The opinions expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Narcity Media.
When you're thinking about moving to Canada and seeing temperatures like -40 C, it can be borderline terrifying.
As someone who moved from the hot, Middle Eastern city of Dubai to Canada in 2022, I was doubly stressed about the fact that I would be going from one temperature extreme to another.
After all, my idea of winter is a balmy 15 C and I had never experienced temperatures that go into the minus.
Add to the fact that the news seemed to be full of winter storms and weather so extreme it breaks Guinness World Records, and I'll be honest, I wasn't quite sure I'd survive the season.
However, a month into January (and a few snowstorms later), I'm very much alive and (I'd like to think) thriving.
Here are some misconceptions I had about the cold season in Canada.
All Canadians love the cold
While living in Dubai, I started following a bunch of Canadian media channels and saw some hilarious posts about how Canadians deal with the cold.
Long story short, if social media is to be believed, Canadians deal with the weather remarkably well. They go out in the snow wearing shorts, think 0 degrees is spring weather, and basically just love all things icy.
However, since coming here I've been surprised to find people who are, well, quite like me.
I met loads of people who have been in the country their whole lives but still hate the cold and feel chilly really fast.
In fact, a majority of the people I've met don't love the freezing temperature. However, having lived here for years, they are better prepared and more used to it.
It made me realize that if they could make it, so could I.
It will snow every day
When you're looking at news reports of Canada as a whole, it just feels like the country is always blanketed by snow.
And while that may be the case in some of the Northern areas of the country, not all parts of the country are blanketed with snow at all.
In fact, cities like Vancouver see more rain. Even Toronto, where I live, has the occasional snow storm but the weather constantly fluctuates with sunshine, rain, freezing rain, flurries and, of course, snow.
Point being: it's not always snowing. And when it is, it's actually really pretty (and sometimes, better than the cold rain).
I won't be able to leave the house for days at a time
I genuinely thought the winter storms would be so bad, I would be stuck at home.
Keeping this in mind, I really wanted a comfortable place to stay, which ideally came with amenities like a gym so I didn't have to foray into the outdoor world for months (maybe?).
Of course, I was wrong. While there are certain extreme weather events in Canada, for the most part, it's easy to move outdoors, especially if you live in a city with a well-connected public transport system.
The cold is the worst thing about winter
I genuinely couldn't image stepping out into minus-degree temperatures on a daily basis and thought the cold would pretty much be the worst thing.
That was before November hit and I realized that the thing that really made me want to stay home all day… wasn't the cold.
It was the fact that the sun set super early, with it becoming pitch black shortly after 5 p.m.
It can be confusing to the body and made me want to stay in all day.
The more layers the better
I'm not going to lie, I thought I'd spend all of winter bundled up to the point of being unrecognizable.
While that's certainly the case on some days, it's honestly few and far between.
Once you discover the best places to buy winter jackets, accessories and boots, you don't need to wear everything at once.
There have been times I've put on too many layers and despite it snowing, I've been sweating.
My point being, a few choice accessories and thermals are what's really needed. I haven't quite got the knack for the art of layering just yet, but at least I know better than to try wearing everything I own all at once.
There's nothing to do during winter
And finally, because of all of the aforementioned points, I just assumed that there wouldn't be anything going on during winter and that people would just spend their days indoors with their families.
This line of thinking was heightened because the summer is absolutely bustling, especially in Toronto, where I live, and people kept telling me to "make the most of it while it lasts."
That being said, once winter did arrive, I hardly felt like it put a damper on plans. From winter markets to free outdoor ice-skating rinks, there's honestly a whole lot to experience.
And that doesn't even begin to count the indoor activities you can take up in Canada, from pottery to comedy nights, spas and more.
This is me accepting how wrong I was — and how glad I am to be wrong too!
I Survived My First Winter In Canada & Here Are 6 Misconceptions I Had About It
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