aGENT Posted April 8, 2013 Share Posted April 8, 2013 Wife and I are contemplating moving our young family from the GVRD to more of a "small town" atmosphere in the next ~5 years and tentatively narrowed it down to Nelson. We plan of course to go visit and do some scouting ahead of time but would love to hear some thoughts on the area from locals (or from neighbouring areas). Here's what's attracting us to the area: -Lot's of outdoor activities year round. -Small town atmosphere (and with it lots of thing like abundance of organic foods, an aversion to big box stores etc). -Great arts/culture/music community -Lower (if not low) cost of living -Still fairly South which means milder weather, closer to the US border etc. -Large enough that it has things like community centre, hospitals, college, airports etc if not in town at least in neighbouring communities. The down sides: -Seems to have a large marijuana growing industry due to a lot of those positives mentioned and the proximity to US border... I personally have no issue with marijuana and hope it gets legalized frankly but I also don't necessarily like the idea of a rampant criminal environment and the sort of folks that can attract. Particularly considering our two young boys... -There's a bylaw forbidding dogs down town (a measure apparently taken to deal with the transient, less desirable people mentioned in the above paragraph). We have a dog that we absolutely adore. I've seen internet chatter that they're looking at repealing the measure (as it cuts in to the down town business traffic) but that is a concern. -Work. I'm trained with 15+ years of experience in CAD drafting and 3D modeling...I'm not sure how much work there is in the area for my field or what else I'd do if I couldn't find anything in it. Nelson itself seems a very tourist/outdoors based economy. There appears to be a few architects but those places, particularly in small towns tend to have limited employees. Plus my current area of expertise is more in display design...might work with the tourism/retail economy but I have a feeling I might be forced to get a job working at the local grocer etc Any thoughts/input are welcome. Would love to hear the inside scoop on the area, what part of town would be best to buy in etc. Thanks! Link to comment
Captain Aerosex Posted April 8, 2013 Share Posted April 8, 2013 I'm not from Nelson, but literally everybody I've met from there (and my friend who worked there for 2 years I believe) say it's one of the nicest places you can live. Wish I knew more details, but I've always heard glowing customer reviews Link to comment
Twilight Sparkle Posted April 8, 2013 Share Posted April 8, 2013 i too have never heard one bad thing about nelson. mostly outdoorsy stuff there in the summer time Link to comment
Heretic Posted April 8, 2013 Share Posted April 8, 2013 Nelson's great but harder for "specialty" jobs... I moved to Armstrong last year. We are only 20 minutes from Vernon, and an hour from Kelowna. Plus, we're only 4.5 hours to Rogers Arena! Link to comment
aGENT Posted April 8, 2013 Author Share Posted April 8, 2013 Maybe I can convince my current employer to let me work remotely... Link to comment
Heretic Posted April 8, 2013 Share Posted April 8, 2013 Maybe I can convince my current employer to let me work remotely... Link to comment
Mainly Mattias Posted April 9, 2013 Share Posted April 9, 2013 oh that looks nice. i know people who've moved out to lillouet, lytton, ashcroft, cranbrook, vernon and trail but not nelson. i wouldn't like to travel the hope-princeton hwy on a regular basis in winter.. why nelson in particular? Link to comment
:D Posted April 9, 2013 Share Posted April 9, 2013 Seriously though, Nelson is a nice little town but so far from anything, especially in the winter. Link to comment
GodzillaDeuce Posted April 9, 2013 Share Posted April 9, 2013 Have a couple of friends that just moved there, they are loving it. They have a dog and have no complaints, it's really just a small area that dogs aren't allowed (9 square blocks or so). Place is absolutely gorgeous in the summer, think Okanagan but way less people I guess you have to be careful to check if there was a grow-op where you move, but if there's no mold then I wouldn't be too worried. Link to comment
Guest Gumballthechewy Posted April 9, 2013 Share Posted April 9, 2013 Any thoughts/input are welcome. Would love to hear the inside scoop on the area, what part of town would be best to buy in etc. Thanks! Link to comment
Gustavo Fring Posted April 9, 2013 Share Posted April 9, 2013 Wife and I are contemplating moving our young family from the GVRD to more of a "small town" atmosphere in the next ~5 years and tentatively narrowed it down to Nelson. We plan of course to go visit and do some scouting ahead of time but would love to hear some thoughts on the area from locals (or from neighbouring areas). Here's what's attracting us to the area: -Lot's of outdoor activities year round. -Small town atmosphere (and with it lots of thing like abundance of organic foods, an aversion to big box stores etc). -Great arts/culture/music community -Lower (if not low) cost of living -Still fairly South which means milder weather, closer to the US border etc. -Large enough that it has things like community centre, hospitals, college, airports etc if not in town at least in neighbouring communities. The down sides: -Seems to have a large marijuana growing industry due to a lot of those positives mentioned and the proximity to US border... I personally have no issue with marijuana and hope it gets legalized frankly but I also don't necessarily like the idea of a rampant criminal environment and the sort of folks that can attract. Particularly considering our two young boys... -There's a bylaw forbidding dogs down town (a measure apparently taken to deal with the transient, less desirable people mentioned in the above paragraph). We have a dog that we absolutely adore. I've seen internet chatter that they're looking at repealing the measure (as it cuts in to the down town business traffic) but that is a concern. -Work. I'm trained with 15+ years of experience in CAD drafting and 3D modeling...I'm not sure how much work there is in the area for my field or what else I'd do if I couldn't find anything in it. Nelson itself seems a very tourist/outdoors based economy. There appears to be a few architects but those places, particularly in small towns tend to have limited employees. Plus my current area of expertise is more in display design...might work with the tourism/retail economy but I have a feeling I might be forced to get a job working at the local grocer etc Any thoughts/input are welcome. Would love to hear the inside scoop on the area, what part of town would be best to buy in etc. Thanks! Link to comment
aGENT Posted April 9, 2013 Author Share Posted April 9, 2013 Thanks for the additional info guys! why nelson in particular? Link to comment
Guest Gumballthechewy Posted April 9, 2013 Share Posted April 9, 2013 When you plan on making the move Gum? Maybe you can scope the place out for us? Some advanced recon If we do end up doing this, it'd be good to know someone in local law enforcement too...lol Link to comment
aGENT Posted April 9, 2013 Author Share Posted April 9, 2013 It won't be for another year or two at the earliest, I currently work for my stepfathers tree removal business but I don't wanna take over when he's done, I've always wanted to be in law enforcement, not that I'm a straight laced/by the book/the law is the law kinda guy mind you (like some really hard ass cops...) I just love the idea of helping people and the community. Yeah, down there, there is a lot more gang activity and violent crime, plus I don't think anyone's ever been shot in Nelson. I could think of worse things than being a drop out pot head. Personally, I love Vancouver (born and spent 8 years of my life there) but it's not a place I would rise a family, hell, I wouldn't even live there, I hate living in big city's. Oh, I forgot to mention, I did say before that the weather was more costal than most interior locations but not nearly as bad, the terrain and plant life around Nelson also reflect that, it reminds me if the coast in a lot of ways just less rain. There's big tall fir, spruce, balsam fir, larch (also known as tamarack, those nifty conifers whose needles turn yellow and fall off in the fall similar to deciduous trees), there's also big steep mountains near by, it's a gorgeous location. Link to comment
Mainly Mattias Posted April 9, 2013 Share Posted April 9, 2013 nelson, here we all come! a small town you will no longer be! Link to comment
Guest Gumballthechewy Posted April 9, 2013 Share Posted April 9, 2013 Well we're thinking in the 3-5 year range if we do it, so we'll have to keep in touch! Link to comment
EX_Bert_Worshipper Posted April 10, 2013 Share Posted April 10, 2013 I have a family member that grew up there, but years ago. I've visited lots and have to say that it is one of the loveliest places I have ever been. I personally really like the hippie atmosphere, so that was real plus. It's very pretty around there and very laid back. Don't know what the work situation is like, but totally agree with the "outdoorsy" feel. Link to comment
The Hornet Posted April 10, 2013 Share Posted April 10, 2013 I moved from Nelson to Edmonton. ......... WHY DID I DDDdOOOOooo THAT!?!?!?!!??!?!?? (Besides the fact that there is almost no work around there) Link to comment
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