Ah, now I'm understanding better. Calgary's average precipitation is around 16 inches a year, with only 4.4 inches of that being snow in the winter. In Toronto, it's 80 total, with about 30 inches of snow.

People back in Toronto kept talking about the long, brutal winters we would be enduring, imagining them to be like Ontario's, only extended. But here, according to Wikipedia, it can be really cold (with it dropping to -30C about five times a year) but it will be dry. This explains why someone we communicated with in Calgary had told us he never buys snow tires.

Another interesting fact: you can get frost any month of the year here, and it has actually snowed in July and August. Summer evenings get really chilly. So this is my chance to use all those jackets and sweaters I've collected over the years. I also have a fine collection of thermal socks I'd bought when winters in Ontario were colder. We find that nice, warm socks feel really good walking around our little bungalow.

In other news, We are agreeing there really is something to the legendary Calgary friendliness. We applied for health insurance at a government office in downtown Calgary yesterday, and talking to the official was like chatting with a neighbor over the back fence. Same thing at the dental office I went to last night (got my strong presciption, and am on the mend, by the way) and when we were talking with an employee of the local Co-op store the other day. (Co-op stores are non-profit enterprises with a long history in Canada, selling groceries, drugs, gas, etc.). Felt like you were talking to an old friend. I'd compare it, in the U.S., with people from the midwest.