Before the move
View from University Hill in Prince George.
Growing up in Mackenzie, Prince George was always a big part of our lives. We visited the city to buy clothing, food, and school supplies, and as teens, we were always borrowing a family member’s vehicle, taking our friends, and heading into the “city” for a day of fun. My husband and I met in high school, and spent a few years trying to figure out where to settle down. Ottawa was our first stop: I went to culinary school at Le Cordon Bleu, then off to Vancouver for special FX, but something was always missing to really make it feel like home. Once my husband and I got married and started a family, we really started to prioritize what we wanted out of the city we chose to live in.
Decisions
The waterfall in the Ancient Forest/Chun T’oh Whudujut Provincial Park, just an hour’s drive from Prince George.
When it really boiled down to it, we had a few reasons to choose Prince George. Our families were close by, my parents being in the city and my in laws living just a couple hours away in Mackenzie, made it a pretty obvious choice. Besides all of that, it was a place we knew and loved, had wonderful memories in, and we could raise our family the way we were raised, with a small town mentality but with all of the amenities of a larger city. So, in the December of 2011, just two months after our daughter’s 2nd birthday (and 20 weeks pregnant), we packed up our suite in Coquitlam and drove 10 hours “home”.
Life in Prince George
We are able to travel to places like Ocho Rios, Jamaica due to the affordability of living in Prince George.
It was always an easy choice for us to move to Prince George, but living here exceeded our expectations in so many ways. In Prince George, we could now afford to travel, raise our family, buy a house, and be a one income family when our children were small. This wasn’t possible in Vancouver.
Being close to family gave me the opportunity to go back to work as a chef for over three years, and while COVID had a different plan on the horizon, I always felt so grateful for the time I was able to do what I loved, and know my children had a great support system of family, amazing teachers, and amazing friends.
After beings sick for over a year, and multiple tests leading to being diagnosed with narcolepsy, I had the opportunity to see amazing doctors, informative and caring MRI techs, neurologists, surgeons, sleep specialists, and nurses.
And with our growing downtown, our top rated University, and beautiful scenery, it’s hard to find reasons NOT to live in Prince George. It has been almost 10 years since our decision to move here, and each year the reasons to live here increase. More and more people I know choose to live in this city to build their lives, more of my friends relocate to start families, and the amenities keep growing, along with the sense of community and support that makes northern BC such a phenomenal place to live.
So what are you waiting for? Join us in Prince George.
