Moving to Prince Rupert

My biggest problem has always been the isolation. Due to health issues I am unable to drive so must depend on others to get out of here or pay the very high airfares to take a jaunt to Vancouver. Our closest large center is Prince George, approx. 10-12 hour drive away. You will be fine if you are outgoing and easily join into established groups or if your family loves camping and fishing etc. I have always been a city girl, having only one or two short downtown streets to walk down may be a shock coming from Kelowna. I and others do find Rupert a little cliquish but once you find your niche, you should be fine. It is an area where you really need to make that extra effort to have a fulfilling life and entertainment and shopping are definitely not what you are used to down in the OK !

^10-12 hrs to PG…are you kidding me? Are you driving 60km/h the whole way?

In the spring, summer & early fall you can make it to PG in 7 hrs.
In the winter, tack on an extra 2-3 hrs, give or take dependent on the weather.

PG is 715km away, so do the math on that one.

[quote=“bthedog”]^10-12 hrs to PG…are you kidding me? Are you driving 60km/h the whole way?

In the spring, summer & early fall you can make it to PG in 7 hrs.
In the winter, tack on an extra 2-3 hrs, give or take dependent on the weather.

PG is 715km away, so do the math on that one.[/quote]

Folks always find something to come back on me about, I guess I was thinking of the bus ride there. Does that satisfy your math expertise? Geesh !!

And with this …
probably be looking sooner than later to buy !

cftktv.com/News/Story.aspx?ID=1858080

we to are moving to prince rupert, but moving back after five years away . tired of the city to expensive here as for most places down in the south unless you make 200,000 $ plus no way to make it here in the big city . So for the bashers of prince rupert come try it out here , and you wil see prince rupert isnt that bad . plus thers no traffic and today is the first time ive seen the sun in weeks ,and problably only the 5th time since september . prince rupert is a great place to raise a family , use the outdoors and theres lots to do there !

Not true.

You sound like someone originally from PR moving back, which is a very different situation than the OP. I think for an outsider, particularly one coming from a warm sunny climate, the “Rupert honeymoon” is 3-5 years.

?

As one poster pointed out, If you want sun or shopping all you have to do is… leave.

I grew up in rupert and spend a fair bit of time there each year . The development on edward ave does have nice new homes and are what you would find in kelowna priced relative to a home you would find in rutland. (rutland has way more to offer) what it lacks is sun, that dip on 11th is in the shade when other streets have been dried out for hours.

Same goes for alpine… Alpine is over priced in my opinion as once you round that corner it too stays out of the sun and has no view unlike graham and atlin.

400-500g will give you lots of options however I would suggest buying a decent home in an area with good resale value incase you can’t handle the change from kelowna to rupert.

On a positive note. rupert is small , you will drive less and have free parking, when it’s nice you can’t beat it and you can walk everywhere. I always seemed to have money for trips when I lived there unlike here.
also if you choose to buy an average priced home in rupert you can bank the difference, couple that with the money you save you will be able to move where you want when you retire.

Raising a kid in rupert is good too , There was a french immersion school when I lived there (westview) and the catholic school (takes non catholics too) had a very good program .

check out the top end of cassiar ave some of those houses have views and there is a park and elementary school nearby

We moved to PR from the Okanagan too, 7 years ago now. We grew up in the OK and got tired of the heat and the fires, high housing prices and the over development. Moving here was one of the best things we did for our family. We had a pre-schooler at the time and I found it easy to meet other moms and made good friends really quickly. There are lots of Strong Start programs, one in almost every elementary school and I think there is still one in the high school? That is a great place to take a pre-schooler for play and socializing, and you’ll meet moms there too. The Civic Centre has a program called Wiggles and Squiggles for pre-schoolers that both my kids were crazy about. The museum is nice and they sometimes do kid’s art programs, the Lester Centre brings in entertainers and the community puts on productions as well. There are lots of things to get involved in, and I recommend getting involved in the community in some way when you get here as the best way to make friends and feel connected. I’ve found that life here exploded for me the more involved I got in things. As far as stores, be prepared on that one. Going from Orchard Park to our mall here was a shock to me. But after a while, in all honesty, I found I was able to get most of what I need here and for the things I want that I can’t find here, online shopping fills the void. And Terrace is a nice escape, and you will not find a more stunning drive anywhere on this earth than the one between here and Terrace.
Yeah, ok, it rains a lot. A LOT. But you have the rain forest all around you, the wildlife and the ocean, the abundant life and natural beauty, and your skin will look great. :smile:
There are a lot of great things about this place, but you have to be open to them. Like anywhere, really. I find that it’s a tight knit community of people who really care about each other (mostly) and it’s a lovely small place to raise kids. There is no such thing as a commute, you can walk almost anywhere, you get to know everyone and you look out for each other’s children. It is what you make it. Personally, we love it here still, rain and all. If we ever do move from here I will miss it a lot. In fact, I just met someone who moved away last year but moved back because they missed it so much.
Good luck!

My opinion:

Pros:
Very friendly people.

No traffic.

Some very high paying jobs available.

Several activities available for children. (Swimming, hockey, skating, 2 dance studios, soccer, preschools, martial arts)

Cons:
The weather is really horrible. It rains a lot and you are lucky if you get a handful of sunny, hot days in the summer.

The are not a lot of nice homes for sale. The majority of the homes on the market right now are run down and are in need of renovations. The property taxes are high.

Very few options for shopping and dining.

It is very isolated. Prince George is the nearest large city and it is 8 hours away. Flying out of Prince Rupert is very expensive.

Famous last words for a lot of people, 10 - 15 years later!

[quote=“prpal”]My opinion:

Pros:
Very friendly people.

No traffic.

Some very high paying jobs available.

Several activities available for children. (Swimming, hockey, skating, 2 dance studios, soccer, preschools, martial arts)

Cons:
The weather is really horrible. It rains a lot and you are lucky if you get a handful of sunny, hot days in the summer.

The are not a lot of nice homes for sale. The majority of the homes on the market right now are run down and are in need of renovations. The property taxes are high.

Very few options for shopping and dining.

It is very isolated. Prince George is the nearest large city and it is 8 hours away. Flying out of Prince Rupert is very expensive.[/quote]

Well said I agree The part that stands out the most is the homes very true… As I drove around today I noticed so many run town houses, some real dumps…

Prince Rupert definitely has its pros and cons, but every where does.
Weather is not the worst, its does not rain all the time…we have a lot of cloudy days. Wind can blow pretty hard, but most other places would have damages from the kind of winds we get. Last summer was pretty decent, you don’t want it too hot here 'cause the humidity is high.
Shopping isn’t the greatest, but Terrace is close and it has just about all you need.
Great recreational opportunities.

Plus really on a sunny day there is not a more beautiful place than Rupert.

[quote=“Gracies Mom”]
Plus really on a sunny day there is not a more beautiful place than Rupert.[/quote]

I think then you shouldn’t drive around !

$300-400 K would for sure put you into the elite homes in Rupert. Well, maybe fancy, more than “elite”…

Anyways, here’s what I would recommend- I’ve lived here my whole life-

1- Pick a home with a view and LOTS of daylight.

The homes on edward ave are nice- but it seems crazy to me that someone would pay huge money like that for a big home that doesn’t have good light or a view. If you have the money- I cannot stress enough the importance of a view or sunlight. Appreciation for the place will be amplified sooo much with access to both on a daily basis. Everyone knows we don’t get a lot of sun here so the more natural daylight you can have the easier life will be. There lots of homes with stunning views in town. If they have a decent view it should be posted on the website where they’re trying to sell the place.

  1. DON’T pay $400,000 for a home here.

Prince Rupert is still a small, isolated city. Homes are not yet worth big city prices. Don’t be fooled. Again, the homes on Edward Ave. are listed in that price range and they have taken years to sell- for a while there was one family living on the entire street. ( Sorry to pick on Edward Ave. !)

Instead, buy a nice home for maybe $250,000- 300,000- with a view and lots of daylight… Use the extra money for travel. It is very expensive to come and go from Prince Rupert- I suggest getting into using Airmiles- as without that a round airline ticket to Vancouver is about 600 with taxes. Anyways, save some money so you and your family can travel back south to the sunny Okanagan in the summers, Hawaii or Mexico in the winters, etc.

Prince Rupert is a beautiful place, but in my experience it is necessary to leave for a good dose of sun at least once a year- the winters are long.

Anyways, best of luck to you and your family with your move here,

It is a great place, very majestic, but remember to save a bit of money so you can leave town to get a bit of sun and to pick a place with a view and sunlight- it will make living here all the more enjoyable!

All the best!

Hi Shoelaces,

I’ve been having trouble trying to find a “fancy” house to buy in Prince Rupert that has a lot of sunlight. I’ve really been trying but sellers want more $400K and don’t seem to want to budge!!! Do you, by any chance, now any available ones? I’m not trying to be snarky or anything, just in the market for one and haven’t had any luck!

[quote=“Shoelaces”]$300-400 K would for sure put you into the elite homes in Rupert. Well, maybe fancy, more than “elite”…

Anyways, here’s what I would recommend- I’ve lived here my whole life-

1- Pick a home with a view and LOTS of daylight.

The homes on edward ave are nice- but it seems crazy to me that someone would pay huge money like that for a big home that doesn’t have good light or a view. If you have the money- I cannot stress enough the importance of a view or sunlight. Appreciation for the place will be amplified sooo much with access to both on a daily basis. Everyone knows we don’t get a lot of sun here so the more natural daylight you can have the easier life will be. There lots of homes with stunning views in town. If they have a decent view it should be posted on the website where they’re trying to sell the place.

  1. DON’T pay $400,000 for a home here.

Prince Rupert is still a small, isolated city. Homes are not yet worth big city prices. Don’t be fooled. Again, the homes on Edward Ave. are listed in that price range and they have taken years to sell- for a while there was one family living on the entire street. ( Sorry to pick on Edward Ave. !)

Instead, buy a nice home for maybe $250,000- 300,000- with a view and lots of daylight… Use the extra money for travel. It is very expensive to come and go from Prince Rupert- I suggest getting into using Airmiles- as without that a round airline ticket to Vancouver is about 600 with taxes. Anyways, save some money so you and your family can travel back south to the sunny Okanagan in the summers, Hawaii or Mexico in the winters, etc.

Prince Rupert is a beautiful place, but in my experience it is necessary to leave for a good dose of sun at least once a year- the winters are long.

Anyways, best of luck to you and your family with your move here,

It is a great place, very majestic, but remember to save a bit of money so you can leave town to get a bit of sun and to pick a place with a view and sunlight- it will make living here all the more enjoyable!

All the best![/quote]