Canadians DON'T live in Igloos...

Honest.  I'm a Canadian who recently retired, and now lives in Mexico for 7 months each winter - and I've never lived in a igloo.  Canada does get a lot of snow, but I don't miss it at all.  I have always loved Mexico, it's people and it's climate and consider it my second home.  My first visit to Mexico was over 25 years ago and was the result of a coin toss.  Heads, I went to a beach in Mexico, or Tails, I went skiing in Canada.  Mexico won, but I think the toss may have been slightly rigged.

During my winters in Mexico, Facebook keeps me connected to all my family and friends back in Canada, and I follow all the news up north while enjoying the warmth down south.  I recently saw a posted photo of a man that had dug a huge path through the snow to an outside bench.  He was wearing a swimming suit sitting on the bench drinking a beer.  This reminded me of Igloos for some reason.  Maybe it was because the path leading to the bench had snow on each side about 8 feet high that made it look a little like an igloo.

Seeing this photo reminded me of something I had seen on TV years ago.  People in the Southern USA were interviewed and asked what types of homes they thought Canadians lived in.  I distinctly remember one man replying - 'Igloos'.  He was serious.  Sorry buddy, but you have to go quite a bit further north of Canada to find any igloos.  This guy probably thought that we have penguins as pets too.

I later showed the swimming suit photo to my landlord in Mexico, and he couldn't believe it.  Of course he has never seen snow and couldn't even imagine what it must feel like.  I then explained that we Canadians also drive in the snow.  He shook his head in disbelief.  I told him that my house was made out of wood, and showed him a picture of it covered in snow.  He was amazed that it didn't collapse.  At least he didn't think we lived in igloos...


No, we Canadians don't live in igloos.  That would be the Eskimos I think.  We live in real houses just like you do.  And Canada isn't that much farther north than the USA.  If you look at a map (OK, use Google Maps), you may notice that some of the Northern States of the USA are farther north than parts of Canada.  Hmm, I wonder if the people in Maine live in igloos?