Seeing My City with New Eyes

For the past two weeks I have been working with four sets of out-of-town buyers. It has been fun but exhausting. I have enjoyed showing off Prince George, exploring the neighbourhoods and searching for the perfect house for my buyers.

During this process I am gaining a new appreciation for Prince George... I am no longer taking what the city has to offer for granted. I am seeing Prince George with new eyes. I'm seeing it with the perspective of my clients who have never been to Prince George before and they are filled with excitement when they see the wonderful facilities that the city has.

After living in Prince George for approximately 30 years, one tends to overlook the positives and often focus on the negatives. Not that I'm a negative person, but you take the good things for granted. Every place has its good and bad points.

Today I realize what wonderful things Prince George and surrounding area have to offer (in no particular order)...

Rotary Soccer fields - located near 15th Avenue it hosts a multitude of various soccer club and youth soccer games and training.

Aquatic Centre - located near the soccer fields is a fun place to take the kids to swim.

There is also the Four Seasons Pool located downtown.

Fraser-Fort George Museum and Exploration Place - Learn about Prince George history and have hands on interactive opportunities at the Exploration Place, plus see live critters and dinosaur exhibits. Lots of things to do here!

Fort George Park - A beautiful park situated along the Fraser River. It features a bandshell, water spray park, playground, train rides, native cemetary and picnic tables nestles amongs the mature trees where you can just sit and relax.

College of New Caledonia - Offers many programs, trades and university transfer programs

University of Northern British Columbia - For the second year in a row, Maclean's Magazine has ranked UNBC fourth among small universities and best in western Canada. It's worth it just to look at the buildings and see the city from the hill a top which UNBC sits.

Northern Sports Centre - Currently still under construction this facility adjacent to UNBC will host a gym, indoor track, and multi-use indoor field. Capitalizing on Prince George's educational services and winter climate, the Centre will have the capacity to support high-performance athletes and coaches, particularly in Nordic skiing.

Mr. PG - Prince George has a giant man as a mascot. Mr. PG has a lot of history behind him and was originally built in 1960 as a symbol of the importance of the forestry industry. He resides at the intersection of Highway 16 and Highway 97.

Outdoor Activities - Three downhill ski areas, eight golf courses, ATV and Snowmobile trails, cross country ski areas, fishing and ice fishing, hunting, hiking, camping, bird watching.... and the list goes on.

Two Rivers Gallery - The place for visual art in Prince George. Plus it has a wonderful gift shop.

And a very interesting building as well.

Winter - Having lived here for so long, I take winter as it comes. This week I had buyers so excited to be moving to PG where we actually have snow instead of rain, and another set of clients that were so excited that our snow fall is less than where they currently live. I guess it is all in how one sees it!

Theatre - Our city is lucky to have two live theatres in town. Theatre Northwest is a professional theatre that puts on excellent performances from September to May every year. The Prince George Playhouse is another venue for performances.

These are just some of the things Prince George has to offer, but the best thing is the people that live here. I have heard time and again from out-of-town clients how friendly and nice people are in Prince George. There is always someone willing to lend a hand if you need it, and people almost always greet you when you go for a walk. The people are what make this community so special.