I love this place! And the simpler life

We’re been living in Dawson City for 4.5 months now, and I still love it!

I love:

• the snow
• how loud it is walking on a frozen wooden sidewalk
• walking around at night, seeing foxes wandering the streets with me
• how friendly and helpful the people are, each with their own story, so many terrific characters here
• that there is never any feeling of ‘Am I wearing the right clothes?’ when I’m grocery shopping in my pink winter boots, and track pants, with messy toque hair
• the slower pace, being totally fine if we run out of something and know it could be a few weeks, or months, before we can get a replacement
• not spending half of every Saturday shopping for food and home improvement materials, like we used to. We go to the grocery store 2-3 times a week now, usually just when we are walking by, and grab a couple things at a time
• having everything in walking distance, with no stop lights or crossing walks
• having to go to the post office to get all my mail and parcels. It is a great excuse to get out of the house, walk, chat with people, and see the posters on the wall for events, and notices. There isn’t a parcel delivery service here to your door, no Amazon Prime, and certainly no two-day delivery. Who needs the hurry?
• when someone grabs the string and dongs the bell at the bar meaning everyone in the place gets a free beer and then we toast with a stranger new friend we just hadn’t met before
• how beautiful the snow is in the trees on the hills surrounding town
• never hearing anyone whine and complain about winter (those people leave for the 8 months of winter)
• how incredibly odd it is now that the sun rises after 11 and is gone after 3, not that we even see the sun here (it’s been a few weeks)
• how you can drop something in the street and if someone doesn’t find it and post it on our town crier group on Facebook, you’ll find it in the same place next time you walk by
• how no one is afraid of dogs and no one expects me to lock up Monty when they stop by
• how there is no drive for things that do not matter, like granite counter tops, walk in closets, and all the other insanity shown on real estate shows. Instead people here decide if they want running water and electricity, or if they are fine living outside of town, hauling water and running a generator for power
• seeing some people switch to snowmobiles and a sled for their winter commutes into town
• not having a second car to fix all the time
• no one cares about what their neighbour is doing, or what their lawn looks like – do whatever the hell you want
• much less corporate presence with no drive thru franchises or coffee shops or restaurants
• living in a small house with just enough space (that I can vacuum all from one plug)
• that I don’t miss a dishwasher. Washing dishes is faster and easier, and you need far fewer dishes
• how remote we are and yet still live in a functional, well organized town, with more social events than you could ever possibly hope to attend

I walk around town still rather euphoric, feeling like I still have a crush on this town.