I’m contemplating moving to PR. I moved to Prince George a year ago - I love it. I heard so many people bash PG before moving here that I almost didn’t come, but I’m glad I did. (most of the negative opinions came from people whom had never even been to PG!)
I have an opportunity in PR so I’d like to know what the residents think about it.
I’ve managed to form the following assumptions and would greatly appreciate it if you all could correct me where I’m mistaken:
move to PR only if one already has employment secured
it rains a lot
people have been talking about an economic boom in PR for the past 30 years - it has not happened yet
PR is a place that one either loves or hates; it’s rare to find people whom have ambivalent opinions about the place
I have lived in Rupert for 23 years, it is a town surrounded by an industry park, the water front is almost all gone, there is plenty of good paying jobs, the fishing is outstanding and if you have a boat you have more access to the great outdoors. if not then there is only one direction to go…lol… Personally I have been thinking of moving to terrace, but renting or buying I hear is hard. Oh and rent in Rupert has gone up prices for houses are not bad yet, but everything is based on the Natural Gas that may or may not be coming.
wildlife is plentiful, wolves, cougars, deer, bear and grizzlies. there is also plenty of sea-life; whales, killer whales that come into the harbor. the people for the most part are nice and friendly, there can be a lot of transients passing through Rupert like most other towns.
we live in a Pacific temperate rain forest, and we do get lots of rain, but last summer we got a lot of sun, which led to a lot of camping days…woot woot. This spring its been a bit gloomy and damp, but the temp on average through out the year is 15 deg difference. very mild winters with a few snow dumps that last a day or two with a cold snap. you get use to the rain and its only a mild inconvenience. driving towards terrace it usually clears up and Terrace is always hotter in the summer the temperature is in the 30’s and Rupert in the lower 20’s. The fishing on the Skeena can be amazing if your into fishing salmon. the best camping is towards terrace, plenty of free camping and good provincial parks for the families.
I’ve never lived in a place where sunlight was so scarce. Is it really that bad?[/quote]
It can be. There are occasions where we can go what seems like months without seeing blue sky. It’s not that common but it does happen. There are certainly no guarantees when it comes to sunlight here but we can also have incredibly beautiful weather at times. The past couple of years has been terrific. Beautiful summers and somewhat mild winters. While the rest of Canada has been seemingly caught up in an endless winter this year, we’ve had a lot of sun and very little snow. We had a cold snap that was just long enough to freeze nearby lakes and ponds and gave a chance for families to get out and skate. For the most part, Rupert does seem to be a place that one either loves or hates. Some who love it enjoy the rain while others who love to live here may not enjoy the rain as much as others, but love the friendly, small town feel and maintain a positive mindset despite the periods of bad weather. The entire area is abound of natural beauty. Sure, much of the waterfront is designated industrial zones but it’s the port activities in these areas that allows us to prosper and provides hope for the future.
About the economic boom you mentioned, Prince Rupert was a thriving port community for many years. When I arrived in the 1960’s natural resources such as commercial fishing and the forest industry were thriving. Jobs were plentiful and this was the place to be if ine wanted to make a buck. This started to change about 20 years ago with the decline of the commercial fishery with new regulations and a shift in priorities towards conservation and management of fish stocks.this was followed by a rapid decline in the forest industry, which affected the entire province, and resulted in the closure of pulp and saw mills, and the loss of many, many jobs locally. Since then, the community had been in a process of reinventing itself. The opening if the container port in 2007 was a start and other industries such as LNG, coal and potash have shown interest in establishing themselves here. We have seen boom and bust, and we quite honestly are destined to experience a bit more of a boom at some point in the not to distant future. I would say that Rupert is a mix of blue collar and executive type workers.
If you do decide to relocate to Rupert I wish you the best of luck. It’s not for everybody but many of us love it here. I’ve been here for roughly 50 years and will never leave. Compared to the city the cost of housing is much less and I can be anywhere in town within 5 minutes. I can also find complete solitude within 5 minutes and spend zero time waiting in traffic. This provides a quality of life that I’d very fulfilling.
You need to become accustomed to the isolation of this town also. Terrace is 1 1/2 hours away! And in the winter, not many trip down our highway ! 'If you are the outdoorsy/sporty type and don’t care that there isn’t much shopping (small Wal-Mart, Shoppers, Dollarama and Bargain Store+ few boutique type stores), there is always something to do but otherwise it has been classed as a click-ish town, not much to do and very expensive as far as groceries etc. and at the moment gas is $1.44 but don’t know what it is in PG. Very expensive to travel out by air so folks are taking advantage of much lower flight fares from Terrace. The scenery is beautiful but it is a tough town for many. Doctors are hard to come by, that is a concern as many are not accepting new patients but we do have 2 clinics and the hospital. I am from Ontario via Kelowna, if I had my choice in the move here, I would have said no way but I met a great fella here so that is my positive. He also would like to move so we hope to head out soon.
i have basically lived here all 40 plus years.
as i kid i seen this place prosper, big time. where there was soo much money to be made…by EVERYONE…in those days a fishplant job…a fishing job or a pulp mill escalated your socio/economic status.
when i first started at skeena cellulose i worked with old timer who said that at ANY time in the 60 70 and mid eighties you could make a fortune here…and if ya didnt like your job or employer, you could move next door and start a new carreer within a day…and most people did in that era.
we are a broken community right now…BUT…its on the uprise…BIG TIME.
ive seen the good…seen the bad…and we are in the infancy of economic glory. …some will cash in…some will rest back…some will leave the growing pains this city will see. AND i dont blame em.
i had an ecounter with a guy today…and he basically said to the above…man i really like my sleepy hollow…i like the way rupert is right now. im afraid of whats gonna happen…
I totally agreed…
be prepped for the big boom long time rupertites…and port edtonians…gonna change the way we live within 2yrs…
^
I agree - things are going to change and already are.
Pacific Northwest LNG announcement will be known by Christmas…if it is a yes decision, this place is going to EXPLODE…I don’t think people truly understand what is going to happen here if this specific LNG terminal happens. We are talking a sudden influx of 4000 construction workers for 4-5 years in this community and then 650+ jobs once construction is over…that is HUGE and something this city has not seen since the pulp mill opened decades and decades ago.
The company has already said that while most of the workers will live on Lelu island at the work camp proposed there, they said most will need to rely on Prince Rupert for recreation activities, laundry, sundry supplies ect…not only that but these work camps will require 150-250 employees to run them.
Yes or No, 2015 is going to be one of the most significant years in Prince Rupert history IMO.
i agree and disagree with what some have said. ruperts a small town at the end of the line so travel out of here for vacations and roadtrips is the biggest inconvenience for me. right now for u in pg u can hop in a car and end up in so many places in 8hrs in a few directions. for us we end in pg in 8hrs lol. yes it does rain but i find in the last couple of years the weather has improved huge here. theres lots of jobs take your pick. but i disagree that the housing isn’t overpriced yet i feel people ask way too much for a house that you still have to renovate to update it or you pay for a view of the water that is 3kms away from your house like its a big deal. lots of outdoor activities big theatre scene . if you live here the key is travel lots and learn to online shop for certain things compared to prince george
Most people that come to PR from somewhere else leave again. There are exceptions obviously, but 4-7 years seems to be a common length of stay. It is a “make do” kind of place; from shoes, to cars there is a very limited selection of goods and you often have to compromise. You have to be prepared to do everything in the rain, from golf to baseball, picnics to camping. There are no hot summer days at the beach, no real skiing in the winter. Fishing is superb, the air is clean, and there are a lot of good people. There is a vibrant arts and music scene, but outside of that and a handful of organized sports there is not a lot for young people to do. It isn’t the place to live if you suffer from any kind of depression or if the lack of sunlight drives you crazy.
I lived there 25 years and left 6 years ago. Married and raised 2 kids there. I’ve been back twice and can’t believe I spent all that time in such a craphole.
No shopping, no restaurants, a sense of “Pay it or tough luck” from everyone running a business, crumbling infrastructure. And if you’re gonna count on a boom? Keep dreaming with the rest of them. An economic boom has been forecast for over 15 years and it has yet to materialize. yet you will find no shortage of people saying “another 2 years”.
[quote=“JackAnderson”]I lived there 25 years and left 6 years ago. Married and raised 2 kids there. I’ve been back twice and can’t believe I spent all that time in such a craphole.
No shopping, no restaurants, a sense of “Pay it or tough luck” from everyone running a business, crumbling infrastructure. And if you’re gonna count on a boom? Keep dreaming with the rest of them. An economic boom has been forecast for over 15 years and it has yet to materialize. yet you will find no shortage of people saying “another 2 years”.
Stay away.[/quote]
Don’t listen to Jack Anderson, he sounds like a bitter man. Here’s my take…I was born here, but grew up in Terrace. I moved back in '86 , married and raised 2 kids. Terrace is a great place to live, it has shopping more variety of restaurants and plenty of outdoor activity. Winters can be cold, but coming from P.G. you would know what that’s like. Housing prices are average, but they are going up. Terrace is a hub community with people coming in from all 4 directions for shopping etc…
Rupert is also a great place to live. Weather is not as bad as people make it out to be, and the last couple of years it seems not as much rain. Rupert on a sunny day in the winter can be one of the best places to live in Canada as we don’t get the brutal winds that can be found on the highway and Terrace. Sure our shopping isn’t great, but Terrace isn’t far and with things proposed to happen I’m sure our shopping will improve. We have some good restaurants, just not very many, though that could change as well. People complain about the lack of access to the waterfront, its not like there isn’t any. There is a nice walkway and park. Rupert was built because of the water access and the waterfront has always been deemed industrial. Housing is going up and I too believe that buyers ask to much for some of the inventory that’s available. One thing though is that our taxes are some of the highest in the province. There’s lots of outdoor activities from boating, fishing, hiking and camping which can be done basically all year. Things will be happening here regardless of what Mr. Anderson says. They wouldn’t have put so much money into building the Ridley Island Rail/Road access corridor. Fairview container terminal will be expanding in the future, a 2nd berth will bring in the need for more man power to build and operate it. Even if we only get 1 of the proposed LNG terminals, that will mean a big change for Rupert. Its a choice. If you haven’t been up this way come for a long weekend and check the area out.
[quote=“JackAnderson”]I lived there 25 years and left 6 years ago. Married and raised 2 kids there. I’ve been back twice and can’t believe I spent all that time in such a craphole.
No shopping, no restaurants, a sense of “Pay it or tough luck” from everyone running a business, crumbling infrastructure. And if you’re gonna count on a boom? Keep dreaming with the rest of them. An economic boom has been forecast for over 15 years and it has yet to materialize. yet you will find no shortage of people saying “another 2 years”.
Stay away.[/quote]
Born and raised in Rupert for 19 of my 26 years of existence, and visited home every year since then. That doom and gloom you’ve just described is not just an over exaggeration, but mostly false.
No restaurants? What are you talking about? Rupert is known for quality locally owned eateries, and it always has been. Remember that Rupert is one of the few places outside Vancouver where you can have excellent quality dim sum.
[quote=“JackAnderson”]I lived there 25 years and left 6 years ago. Married and raised 2 kids there. I’ve been back twice and can’t believe I spent all that time in such a craphole.
No shopping, no restaurants, a sense of “Pay it or tough luck” from everyone running a business, crumbling infrastructure. And if you’re gonna count on a boom? Keep dreaming with the rest of them. An economic boom has been forecast for over 15 years and it has yet to materialize. yet you will find no shortage of people saying “another 2 years”.
Stay away.[/quote]
Born and raised in Rupert for 19 of my 26 years of existence, and visited home every year since then. That doom and gloom you’ve just described is not just an over exaggeration, but mostly false.
No restaurants? What are you talking about? Rupert is known for quality locally owned eateries, and it always has been. Remember that Rupert is one of the few places outside Vancouver where you can have excellent quality dim sum.[/quote]
Well quality for some, except for the place that the Health Dept just shut down on 3rd Ave.
Not bitter at all. I can just see that craphole for what it is. I thought it was OK when I lived there, then I lived someplace else and realized the lack of absolutely everything in that town. People go on and on about how you can live a great outdoor lifestyle there. Well quelle suprise, that can be done anywhere. I’m in the LMD now and can have my kayak in either the Fraser River, the Pacific Ocean or a variety of mountain lakes in 25 minutes. I live in a 3600 sq ft new house that is of a higher quality than any rot filled dump in that town, has appreciated 15% since I’ve bought it and even at an assessed value of over $600K my property taxes are less than the $200K place I had up there.
On a sunny day it’s beautiful? So is every place. It’s just that for so much of the year it’s wet and gray that on those 100 days per year of sun it seems like things are grrrreat! But they aren’t, you’ll be back to rain and 300 km round trips to terrace in order to try and kill the monotony.
Terrace is a very pretty little town. better weather, better infrastructure, better amenities … go there if you need to head west OP.
I have to say I agree with most of what “JackAnderson” has posted and am tired of hearing the boom is coming, the boom Is coming as has been yelled from the rooftops since the mill collapse years ago! The town is what it is, a sad “used to be” town. That is all I hear are the “used to be” stories of days gone by. You live here, you settle for less, hope for more and the cycle continues. I am from Ontario, been here since "99 and now that I am retired have no reason to stay and hope to leave soon. I have attached a pic of our only accessible “in town” beach. We have a nice walkway along the waterfront but there is this misconception that we are surrounded by beautiful sandy beaches so here it is. If you have a boat or care to travel, you can access other areas up the line but this is our beach and at high tide? What beach?
Cody Bear’s picture of our “beach”, lets be clear was never our beach until long after the fire in 1972. There are sewer outfalls along that beach area. Our waterfront was all industrial. Kaien Island does not have any beaches. There are beaches if you have a boat to access them.
I’ve been a pessimist about Rupert and its future too. But I am slightly more optimistic than I use to be.
As you can see you have positive and negative view points, but in the end Its your decision on what you plan to do.