Thoughts on living in PG

[BCHoyt]

Well my wife is finally fed up with where she has been working for the past 11 years. With a big American corporate take over of her company things have changed so much, good for the business partners as they now have nice new big houses, boats, and sports cars, but for the employee's who keep the company running its not been good.

She sent out some resumes this morning to companies in Kamloops, Vernon, and Prince George.

Within a few hours she already had a call back from PG.

We have been there a couple times, passed thru several times on the way to moose hunting but thats about it.

For those who live there what area's should we stay clear of for living if we do end up coming. Also what are your general thoughts on the area.
We will be leaving Victoria which is a place I never wanted to live to begin with. I know Ill be happy with less rain!

[rocksteady]

You make the best of wherever you live..

Crap weather, good hunting for ???

Take the leap, move to pg and discover what it has to offer

[New Bow Hunter]

We lived there for five years, before moving to Sooke. Stay out of the bowl area. West is best. The other areas tend to have Pulp Mill odour.

[604ksmith]

I moved from Vancouver to PG for 2.5 years, recently moving back to Vancouver last August.

You mentioned you didn't like Victoria for the rain and PG certainly gets much less. The winters have also become much milder as of late with the last two averaging around -5 to -10 with the one or two weeks of -30. But, make sure you know what you're up for when moving to a "small town" like PG. Everything is a far drive, or an inconvenient flight away. The closest major city is Edmonton at 5-6 hours east. Entertainment in PG is hard to come by, and restaurants are limited, you'll have to get used to making your own entertainment in the bush or in the city. In my opinion passive residents don't do well in cities like PG. Also, if you're bringing kids make sure to keep them busy as the winters are long, dark, and can be boring if you don't like the cold or skiing/sledding, snowshoeing etc. PG still has a rough/dirty downtown area as well, so coming from Victoria where there really is no "rough" area could be hassle, however most responsible residents steer clear and never have any issues. That being said, while I don't regret my time in PG, the hunting and fishing was phenomenal, I knew I wanted to get back to the lower mainland. For all the traffic hassles, and crazy real estate, I just prefer to spend M-F in the city with weekends outdoors.

As for places to live, I agree with the post above. West is best, and assuming you're selling a home in Victoria you'll be able to afford to get into all the areas but maybe the custom homes on the river. If you want a nice suburb-style home University Heights is the best in town. HOWEVER, be warned to do your due diligence just across the street if looking in the Parkview Crescent area. I won't mention the name of the builder of that area but the company doesn't have the best reputation. I rented in the area during much of the construction and corners were cut, and crews were very junior. Multiple homes ended up having complaints and issues that were outside of the normal "nothings perfect" idea. If you'd like to live a bit farther west of town go for the Beaverley area about 15 minutes SW of town. It's made up of some very nice 5 acre lots and large homes. There are also some really nice places north of town that tend to be a bit older. The Hart Highlands is one such subdivision, and Chief Lake Road with larger lots. All the areas above will limit the amount of smell you'll notice from the local oil refinery and three pulp mills.

Hopefully that helps, if not, I'm sure others with more experience than mine will chime in.

[Salty]

I grew up there but left long ago - 89. If I moved back I'd take advantage of the large inventory of affordable rural properties there's tons of 2-5 acre subdivisions around 20-30 min from town. Not that there's not decent urban subdivisions but if you're living in the north why not live in the north. I enjoyed my years there but my intel is obviously pretty outdated so I'll leave it at that except yeah, the bowl area (inner city) is like many other inner cities run down and with crime, that was the case in my day too. I never felt unsafe anywhere being a homey but there's sketchy areas, drugs and crime.

[MRP]

west side if like it busy.
south if u don't like snow and don't mind airplanes
east is down wind of poop mills
north quiet clean air. SNOW.

[takmaster]

Well I'm born and raised PG. Moved away to Canmore after University for a bit. Moved back. Moved to Edmonton for almost 6 years to get my apprenticeship, worked up in NWT for almost 3 years. Moved back to good ol' PG when raising a family came on the radar. Why? well affordable housing, decent size town with all necessary amenities. Family and friends here. Has anyone mentioned the hunting and fishing yet, lol. I have found that where you live is what you make of it. There is a charm about PG that keeps people coming back. You will hear about the pulpmill smell. Having worked at the mills in town for the last 4 years I can attest that there have been a lot of measures put in to reduce the smell put out and it is not near as bad as 10 years ago. Also born and raised 20 minutes from the Hart in Ness Lake there are some beautiful areas with acreage within 1/2 hour drive of downtown. Property taxes will be substantially less for land in the Regional District than the City of Prince George. I now live in College Heights and find it as convenient as Edmonton for proximity to stores. There are a lot of local restaurants and a winery, craft brewery now in town so if you can do without the franchise names you will find much to enjoy when dining out. Among my favorites for a good evening out with my wife are: Copper Pig, Betulla Burning, Crossroads, Nancy O's (they also have comedy shows once in a while). If you would like to know more please PM me. Don't be shy. Its a big province. Sometimes there is more beyond Hope than you would think.

[Boner]

19 year PG resident. I love it here. I mostly travel for work, I've been all over except for the Kootenays, and I still don't want to live anywhere else than PG.

[northernguy]

7 years in PG for me. I was offered postings in Richmond, Vancouver, Abbotsford, and Kelowna. PG was the right choice. The house prices alone mean that I can retire almost 5 years earlier than I could if I was in any of the other postings offered.

As mentioned, there are lots of great restaurants.

I know lots of young professionals who come to PG on a "5 year plan" because it's a good move for them professionally, only to stay because of the house prices and the community.

[Riverratz]

We moved here from Kelowna in '86, had no trouble adjusting to life here at all.
Raised two kids, elementary and high schools were just fine, no problems other than the expected teen year's issues.
Kids walked to school.

We're partial to the north side, Hart Highlands area has been great for us, been here since we moved; clean air, sunny skies, quiet/clean/neat/modern neighborhoods where you actually get to know your neighbors on a first name basis without having them attached at the hip. Everyone looks after their homes and properties and we all look out for each other when gone away, sickness, etc. Smell from the mills is extremely rare in this neck of the woods.

No snarled traffic, no long traffic jams, short commutes to downtown/shopping malls etc are about 15-20 minutes and that's at "rush hour".......if you can call it that.
Vanc. and Vic are a quick one hour flight away, at least 5-6 flights/day.
Easy 7 hr. drive to Edmonton, 4 hr. to Jasper.

Fabulous fishing out west (Terrace/Kitimat/Rupert, etc.) about 6-7 hr drive, dozens of lakes, etc close to home.
QUALITY hunting opportunities (moose/deer/elk/birds/small game) within a 20-30 minute drive from home.

Good schools, smaller shopping mall (Hart) near by.
Very affordable, larger/newer houses run in the $350K - $450K range with good sized lots/landscaping, etc. etc.
$450 - $550K buys you a luxury quality home in a newer sub-division.

All of the big box stores, good shopping, all the amenities of any other city anywhere........we've got it all WITHOUT all the congestion/traffic/parking issues, etc.
Lots of nicer restaurants/dining rooms, including the major chain ones, like Earl's, Moxies, Mr. Mikes, etc. etc.
Larger new major shopping malls, lots of new stores/businesses, many areas of the city have become very modern, trendy and upscale.

If you're into night-life/major entertainment obviously we don't have what LMD/Vic have to offer but there's enough to keep us happy.
UNBC is the jewel of the city and of course major junior hockey with our home town Cougars.

Contrary to popular belief it's not a rough town any more, those days are long gone.
Like all cities you learn which smaller areas of the city to avoid, crime is NOT rampant like some would have you believe and we don't have daily drive by shootings/home invasions/muggings, hit and runs, etc. etc.
Life is actually very peaceful and quiet, at least for us.

Winter has never been an issue for us, has been much milder with less snow for the past 10+ years. Only used the snow blower three times last winter.
Temps usually in the 0 to -10 range Nov. thru Dec, down to -10 to -20 in January, then gradually warming Feb/March.
Spring arrives in April, by mid to end of May temps are warm, grass is up, flowers starting.
No endless depressing weeks/months of drizzle and rain here.
We don't own umbrellas and have no need for rain gear unless we head out to the bush but it's extremely unusual if we ever put it on.
We experience the true "four seasons" and love every one of them.
Some find winter a little long, it can run 4 months most years.
We don't, it is what it is, and besides, there's no shortage of things to do and experience in the winter.

People up here don't fly into mass hysteria when the snow arrives, most, if not all, are well prepared with the right vehicles that are properly equipped.

Our yearly average natural gas and hydro utility bills total $150/month combined, for 2900 sq. ft. finished area.
Yearly city taxes run in the range of $2600/yr with full services, sewer, water, garbage, etc.

Pulp mill smell is the worst in the downtown core ("the bowl" area) particularly in the winter when night time heavier cold air inversions force it down into the valley bottom.
Rest of the year it's actually quite rare, depending on the wind..........unless you live east of town.
Certainly nothing like it used to be many years ago.
As I said above, smell from the mills is a rarity in our area.

If you're really into the "big city" thing, you're not going to find it here. We have all the city amenities, etc. but without that big city feel and everything that goes with it.

Obviously we have really enjoyed it here, don't miss the south one bit, never have, we'll never move back.

Good luck with your plans.

[todbartell]

was in pg yesterday, my 3 year old son says "smells like fart"

[britman101]

I am middle of the road on this one. Entering in to my fourth year of living in the PG area, and there are things I like about it and things I am not crazy about. First things first, it is next to impossible to get a family doctor in this town. As a newcomer, that means you are forced to go to walk-in clinics for healthcare. And this makes it extremely challenging if someone has a health condition in your family that needs regular visits to a good doctor. Speaking about the hospital it is an aging outdated facility that needs renovation work now, but unfortunately no upgrades in the future for the next five to ten years.
Speaking about the air quality it can be either very good, or very bad. This week it has been bad with the fog holding in the foul odors that make it seem like you are smelling a fart for the better part of the day. So if you have asthma or breathing related problems you may not enjoy your time here.
However, it is not all bad, the traffic is very light for the most part as you can get to any part of the city within 10 to fifteen minutes it seems. And if you are into hunting and fishing there will be plenty of opportunities for that.
However, the winters can be long....upwards of four months or more, so you better have a good vehicle that can handle the cold and snow along with a good set of winter tires. But on the flip side, if you are into snowmobiling and skiing there are many trails and skiing opportunities available both downhill and cross country.
As far as living on an acreage, be honest with yourself as to how handy you are with a hammer and saw. It can be hard to get good repair people especially for home related repairs in PG, so it will fall on your shoulders to do a fair portion of it. And did anyone mention the mosquitoes in the summer time, especially in the country, they can drive you nuts. But this should not come as a surprise as this is "swamp donkey" country.
As I say come into it with your eyes wide open on this one, and hopefully you will be one of the people who comes to enjoy and love the town for what it has to offer. Affordable housing, small town feel with out the big city traffic and hectic pace of life.

[BCHoyt]

Thanks guys for all the great info...

I am definately not a city person, hence the main reason I hate Victoria so much.. The traffic here is beyond stupid, too many hipsters in red/black plaid and beards everywhere.. As for finding a doctor there, thats no different than here... Ours retired due to cancer and there was no one to replace him so we have been without a family doc for the last 3 years.

We arent really into night life, unless its sitting next a fire with some friends and drinks and a BBQ going! so thats a non issue.

We do love to travel so being able to take a quick flight to Van, or even Calgary to head south for warmer weather is convenient.

Though at the same time we are happy to have cold and clear winters over grey and wet. Snowshoeing is definately something we want to try, I know Ill be selling my crotch rocket and getting a quad as it will get more use their than my bike.. Hunting, fishing, camping, hiking and mtn biking are all very important for us too so lots of that there which is perfect!

We have already sold our home in Sooke, so currently just renting a place in Langford as we were house shopping here but now with this shift we are looking at places up there online, place with some property on the north side is our ideal spot I think, it would be nice to be able to shoot our bows on our property but not a deal breaker.

[Boner]

I'm on the north side in city limits. Plus or minus 25 kms to go fishing. I can hunt ungulates even closer than that. Once in a while I snowmobile and quad right from my house. Affordable living close to wilderness, and city amenities.

Great place to live except for when there's a temperature inversion like yesterday and the city gets socked in with smog. But the smell is mostly a bowl problem. It's not nearly as bad the higher up the hart you go.

There are some streets better than others in the hart. Just depends on what kind of house and neighbours you want to have. Newer subdivisions with close driveways are a pain when you are trying to move your snow. I've heard of people arguing when someone puts snow in a neighbours yard because of the amount of snow, and the smaller properties.

Also the streets along the bus routes have the snow removed the quickest. It's something to consider depending on what kind of vehicles you have.

Fuel is cheap here thanks to Costco. The other gas stations in the city stay within 4 cents of what Costco charges.

[two-feet]

You could do worse than pg if looking for a rural life style. The down sides have been mentioned ( pulp smog, zombie apocolypse down town) but those can be avoided if out of "the bowl". Pg seems to have a strong community spirit and offers alot in terms of recreation. Good jumping off point for the entire north half of the province.

[WWBC]

I escaped the LML for the cariboo a couple years ago and havn't looked back.
PG wouldn't be top of my list because it's maybe too much of a big city. However, the benifits are numerous:
- lots of interesting areas relatively close by for all types of outdoor recreation.
- Really easy regular flights out.
- great shopping
- relatively inexpensive resestate
-Good weather
- Very central
- really nice indoor rec. facility's
- full service hospital


Fishing and hunting is good, but the best part is your a few hours drive only from some really cool/ diverse areas. Just hook up the trailer after work and go.

I'd make the more for sure. PG would be a good gateway drug into the better parts of BC.

[BCHoyt]

Yeah... We were both born and raised on the island.. Ive lived a few different places in BC as well as Europe and being on the island we feel so trapped...

[barry1974w]

I've lived in PG on and off for my whole life. I like it here. As said it can get a bit smelly once in a while, but that's mostly in town. We have an eighty acre lot 25 minutes from town, while not on the lake, it's a five minute walk to the public swimming area, our house is 200 metres from the elementary school. On my last trail cam check I got moose, whitetail, mule deer, black bear, and elk(on my property). While I'm not current on real estate I know that there's a small house on the other side of the lake for sale(lakefront) for 300k, and another medium sized place not far from there for 209k. The better shopping is definitely on the west side of town, and it is the most popular area to live at the moment.
There is a longer winter and more snow on the north side, but I'd rather plow the driveway than mow the lawn. In June the bugs are insane, they taper off in July. I can ride my sled or my quad from my house and go for hours and hours. If you have any specific questions, shoot me a PM and I'll do what I can to answer.

[ACB]

Nice place to visit but I would never F en live there!

[barry1974w]

Nice place to visit but I would never F en live there!


Good...... please don't come here to hunt either ;)

[Charts]

good ol Nukko laker?? Like everyone has said...if you aren't a city person and your idea of a good time is having a fire drinking a 8 pack of Lucky then PG is the place for you. Moved up 3 years ago from the rat race and never ever would go back. Some times I click on global news and see the traffic from the helicopter and chuckle as I look at my horses grazing in my pasture.

[BCHoyt]

You had me at Lucky!


good ol Nukko laker?? Like everyone has said...if you aren't a city person and your idea of a good time is having a fire drinking a 8 pack of Lucky then PG is the place for you. Moved up 3 years ago from the rat race and never ever would go back. Some times I click on global news and see the traffic from the helicopter and chuckle as I look at my horses grazing in my pasture.

[markomoose]

Lived here 10 years now.We are south of town on 5 acres and only 15 minutes from town.Best of both worlds.The Hart Highlands is cheaper with a little longer Winter.West is nice but more expensive.I was born and raised in North Vancouver but My Family and I really enjoy living here.Trust me!This place grows on you.Oh yeah another vote for not living in "the Bowl"Have you guys looked at Real Estate up here yet?You can still get Lucky Lager but lots drink Cariboo.I'll take a Lucky over a Cariboo anyday

[adriaticum]

Do it mang!

[barry1974w]

good ol Nukko laker?? Like everyone has said...if you aren't a city person and your idea of a good time is having a fire drinking a 8 pack of Lucky then PG is the place for you. Moved up 3 years ago from the rat race and never ever would go back. Some times I click on global news and see the traffic from the helicopter and chuckle as I look at my horses grazing in my pasture.


You got er. My wife has banned me from Lucky, it and my guts don't get along, it gets ugly. But yeah, fire in the backyard, or cruising on the quads, ice fishing or fishing ten minutes from the house, hunting literally in my yard, life is pretty tough

[J_06]

I moved from Vancouver to PG for 2.5 years, recently moving back to Vancouver last August.

You mentioned you didn't like Victoria for the rain and PG certainly gets much less. The winters have also become much milder as of late with the last two averaging around -5 to -10 with the one or two weeks of -30. But, make sure you know what you're up for when moving to a "small town" like PG. Everything is a far drive, or an inconvenient flight away. The closest major city is Edmonton at 5-6 hours east. Entertainment in PG is hard to come by, and restaurants are limited, you'll have to get used to making your own entertainment in the bush or in the city. In my opinion passive residents don't do well in cities like PG. Also, if you're bringing kids make sure to keep them busy as the winters are long, dark, and can be boring if you don't like the cold or skiing/sledding, snowshoeing etc. PG still has a rough/dirty downtown area as well, so coming from Victoria where there really is no "rough" area could be hassle, however most responsible residents steer clear and never have any issues. That being said, while I don't regret my time in PG, the hunting and fishing was phenomenal, I knew I wanted to get back to the lower mainland. For all the traffic hassles, and crazy real estate, I just prefer to spend M-F in the city with weekends outdoors.

As for places to live, I agree with the post above. West is best, and assuming you're selling a home in Victoria you'll be able to afford to get into all the areas but maybe the custom homes on the river. If you want a nice suburb-style home University Heights is the best in town. HOWEVER, be warned to do your due diligence just across the street if looking in the Parkview Crescent area. I won't mention the name of the builder of that area but the company doesn't have the best reputation. I rented in the area during much of the construction and corners were cut, and crews were very junior. Multiple homes ended up having complaints and issues that were outside of the normal "nothings perfect" idea. If you'd like to live a bit farther west of town go for the Beaverley area about 15 minutes SW of town. It's made up of some very nice 5 acre lots and large homes. There are also some really nice places north of town that tend to be a bit older. The Hart Highlands is one such subdivision, and Chief Lake Road with larger lots. All the areas above will limit the amount of smell you'll notice from the local oil refinery and three pulp mills.

Hopefully that helps, if not, I'm sure others with more experience than mine will chime in.Lived here my entire life. Nailed it.

[northernguy]

Fella's...maybe we should keep quite. We don't want the entire Lower Mainland to know our secret and move up here8-)!

[moosinaround]

IF you can get over the smell of the pulp mills, refinery, and various industrial plants, and the noise pollution created by the CN yards, you may find a nice affordable home located in any of the cardinal directions from the bowl. Elk 5 minute quad ride from my house, which is only open to bow hunters. Some folks who live within the college heights boundary are getting elk, moose, deer, bear, wolves and cats on their trail cams! I will call it rush quarter hour, as it takes 15 minutes, MAX, to get home when it is rush hour!! Hospital, cancer clinic, big box stores college, university, arts, sports, what are you in to, its here!!! We have some excellent dining in our city, some very nice micro breweries, a winery, and a brewery which brews some fine beer. Come to PG, look me up if you want, we are very friendly folks up here in the stinky ole North!! Moosinaround

[BCHoyt]

Thanks Moosin..

I think we met though already at Ali's when I was staying there for school.
Wife is doing a Skype interview this week so we shall see what happens...

[moosinaround]

Thanks Moosin..

I think we met though already at Ali's when I was staying there for school.
Wife is doing a Skype interview this week so we shall see what happens...
I do not think so, but if you come up to PG, give me a shout, and we will have a beverage, maybe even a meal together! I do enjoy meeting fine folks from this website. Most I have met have become friends! Good luck with the employment scenarios, and again I will extend the welcome to our fine, but stinky city! Moosinaround

[BCHoyt]

Thanks Moosin.. .

Ill definately be in touch if all goes well and we make the move up!

[Salty]

Re. the stink
I often wonder why PG and other pulp mill towns get such a rep, I mean I get it I lived in PG in the 60s-80s when it probably stunk a lot more than now. But what I don't get is why no one seems to mention some other odor-us gag-us places that wreak a hell of a lot worse as far as I'm concerned. I submit:
-anywhere from Abbotsford to Chilliwack when the dairy farmers are spraying
-hwy 17 in Delta or is it Tsawwassen, where the landfill composts food waste
-same deal at Duke point in Nanaimo (nice of BC ferries to bless you coming and going?)
-Port Hardy at low tide in august when the commercial fishery was gung ho
-any rendering plant, there's one somewhere around East Van haven't pin pointed it yet..

I could go on but I think I'll step outside for some fresh air ;)

ps- there's big areas around pg that virtually never have a wiff of the mills. Look at a map, prevailing winds will be from the south, west or north basically.

[Kami]

I did a 9 year stint in PG. My new wife and I took the plunge in 1995 and got the he l l out of the Lower Mainland. It was good to us. We made some great lifelong friends. Our kids were born there. Many great memories. Fishing. ATV-ing. Sledding. Skiing. Camping. All the outdoor stuff you can handle. We were in our 20's and PG suited us just fine. I spent a ton of time in the bush, year round.

Today at 46 I wonder if I'd enjoy PG as much. Packing up everything up Friday after work to go camping. Then unpacking and cleaning everything on Sunday evening. To go back to work on Monday AM, is not too appealing any more. Lol. You know what I mean. I'm getting crotchety.

I was in PG last summer again for the first time in years. I've been relocated to Kamloops for 14 years now. I remember all the good times. The long cold PG winters wore me down sometimes. Well it was the spring actually. It would get a little warm. I'd get spring fever. Then it would snow and be cold again. That went on for some time. I remember -25 and a blizzard on April 1 one year. That got to me some years. By comparison I've seen well over 20 degrees on April 1 most years in Kamloops.

Kamloops 95% of the time, has better weather than PG. However I won't brag about it here. It seems to be becoming a rougher drug infested town. I've watched things unfold here for the worse in 14 years. It was great for many of the years I have been here. Today, oh boy we got disparity. We got crime. We got homeless. An almost totally useless City Council. No Doctors. We've been busy fighting over economic development in the way of a mine. Fighting over things like pesticide use and back yard chickens.

PG ain't lookin' too bad to me sometimes.

[trapperRick]

I moved up here some 6 years ago from the LM and just love it, fishing/hunting 15 min any direction you go, people are nice/friendly like people back home in Sask. I have no regrets moving up here

[Hunterguy]

Nothing wrong with the smell in PG., that's the smell of money!

[BCHoyt]

My dad worked at Crofton pulp and paper.. so the smell of a pulp mill just brings back childhood memories.. doesnt bother me at all... I just hope the wifes interview goes well tomorrow so we can get the ball rolling and move!