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These three places all have about the same population size
(thelemmy.club)
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this post was submitted on 31 Jul 2026
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Makes you wonder why housing prices in Canada are so ridiculously high then when they have so much free land space.
do you want to drive 3 hours to work every day?
You can do better than that. I'm not sure how far you have to get from Calgary or Edmonton before abandoned, falling apart farmhouses start, but it might be only 45 minutes.
And if you're in a random part of the north, it's more like weeks of offroading.
Edit: Obviously, that 45 minutes is still enough to discourage most buyers. You might still be 20 from the nearest stores of any kind. So, the point stands, most of the land isn't acceptable for most people.
The free land space: 🧊
I've known several people who would happily live in the Arctic so even that's not a complete no go.
Yeah, but do they like having a job and services, or are they okay alone in a run-down dry cabin with a rifle for the polar bears, and expensive resupply trucks whenever the iceroads are passable?
Depends on the individual. At least one of the dudes lived in Svalbard for about a year but had to leave for family reasons so he would probably be chill with either.
Oh yeah, then sure.
I guess the point is that the climate isn't actually the big issue, it's what a typical person is going to do in the middle of the arctic. If you're a digital nomad or a researcher, it makes sense. If you're from a local Native group, with unlimited legal hunting and a community, it makes sense.
FWIW even within Canada, and with funding in place, it's hard to move to the North. I know somebody who tried to retire to Whitehorse a bit ago, but couldn't, because lots of people are interested in that and it's nigh-impossible to get new housing approved.
Considering we have like 9% of the world's entire forests, where would you like us yo build these houses?
Construction is the bottleneck.
On why construction is the bottleneck, you'll hear several theories, but just physically having land isn't the problem.
Guess noone wants to live near the polar circle
Actually, we have no trouble finding immigrants, and mostly let in ones that are doctors or something like that (who then end up working fast food anyway).
But yes, many of the people who were born here, and grew up somewhat acclimatised, still bitterly complain about the climate.
The developers sit on it and only develop the closest to [city] area they have until those sell at [high price] then they move to the next area they own until those sell.
They also feel like they can get more money building single family homes than building apartments.