OK, after a fair share of lurking and filtering through the messages here (and quite a bit of other on-line research too), I thought I would come out and ask for some opinions on what I think I’ve found out so far about PR.
Myself and some friends are thinking of buying a place in Prince Rupert. Kind of like a retreat, someplace to visit a few times a year to just relax and enjoy the area and various activities. I don’t have a particular place in mind, but I found Prince Rupert and like it because of its easy air access, easy water access (one of my friend’s has a sailboat that could make the trip from LA up the coast) and the fact that its developed—but isn’t like out of control developed.
So far, I think I’ve found out that the area is growing somewhat, but just not outta control. I read the blurb about a Canadian Tire and a Wal Mart. And I guess a container ship terminal is in the works. So it seems the local area is developing somewhat. And with the cruise ships, I’m sure more is to follow. Just hopefully the ships don’t spoil the town.
I (thankfully) didn’t grow up in LA so there won’t be any problems with adjusting to a smaller town, I think I read the population is 15,000 ? So thats bigger than where I grew up.
I’m not buying the place for an investment, but I assume the value will stay the same or maybe just increase at the rate of inflation.
I also don’t plan on owning a car, but I take it taxi (and water taxi) services are available.
Anyway, if anyone has thoughts, comments, flames, whatever, I’d love to hear them!
Prince Rupert is awesome. And that’s all I got to say about that.
As for getting growth out of your investment, property here has actually been skyrocketing in value in the last year. If you’re serious about buying, the sooner the better.
That’s an exaggeration. Firstly, most of the homes that have sold in the past 4 months have been on the lower price range. And most of this property has been bought for investments (i.e. rental units). Most are still sitting empty. Higher end homes $180,000 plus haven’t been selling. Yes, there are a few homes asking $250,000 plus, but they are the exception, and they are likely not worth it. One house specifically comes to mind. The owners were asking around$260,000 prior to the port announcement. After the announcement it was taken off the market only to be placed back on it for over $290,000. Interesting! It wasn’t selling for the lower price, so now they want to ask more for it. The interesting thing about real estate is that the price of a property is set by how much people are willing to pay for it (based on location, condition, how much simular homes sold for and so on).
I guess that’s a matter of opinion. I certainly enjoy going back to Rupert whenever I can, and if you’re into outdoors-type stuff like hiking, fishing, or kayaking, then it’s certainly the place to be.
The downside is that there’s a lack of certain amenities that only bigger cities can provide. For example, medical specialists are somewhat hard to come by–you often have to go to another town to see certain kinds of doctors (e.g., orthopedic surgeons, ear nose and throat specialists), though thankfully most of them are within a few hours drive.
Prices also tend to be high, and there are certain kinds of things you just can’t get in Rupert, like cetain designer fashions and whatnot. If you don’t care about that kind of thing (I certainly don’t), then Rupert may suit you just fine. Also, keep in mind that with the port opening up that may very well change.
I must say however that the restaurants in Rupert are really good. They have all kinds of ethnic foods: Italian, Greek, Chinese, Tapas, even Sushi. And the seafood is incredibly good.
But probably the most difficult thing to get used to is the feel of a small town. Though it’s certainly not so small that everyone knows everyone, there is a touch of that. It really comes down to the lack of anonymity; if anything big–good or bad–happens to someone, soon everyone knows. And what’s worse, the rumour mill will usually blow the whole thing completely out of proportion. That’s one of the reasons I left.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not trying to say Rupert’s a bad place. It’s not. Like I said before, I quite enjoy coming back when I have the chance. It’s just not the kind of place I’d like to live in.
Having provided what I believe to be a fair view of the downside of Rupert, I think it’s only fair to encourage people in here to say what they think is good about it. After all, you live there. Granted, some of you may not live there by choice, but I’m sure most of you do.
So what is it about Rupert that makes it so special? Why did you stay there, even when the picture was starting to look grim? What is it that keeps you there?
That’s an exaggeration. Firstly, most of the homes that have sold in the past 4 months have been on the lower price range. And most of this property has been bought for investments (i.e. rental units). Most are still sitting empty. Higher end homes $180,000 plus haven’t been selling. Yes, there are a few homes asking $250,000 plus, but they are the exception, and they are likely not worth it. One house specifically comes to mind. The owners were asking around$260,000 prior to the port announcement. After the announcement it was taken off the market only to be placed back on it for over $290,000. Interesting! It wasn’t selling for the lower price, so now they want to ask more for it. The interesting thing about real estate is that the price of a property is set by how much people are willing to pay for it (based on location, condition, how much simular homes sold for and so on).[/quote]
Well it would be sky rocketing if you wouldnt keep telling them its not.
It pretty much sounds like PR is what I want. I shoulda mentioned that I was in Ketchikan a couple of years back and loved it…I was thinking PR would be about the same—just smaller.
I really don’t look at the place as an investment, so if the values go up, its a bonus. I’m just after someplace to relax, do some sailing, kayaking, hiking, etc…and spend the rainy days inside playing WoW.
I’m keeping my job in LA, so the employment scene won’t matter too much.
Also, I guess the cruise ships are seasonal ? So there isn’t any thought about them kinda screwing up the town ? Down here there is a town in Mexico, Ensenada, which used to be the best place to hang out. But since the cruise ships started dropping in about 10 years ago, the place is now totally geared towards the ships. After they pull out at 5pm, the town shuts down.
As for the small town aspects, those are totally cool. I think there are enough designer fashion places in LA to satisfy the entire world, so the fewer elsewhere on the planet the better…and about the healthcare bit, I can live with that. Beats the hell outta down here where they advertise breast enlargement surgery on the radio for $2300. The first time I heard the ads, I thought, man there are some people here who have got their priorities all wrong…the 1000th time I heard it, I started thinking I gotta get outta town…
You listed many good reasons Astro. I’ve lived here for 30+ years (with time in various cities for university), to add to your list: no traffic.[/quote]
Another nice little bonus: you NEVER have to pay for parking. Not so much as a single pay parking lot or parking meter.
They actually tried to start a pay parking lot, right across from the old DQ. The people from East Wind owned the lot and tried to get people to pay some stupid amount to park there, but no one would pay for it, so now no one parks in that empty lot at all.
I love Rupert because I can walk everywhere. I can easily get to any sports field, or rink, or bowling alley in town, and don’t have to take public transportation or drive a half hour to get anywhere. The people rock too.
They actually tried to start a pay parking lot, right across from the old DQ. The people from East Wind owned the lot and tried to get people to pay some stupid amount to park there, but no one would pay for it, so now no one parks in that empty lot at all.[/quote]
The people from East Wind tried that? I’m not the least bit surprised to be honest with you, though I’m sure that Ray from Audio Vision may have had his fingerprints on that plan too.
They actually tried to start a pay parking lot, right across from the old DQ. The people from East Wind owned the lot and tried to get people to pay some stupid amount to park there, but no one would pay for it, so now no one parks in that empty lot at all.
The people from East Wind tried that? I’m not the least bit surprised to be honest with you, though I’m sure that Ray from Audio Vision may have had his fingerprints on that plan too.[/quote]
I guess owning at least 5 businesses and at least that many houses just isn’t enough of a money maker for them.
If you’re looking for a retreat house, and soley a retreat house in Rupert, getting a place on Digby Island would be OK for you. You could leave it unattended for chunks of time and nothing would happen to it. Dodge cove, Casey cove that kind of thing. Boat it across to the city for supplies.
Lots of people don’t have vehicles in PR because it’s cheap to cab it when the weather isn’t good. The town is small geographically anways.
They actually tried to start a pay parking lot, right across from the old DQ. The people from East Wind owned the lot and tried to get people to pay some stupid amount to park there, but no one would pay for it, so now no one parks in that empty lot at all.
The people from East Wind tried that? I’m not the least bit surprised to be honest with you, though I’m sure that Ray from Audio Vision may have had his fingerprints on that plan too.
I guess owning at least 5 businesses and at least that many houses just isn’t enough of a money maker for them.[/quote]
Five businesses? What else do they have? I remember they had East Wind (run by the Wongs), as well as Audio Vision, the Raffles Hotel and the Neptune (which Ray and Irene Mar run). What else is there?
