What is good and what is bad in PR?

Hi everybody!
There are chances that I will move to Prince Rupert from Vancouver within 2 months or so since I got a job offer there. I have not made up my mind yet. I would greatly appreciate any relevant information regarding what is good and what is bad about PR and it will help me to make a decision. I have got a family with two teenagers.
Thank you.

Positives: People are awesome. Housing is cheap. Nature is world-class.

Negatives: Probably the highest property taxes in the province by now. Economy sucks. Rain. Not much choice for shopping.

positives: Great organizations, such as cadets, dance, hockey, etc. Also a pretty good recreation program. Super cheap housing, and though the taxes are high, it’s still cheap compared to Vancouver! After you break through being a “stranger”, you will make awesome friends, 'cause the people here are excellent! Everything is walking distance, etc.

negatives: It’s a small town, so it has all those things that are rotten about a small town… you either like that or you don’t. I’d rather a small town over a large town (or the medium town I’m from-Nanaimo). The shopping sucks here, but there are so many online stores now that it doesn’t really matter, and also, it makes the semi-annual trip to Prince George a fun shopping extravaganza for the family.

I’ve lived here for 3 years and love it. I get a little homesick in the middle of the winter, 'cause it’s a little dreary here sometimes, but overall, my quality of life is way better here.

Positives…Beautiful scenery, nice folks (like everywhere I guess !), nice trails to investigate, good fishing, if you are into sports, lots to do ! A BIG casino ! Nice golf course !
Negatives…Good thing you have a job to come to as there isn’t any work, bad economy, lazy city council, very isolated, dreary (except for today, sunny !), tough social issues ( alcohol and drugs) RAIN !!

All a matter of perspective, I guess ! Been here 10 years, have good friends although I find Rupert very cliquish, good job but have always missed my home province Ontario and am moving within the next few months. Miss 4 seasons, fall fairs, shopping, great food etc. There are things I will miss here especially the scenery but Rupert is not for everyone. The isolation is tough, expensive to fly out and some people who have been here many years have said they have “settled” and learned to live with it. I think if you have kids, you have to look at their futures and what they are going to do when school for them is over and career goals ahead. It is tough but your call. I wish you all the best though ! Keep us posted ! And never make a move decision if you only visit here for a few days, you have to live here for a bit and research and watch.

Positive: It has an ocean, lot’ of natural sightseeing, nice people, and good food.

Negative: Slowly becoming a theme park, significant amounts of village idiots, and don’t bother living there unless you have a stable job with a modest 5 figure salary and willing to put up with lots of BS.

Other than that,if you’re into having great seafood, you’re in the right place.

[quote=“MiG”]Positives: People are awesome. Housing is cheap. Nature is world-class.

Negatives: Probably the highest property taxes in the province by now. Economy sucks. Rain. Not much choice for shopping.[/quote]

Yup… small town pleasantville…and the shopping…oh…pretty basic stuff. Tell your wife has to shop at Zellers and Reitmans…heh heh…I can just hear her now.

Beautiful part of the world and I won’t mention the rain. I think enough have already. Great people and lots of recreation opportunities if you are an outdoors person.

Hope your partner is happy at home because there will be no chance of getting work. Schools are a bit dodgy as they rank at the very bottom of the province in terms of achievement, if that matters to you. Staff try hard though. Maybe rent even though house prices are very depressed and still going down. You can buy cheap but you will have to keep it long after you’re gone as they don’t sell, and when they do, you take a loss. You will get the chance to be a landlord. Shopping means a drive to Terrace or Prince George which is OK as the sun shines there and the scenery is fantastic.

Curious. Is this your only job offer?

i agree with all the above except PLA…hes just an eedjot.

scenery is second to none…the drive from rupert to terrace is one the most scenic in the country…

cheap housing…and it will get cheaper…come here live the high life…hopefully phase two at the port will happen …pot ash will happen and you can make a 100k on a high end home after 5 years of career experience. you will make great life long friends…kids will like the activities that are available also…ya driving from one end of town to the other in about 10 mins during rush hour…ahhaha…

It’s not too hot and not too cold. Can be wet and windy but even that can be pretty amazing. The views can’t be beat.

Getting in and out of town can be hard but it gets easier to live with over time.

I came here for one year and have been here for 20+.

You won’t be caught in gridlock for hours and look forward to the day you can pay tolls on the new bridges and only spend 45 minutes in gridlock!
You won’t spend a whole day and a tank of gas looking for a pair of size 42 pants to discover none of the 12 chains and 42 malls carry them. If you really want to hit WalMart, you can get to Terrace in the time it takes to get to Abbotsford and you feel like you went somewhere.
It’s a little cooler and rains a little more often than down there. And you won’t be able to flip your house and make $100K ever, let alone in one year.
Moving away from the mainland is 100% about THE JOB. Don’t quit it and don’t take it if it doesn’t look permanent. Once you leave there you can live well elsewhere in BC but you can never afford to go back. No jobs to transfer to, and no business opportunities.

(I don’t live in Rupert, but I would if I could.)

Yeah, Rupert is a nice small coastal town that is going to get smaller, and this ain’t necessarily bad. It rains but to anyone registering brain activity, this shouldn’t be a surprise. Lots of rainbows means there’s lots of something. Leprechauns?

No shopping in town and lousy service at the few available outlets but the drive to Terrace is a nice get-a-way along a perfect road. Expect a splash from an overhang every now and then.

City and School Board officials, elected and otherwise, are a bit hard to explain and you really can’t over-state. Let’s leave this as a big surprise and crushing disappointment. Form your own opinions. Taxes are the highest in the land matched with poor services and schools are habitually the absolute bottom dwellers in terms of performance.

House prices are very reasonable but expect prices to drop after purchasing. You will be surprised at some of the basements. Prince Rupert house prices are in free-fall so you can be in complete control if buying but later you will become the victim, so enjoy it while you can. It seems prices are expected to drop across the country. See today’s report from TD Bank: cbc.ca/news/business/story/2 … ml?ref=rss

If this sounds great, then welcome to Rupert.

LOL! Livin’ on the dream buddy?

[quote=“bek”]Hi everybody!
There are chances that I will move to Prince Rupert from Vancouver within 2 months or so since I got a job offer there. I have not made up my mind yet. I would greatly appreciate any relevant information regarding what is good and what is bad about PR and it will help me to make a decision. I have got a family with two teenagers.
Thank you.[/quote]

Rupert is a wonderful place to live…so long as you’re waterproof :stuck_out_tongue:

Its a buyers market right now, so if you’re moving here and have the ability, I would recommend considering buying a house. Yeah yeah our property taxes suck - we all know it, but compared to Vancouver mortgages are dirt cheap :wink:

Congratulations on the new job!!!