I HATE SNOW!!!
Oh and my neighbourhood is fine. Not many kids around, but I live on a busy street.
Wow guys, thanks a lot. You’re telling what I want and need to know. I appreciate it. Last year we actually went up there to look at houses. We were trying to buy then, but we were not able to. I have to say that I LOVE the houses up there. So much character! We’re already “have” a Realtor, but we could switch. To be honest, I don’t like her much, but she did so much work for us in the past that I wouldn’t want to screw her over.
Good tip!
I had no idea that this would ever be an issue. How do you find that out? Is that something the Realtor would know? Most of the houses I’ve been interested are really old though. My husband likes the newer ones.
Yes, there are MANY good houses at good prices. We’re hoping to get in while the gettin’s good!
It’s kind of hard for anyone to actually recommend a neighbourhood unless we know what kind of money you want to spend on a house/apt/condo etc…, what you need for a house, whether you want to live close to town or far from the downtown area. Whether a bus route is important, stuff like that…
Sure living with a view on the west side would be nice, but not everyone wants to drop a half a million dollars just for the view and the smell of the reduction plant at full blast in summer.
As for the schools, I think some of our commentators have been a tad harsh on them, for the most part they seem to be home to fairly dedicated teachers, sure some have a few problems, but the Fraser Report notwithstanding, I don’t think they’re any worse than a lot of other places in the province.
Don’t know about the high schools that much, it seems to be more what kind of activities that your into that determines what high school you go to, though most of the kids East of McBride go to CHSS, west of McBride PRSS, though there are some that cross the boundary.
There does seem to be an occassional boredom problem with the 12-17 set, who occassionally bust some windows and such, but that’s painting a lot of kids with a broad brush, same with the underage drinking and such. Generally if the parents are involved with their kids the chances of the kids getting into trouble would lessen you would think.
You mentioned that you have family living here, so they probably more than anyone else would know what you are looking for and could steer you away from the troublesome neighbourhoods.
Though as mentioned earlier, on days like today, when the snow is a fallin, living on a hill would not be a fun experience, snow removal seems to be on a whim lately, not by any actual design.
Anyways, I’m sure folks will weigh in with their favourite loations and concerns.
Hope you find something nice for you and your family, for the most part the place is ok, like anywhere it has its issues, some get solved, some get swept under the rug…
Some of our family live in the “bad” areas, so I can’t get straight answers outta them, 
I want to live close to town, walking distance. My kids are going to French Immersion, so really, it doesn’t matter exactly where we live, as the catchment won’t be an issue. I would like to be on a bus route, or close to one. I’m a SAHM, so getting out on snowy days isn’t much of an issue, 'cause I can just walk if I cannot drive. I just don’t want to live on a known crack house street or something like that.
Does anyone know where Albert Ave is? I cannot find it on google maps.
And we want to spend the least amount of money for the best place we can find. ha ha. We’re not going to make any profit on our current house, so we’re basically starting over.
Albert Avenue is off of 11th Avenue East runs between Brett Place and Alexandra Place, it’s on the Google maps, just type in Prince Rupert, Albert Avenue and magnify til the street names all come up.
Thanks! Found it! I was looking all around, but couldn’t find it. There’s a really nice house on that street! (on MLS)
If you want to live close to town, and your children are going to French Immersion, look for a place on 2nd Ave West, or Atlin Avenue. Graham Avenue is up there too, but the houses tend to be a lot more expensive because of the house size and the water view.
Thanks Hotmail. Good list! I’ll be sure to refer to it as I look around!
Agreed, the realtor’s number one priority is to make a sale.
I’d also suggest getting a home inspection done by a reputable and meticulous certified individual…the guy who checked out the last home we sold took something like seven hours and took the prospective buyers through the home for the last 40 mins of that time…sure can’t say they would have had much in the way of surprises once they took possession, except for perhaps the pilot light in the water-heater blowing out when we got sustained high gusts of wind. 
Something else to consider, a rumor I recently heard is that some schools may be closing next year-------kanata,seal cove and possibly westview school also.The students would then be transfered to Lax Kxeen Elementary School. It’s what I heard lately.
they wont close westview… its french immersion…
Westview is named today in the daily snoozle as one of three possible schools slated for closure.
well thats just dumb why would they close down the only bi lingual school?
and in my defence i havent gotten my snoozle yet…
Yeah, my snoozle only just arrived, it is on the front page.
From what I’ve been hearing/reading, the decisions being made have little to nothing to do with what services are contained in the school. Those services can be relocated. The problem is that a LOT of the schools in this town need serious money put into them. The government will not fund repairs/upgrades of schools that are running under a certain capacity. In order to meet that capacity some schools will have to close and those students moved to fill in the spaces at the others.
Rupert has avoided this problem a lot longer than other communities. It’s inevitable that schools in this town are going to have to close. I don’t like it any more than anyone else, especially since my son goes to one of the schools that they are thinking of closing. It just simply has to happen. I haven’t heard anybody suggest an idea yet as to how we can avoid it, so from my point of view my only concern is that when it happens that the kids get the same or better services.
Well, if there’s no French Immersion, then I’ll either have to home school, or move again when the kids are old enough for school (they’re 1yr and 2yr ish right now). I don’t want my kids going to a regular English school. Not that I’m a snob or anything, but I feel like most children don’t receive the best education in an English only school environment.
english schools teach french too you know…
french immersion is exactly that… all french…
but theres an english programe at westview too.
I’m fully aware of how French/French Immersion/English schools all work. 
I’d really like my kids in a French Immersion school. I wouldn’t mind a French school, but we don’t speak enough (any) French at home for this to be a viable option.
And it has nothing to do with a preference for French, I would be keen on putting my children in any language immersion programme in order for them to learn two languages and to work more areas of the left brain lobe.
my best friend was in french immersion…
as were both of her sisters
they all completely suck at english…
they cant spell…
and the only reason they can read properly is because their mom made them