Quote from acerbits:
Um, I think ur in dreamland man. there are barely any people in those provinces, 30,000 people in each? the high wind wont work for power generation because your generators will be frozen solid and will crack to pieces if they are spinning. if you want a more reasonable place in canada, check out canmore, Alberta, beautiful mountain backdrop, good for skiing/snowboarding, and close to 2 major canadian cities (Edmonton, Calgary) no provincial income taxes and a very healthy oil economy.
The oil economy is the problem. The people are getting fat paychecks that are driving up the cost of real-estate in those parts of Canada. They're abusing credit and leverage to pump up the prices. I call these real estate agents and none of the properties actually sit on the market for very long. This is in stark contrast to what's going on in places in the US right now, where properties are sitting for quite some time.
I want to know why anyone has over 1.5 mil on a house in Yellowknife if it's such a remote, cold place. The economics of Canada don't make sense near the cities until you look at the oil and the connected industries -- at least, on the west.
The parts that look livable in terms of cost have no habitation at all, or very little of it. In those areas, the taxes are low, the land is cheap, and it's beautiful. If just the basic things are solved in some of those spots, it seems like a genuine solution to 1) retirement, and 2) low cost living.
If the Canadians do have an energy solution/revolution or plop 1 nuclear plant out in some of those areas, those land purchases from remote areas would skyrocket in value. The vast majority of land plots out there don't have power/water hookups. Someone with money, resources, and political influence could create a location and profit for himself just by attacking these problems efficiently. One Canadian told me the government actually pays people to live in certain regions, so there are certainly attempts by people (through influencing the government) to try and accomplish what I'm talking about.
The US is a losing game at this point, because inflation (not what the fed reports) is really eating up our incomes. $1500/month to live in a closet, then spend $5 on a gallon of milk and also a gallon of gas? Land that can be bought has been bought, and we have far more pollution and toxins in our land. The Canadian land and resources are much more pristine.