my friends and I talk trash about Calgary (particularly when it comes to their hockey team :eyebrows: ).

Anyway, I wouldn't be too worried about living in Winnipeg... it's safe and modern and actually not a bad place to be living (the potholes _can_ be annoying, but it's a trade off for having lovely lakes and cottage country. Besides, just because you live in the 'Peg doesn't mean that you cannot explore the country... the rail system in Canada has absolutely _nothing_ on the expanse of the British Rail system, but it does leave a lot of scope for the imagination for road trips (the country is fond of a road trip)... you can get to Vancouver by car in as short as 20-24 hours drive (this is assuming that you drive straight through and not stop for anything other than petrol stops), and you can get into Toronto in less than 24 hours (if you go through the US).


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## colchar (Oct 25, 2011)

WestCoastCanadianGirl said:


> As a native Vancouverite (and life long, die hard Vancouver Canuck fan)



You are dead to me................


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## ejw07 (Apr 24, 2015)

hating onToronto


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## nic2uk2015 (Oct 4, 2015)

WestCoastCanadianGirl;8344746you can get to Vancouver by car in as short as 20-24 hours drive (this is assuming that you drive straight through and not stop for anything other than petrol stops) said:


> :smile::smile: this is the most Canadian of phrases! Love it!
> 
> When my sister's husband had an opportunity to advance his career in Winterpeg, my sister -- having lived 5 years in Regina -- actually cried and became extremely depressed. So much did she rue moving to the Peg, that her husband sought out a different position within his company, and moved her to Vancouver.


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## WestCoastCanadianGirl (Mar 17, 2012)

ejw07 said:


> hating onToronto


is so much fun... I can say that without malice as my Mom's side of the family lives in T.O.


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## nic2uk2015 (Oct 4, 2015)

nic2uk2015 said:


> WestCoastCanadianGirl;8344746you can get to Vancouver by car in as short as 20-24 hours drive (this is assuming that you drive straight through and not stop for anything other than petrol stops) said:
> 
> 
> > this is the most Canadian of phrases! Love it!
> ...


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## liliana80 (Sep 6, 2014)

This discussion is hilarious. I'll chime in because I'm from Winnipeg, although it's probably not much help to the OP now as I imagine she has already made her decision, but I do want to clear up some incorrect information.



colchar said:


> The summers are nowhere near that hot. A couple of years ago I saw a story on CTV national news talking about how the city was handing out bottles of water to help people deal with the heat because it had hit a scorching 25 degrees celcius! At the time those of us in the GTA were sweltering in temps in the high 30s (with humidity) so I laughed my arse off about them freaking out over 25 degrees in the 'Peg.


This is not true. Average summer temperatures in Winnipeg hover around 30 degrees, with two or three weeks in August at 35 - 36 degrees. Every summer. Winnipeg has a climate of extremes: -30 in winter and +30 in summer. I would agree that it's probably hotter than Barbados because in Barbados there's a nice breeze, but Winnipeg is just stagnant, stifling hot air.

Also, the black flies are not so much of a problem in the city, you find them more in the cottage country that a couple of posters have mentioned. They bite and it hurts. The problem in Winnipeg is the mosquitoes. When the snow melts in the springtime and there's a lot of stagnant water it's the perfect breeding ground. The city sprays pesticides throughout the summer, they call it "fogging". The trucks come by in the middle of the night spraying poison over everything. Be sure to close your windows when they announce "fogging" on the radio, you don't want to breath that stuff in while you're sleeping. Apparently they say it's "safe" poison, but it's one of the reasons why I hate Winnipeg. 

Another thing to consider which isn't often mentioned is stubble burning. Because the city is surrounded by agricultural land, after the harvest in September the farmers set fire to the stubble on their fields and it can be smelled all over the city. It causes a lot of problems for people with respiratory issues such as asthma and bronchitis, so it's something to consider if this could affect you. 

In all honesty, Winnipeg is a hell hole. There's nothing to do, and even if there was something to do, it's either too cold or too hot to go outside. There's a reason why most people on the internet say don't move to Winnipeg. I would never, ever, ever consider moving back there again. No job or any amount of money could convince me.


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## colchar (Oct 25, 2011)

liliana80 said:


> This is not true. Average summer temperatures in Winnipeg hover around 30 degrees, with two or three weeks in August at 35 - 36 degrees. Every summer. Winnipeg has a climate of extremes: -30 in winter and +30 in summer.


It was on CTV's national news a couple of years ago - they were handing out bottles of water when it was like 35 degrees and we in Ontario (well the GTA) were experiencing much hotter temperatures.


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## Gibjam (Sep 6, 2013)

I have lived in Winnipeg (south at vital to be exact) for the past 18mnts have 2 little boys 2&3, moved from London, UK.

The winters are freaking cold, and there are days you don't want to find yourself out in. That said, the are plenty of days when it's minus 20 and clear blue skies (there is a lot of bright sky's in the peg). I call ******** on anyone that says there is nothing to do. I get sick of doing things. I miss the weekend back home where I did F all, because there was nothing (affordable that is) to do. Winnipeg is a very affordable place.

It is a fairly small city if you are comparing to somewhere like London or Toronto and you may miss the conveniences of a big city but you slowly (and I'm still trying to) get use to it. My wife is currently in London and said she can't wait to get back "there's to many cars"


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## victoria.daley (Dec 4, 2015)

I currently live in Winnipeg. I'm a Canadian who was born in Toronto, but has spent time living around the world. Winnipeg has really been a blessing in disguise. I never thought I would ever live here, cause even Torontonians say its a place no one should ever go. 

Yes, Winnipeg is very very very cold, 6 months out of the year. And yes, they aren't the most savy of bunch, but I've become so humble living here. You can go to an upscale restaurant in jeans and a button up shirt and no one will look at you weird. Winnipegers are more about the heart then the "look", which can be very humbling. People who grew up in Winnipeg, don't want to live anywhere else, and they are perfectly happy where they are. Others like myself, would love to be back home in Toronto or Vancouver but its just so bloody expensive and with the job opportunity and lifestyle here it just doesn't make sense to leave. Another great thing about Winnipeg is things are so cheap! I drive a brand new 2015 car and work at a job that would of taken me years of experience to get if I lived in Toronto or Vancouver. If you're making $61k a year, after taxes it equals to about $3851 per month, which is a ton of money in Winnipeg. I think you need to evaluate why you are thinking about moving. Is it strictly about the money? Do you want your kids to grow up in a very family centric environment (St. Vital is a great area for that). Are you living on a strict budget and can barely afford the necessities now? If, money is tight where you are currently you will not have to worry about that here on that salary. You will be able to afford to travel and afford things you most likely never thought possible. My parents moved here before I did, they now travel 3x a year and most recently bought a camper which they plan on travelling around North America with. Schools are very simple to get into, if you live in a good area - generally there is a good school around there. <SNIP>


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## Canada2Australia (Nov 29, 2015)

I can't believe the amount of ignorance and stupid this and other Winnipeg threads are overflowing with. Some people are beyond ignorant.

I am a Winnipegger, born and raised. I have live in other various Canadian cities, including Calgary and Edmonton, and anything who thinks they are vastly superior are clearly pushing an agenda. Edmonton is EXACTLY like Winnipeg, except with a giant mall. I lived there for 8 years and didn't mind it, but I was dying to get out because I got bored with the city real quick. I live in Calgary for almost a year, and it's a nice city, but the people are so full of themselves and think their poop don't stink. And I'm sorry, but thinking about living in a city that has the possibility of snow 365 a year, being a Canadian, simply doesn't appeal to me. Plus their summers are chilly; I like summertime heat.

The amount of festivals in Winnipeg start in spring and running through fall are ridiculous. Fringe Fest (the second largest in Canada), Folklorama (the largest multi-cultural festival in the world), Folk Fest, Blues and BBQ festival, Winnipeg Whiskey Festival, Winnipeg Comedy Festival (One of the largest in the country), Winnipeg Wine Festival, Children's Festival, Winnipeg International Jazz Festival, Culture Days, Doors Open Winnipeg (super cool way to explore our many historic buildings), Manyfest, Mardi Gras, Nuit Blanche, Red River Exhibition, Reel Pride Film Festival, Soca Reggae Festival, Caribana and many more, just to name a few. Even a festival in the winter Festival du Voyageur, celebrating our Francophone heritage, is awesome. 

Skating on the world largest natural skating rink (the Assiniboine River) is like nothing else. The Assiniboine Zoo is under a huge transformation, now with the new arctic exhibits where you can see seals and polar bears swimming overhead in a glass tunnel, is incredible; and many more upgrades to the zoo are in the works, thankfully! The Canadian Museum of Human Rights is an educational experience that really opens your eyes to how some of our brothers and sisters have been unfairly treated in the past, and helps to understand how we can avoid such travesties in the future. The Forks is a cool place with so many unique shops, boutiques, restaurants and pubs. It's going to be undergoing a multi-million dollar renovation project (which is great because it was looking a little dated); it's a place where you can go to unwind and have some beers with buds on the patio. It's a National Historic Site that is truly special. The Children's Museum is found here.

Our Exchange District is another National Historic Site that is a living, breathing neighborhood full of shops, restaurants, pubs, game rooms, offices and condominiums. This neighborhood consists of an entire area of beautiful turn of the century buildings, something that is very unique in Canada since most cities have demolished their own versions of The Exchange. People are amazed these kinds of neighborhoods still exist.

Osborne Village is the "hipster" area of the city with cafes, markets, restaurants, pubs and boutique shops. It's a cool place to just wander around. Corydon Avenue is just a short walk way (Winnipeg's Little Italy) with more restaurants, boutique shops, cafes and pubs.

The Royal Winnipeg Ballet is an internationally renoun ballet (the top ballet company in Canada) with world-class performances (seen the nutcracker, cool) and houses Canada's top dance studio. Opera, theatre, music venues (small and large as we have TONS of concerts coming to the city every year). I went to see Cavalia this year and it was amazing. They had to add two additional weeks of performances because the shows sold out quickly.

So, to all who say there is nothing to do here, I say you clearly have no idea what you are talking about. This is an amazing city and I would never want to live in any other Canadian city.


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## ejw07 (Apr 24, 2015)

Victoria i agree with you 100% gona look into that my self... nice job


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## LMAshton (Oct 10, 2014)

I've been to Winnipeg many many times - I have a lot of relatives in the area - but not for the last couple of decades. I have fond memories of Winnipeg. Yes, it's called Winterpeg, but winter there is not worse than, say, Edmonton. Most of my relatives who still live there love it there, and they are FOREVER going on about this festival and that festival and so on. Music, food, whatever. 

Every place has its good and its bad. Winnipeg may not have the beautiful weather that I love in Vancouver, but it's still a good place to live.


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