Hey ! I’m Vilma, let me tell you how I ended up in Prince George!
The year was 2017 ! I was living in a small town called Bonnyville, just outside of where I grew up (Edmonton). This Alberta girl had never seen the area code 2-5-0 before, until one day that all changed! I got a phone call with a job offer to move to Prince George and become the Midday person at 101.3 The River! It was the next step in my career that made sense. So I packed up said goodbye to my Alberta roots and moved to PG that summer!
The plan was simple gain experience in my field of work and move back to Alberta after two years ! TWO YEARS.
Upon moving to Prince George, I noticed that everything I missed while I was living life in Bonnyville was here. More than four restaurants, shopping centers and even a fricken MOVIE THEATRE! And the best part was everything was less than 10 mins away! Even getting to work was ridiculously simple, I would go down a hill and then drive straight to the office… the irony is that I couldn’t find that hill going home from work so it took me three months to realize you had to turn at the YMCA to go up the same hill. Which is hilarious, I think but also gave me a better understanding of different routes to take around town! Not to mention it’s so much easier to have a work / life balance when work is just a hop, skip and a jump away.
That fall my boyfriend at the time (don’t worry he’s my husband now) who was living in Lloydminster, accepted a job offer working for my competitors. Which was a great surprise! It wasn’t just my Northern BC adventure, it became ours! Keeping in mind that two year plan of course… Fast forward to 2024, we’re still here! And proud to call PG our home.
As millennials we never thought we’d be able to afford anything near a house, especially one in the heart of the city ! Where on Saturday mornings we can wake up and head to the farmers market for fresh breads, produce and other goodies. We can walk over to our favourite restaurants when we feel like not cooking! And not have to worry about parking even on nights where there is a city wide event downtown! (Like Crossroads Summerstreet fest, always a blast!) We may not have a white picket fence but we have just enough room to let our dog loose to play fetch in the yard, which is just what we need!
There is no doubt PG is surrounded by beautiful scenery! Though I’m not much of an outdoorsy person, I do enjoy heading down to the lake and spending the afternoon taking it all in! But I also love taking in all the views within the city! Be it a patio at one of our favourite restaurants or just the view from our own backyard when we host company. Living downtown not only let’s us be more involved with the city but also let’s us do the things we love more often. Like live music at Omenica, Trivia nights at Trench and comedy nights around town.
Prince George has a very special way of giving you the BIG CITY experience with a small town vibe, which is very relaxing. You no longer have to fear the dreadful 5pm traffic, or hectic hassle of the grocery store line ups that last for what seems like HOURS. You can show up and be in and out in a matter of time.
We’re on 7 years and counting now and never imagined we’d be where we are in life. Prince George has been very good to us! And we can’t wait to see what the future holds for us, our little one on the way and this great city !
