Baker Lake?

A lot of people have asked us where exactly in Nunavut we're staying, so I thought I'd take a really quick second and tell you about our soon-to-be home.

Baker Lake is a hamlet (about 1,800 people) on the inland part of Nunavut. I believe I read somewhere that it's the Canadian Arctic's only inland community, because all the other areas are along the ocean and Baker Lake is about 20km from it. Baker Lake is also the community closest to the geographical centre of Canada...which, to be honest, I never would have guessed was so North. Clearly, I am no geography expert! We were also told that of the small population, about 20% are "Southerners" (anyone not from Nunavut is considered a Southener!), so there are plenty of people who went through the same thing we're going through right now. Solidarity, FTW!

Why did we decide to embark on this adventure? It really came about on a whim to be honest (I know, life-changing decisions shouldn't start on a whim, but hear me out). An opportunity came up that was honestly too good to be passed up, so after a lot - and I do mean a lot - of discussions with our families, we figured we were at a good point in our lives to try it out. We don't have any kids yet, we're relatively young (depends on the day though, somedays I hobble around like I'm 90 years old!) and everything was pointing towards going. So...we're going. It's been a whirldwind since we've made the decision and I flip-flop between getting really excited, to getting really depressed, to just all-out freaking out. An emotional rollercoaster for sure. I will say that I am glad that the opportunity has come at this point in my life because I don't think I could do it if I was single and making the move on my own. I'm way too much of a homebody for that.

So that's why it's happening and where we're going. Next up, I'll tell you about our lightning-fast visit over the course of a weekend. My head still spins!

-L