Is there a date for when a sandbox game begins?

[ChillPlayer]

I wonder what date (day, month, year) is set when we start a new sandbox game. Is it defined by the story or is it just the date we as a player have in RL? The intro message only tells that our plane crashed, but not when.

[Cosmoline]

It's not the 80's, it's just Canada. And those cars aren't broken, they just need some hooch.