I have some friends from Mexico who moved to Canada earlier this year. We got to talking about the coming winter months and how cold it can get. She commented that she had never seen winter clothes before.

This got me thinking about how much it costs to live where I do, in Southern Ontario, Canada. Here we have 4 distinct seasons, with only fall and spring sharing the same clothing. That means we need appropriate clothing for 3 weather patterns.

Spring/Fall:

  • a light jacket, perhaps a windbreaker or something of the sort
  • socks, pants
  • all of this layered, since the transition from and to summer, means mornings and evenings are cold, but midday is hot.
  • rake for falling leaves and house preparation for the winter

Winter:

  • hats, scarves, mitts, gloved, snow pants, warm jacket
  • mandatory shovel to clear the driveway, some opt for an expensive snow-blower
  • the house must to have a heating system, its unheard of to have a home in Canada without a heating system… just doesn’t exist.
  • since outdoor entertainment is limited, extra indoor entertainment is purchased

Summer

  • air conditioning
  • light clothes, t-shirts, shorts, swimming suits.
  • outdoor sports equipment

Surely the list could be bigger.

I wonder how much money would be saved living in, say, a 2-season climate, or one that is relatively the same always. I spend 2 years in California and had only a light jacket, that I wore for about3 weeks of the year Otherwise, I was fine in what I consider “summer clothes” year-round.