Q, back in the late 1990s, food prices were (and I suspect still are) outrageous. No kidding, tomatoes went at $1.00 each as did bananas, apples and oranges. No new produce was put out until every bit of the old stock was purchased.

Housing: we paid $1400/month for a living room, three small bedrooms--think trailer-sized bedrooms, a kitchen and a small bathroom. Water was trucked in and sewage trucked out. Electricity averaged about $350/month over the course of a year.

Getting from the settlement I was in to Norman Wells was damned near as expensive as getting from Norman Wells to Yellowknife. Of course, during the 'night without end' everything was more expensive. Oddly, a two liter thing of milk was cheaper in winter because it could be trucked in when the winter road was open. Still, then milk sold at about $3.00 a litre. In summer months it went for $4.50 a liter.

I made about $75,000/year. Was unable to save any money other than what accrued to my pension. And remember, that was back in the late 1990s. The NWT government gave with one hand and took it back with the other. C'est la vie I suppose. I always felt it was a wasted two years. Retrospect, not sour grapes.