Clair Whittington

Regina is a beautiful place to stay, and a great place to live. The "Queen City" is the capital of Saskatchewan, Canada, and has a wonderful cultural life in music, theater and dance. We are very proud of our way of life, here in Regina. If you decide to come and visit, here a few thing to note about our wonderful Canadian province that make us unique - courtesy of Canadian-isms!

You might be in Canada if:

• You understand the sentence, "Could you please pass me a serviette, I just spilled my bowl of POUTINE"
• You eat chocolate bars instead of candy bars.
• You drink pop, not soda.
• You had a Prime Minister who wasn't fluent in either of the official languages (English or French).
• You talk about the weather with strangers and friends alike.
• You don't know, or care, about the fuss with Cuba; it's just a cheap place to travel (with very good cigars).
• You get milk in bags, as well as cartons and plastic jugs.
• Pike is a type of fish, not some part of a highway.
• You drive on a highway, not a freeway.
• You have Canadian Tire money in your kitchen drawers.
• You know that Mounties "don't always look like that."
• You drive with your headlights on during the day (since 1989, all new cars have been fitted with "daytime running lights").
• You have an Inuit carving by your bedside with the rationale, "What's good enough protection for the Prime Minister, is good enough for me."
• You wonder why there isn't a five dollar coin yet.
• You use a red pen on your non-Canadian textbooks, and fill in the missing 'u's from labor, honor, color, etc.
• You know the French equivalents of "free," "prize," and "no sugar added," thanks to your extensive education in bilingual cereal packaging.
• You are excited whenever an American television show mentions Canada.
• You make a mental note to talk about it at work the next day.
• You can do all the hand actions to Sharon, Lois and Bram's "Skin-a-ma-rinky-dinky-doo" opus.
• You can eat more than one maple sugar candy without feeling nauseous.
• You know what a toque is - you own one, and often wear it.
• You know Toronto is NOT a province.
• You never miss "Coach's Corner" during Hockey Night in Canada.
• Back bacon and Kraft Dinner are two of your favourite food groups.
• If you live in some of the colder Canadian provinces, your car has a cord and plug sticking out of the grill ... it's a block heater for those sub-zero (in Celsius) days.
• You only know three spices: salt, pepper and ketchup.
• You design your Halloween costume to fit over a snowsuit.
• The mosquitoes have landing lights.
• You have more kilometers on your snow blower than your car.
• Canadian Tire Store on any Saturday is busier than most toy stores at Christmas.
• You've taken your kids trick-or-treating in a blizzard.
• Driving is better in the winter because the potholes are filled in with frozen snow and slush.
• You owe more money on your snowmobile than your car.
• The local paper covers national and international headlines on 2 pages, but requires 6 pages for hockey.
• At least twice a year, the kitchen doubles as a meat processing plant.
• The most effective mosquito repellent is a shotgun.
• Your snowblower gets stuck on the roof.
• You think the start of deer season is a national holiday.
• You head south to go to your cottage.
• You frequently clean grease off your barbecue, so the bears won't prowl on your deck.
• You find -40C a little chilly.
• You can play road hockey on skates.
• You know 4 seasons: Winter, Still Winter, almost Winter and Construction.
• The municipality buys a Zamboni before a bus.
• You perk-up when you hear the theme from "Hockey Night in Canada".

Hope this list made you smile - Just proud to be Canadian!

Clair Whittington of Exit Realty Fusion is ready to help you explore your real estate options in, or around, Regina. "Serving you with my knowledge of real estate is what I do best in the lovely village of Grand Coulee or any of Regina's surrounding communities. Contact me today."

Regina is becoming well known for "being green." There are many choices you can make in the way you live to become more eco-friendly. One way is to buy organic foods and produce whenever you can. You may not know this, but shopping at a local farmer's market is one of the best choices you can make when it comes to feeding your family. Luckily, we can buy local and eat fresh quite easily in Regina!

Right here in Regina, we have the wonderful Regina Farmers' Market! All vendors are local and you can choose from baked goods and produce to flowers and crafts! Around since 1975, the market has been a gathering place for Regina. The market runs on Wednesdays and Saturdays from May 1st to October 9th, 2010 in its temporary new location ay1900 Smith & McIntyre Streets (surrounding City Hall) for 2010, due to construction on their current space.

If living "green" is important to you, you should know that buying at a local farmer's market actually makes a bigger impact than buying "organic". When you buy locally grown or manufactured goods, it reduces the environmental damages caused by shipping the products. When you have locally grown organic produce available, you have access to the Gold Standard when it comes to being eco-conscious. A great advantage of the local farmers' markets, you can talk with the vendors and ask about how and where your food was grown!

There is more than one reason to buy locally grown goods. It has tremendous economic benefits for the area! Because you are not paying for all the shipping and handling, you can usually save money. Not only are you helping the local economy, you are keeping more money in your own wallet. So buy local, eat fresh and keep the economy strong in Regina!

Clair Whittington of Exit Realty Fusion is ready to help you explore your real estate options in or around Regina. "Serving you with my knowledge of real estate is what I do best in the lovely village of Grand Coulee or any of Regina's surrounding communities. Contact me today."

This article from MoneySense Magazine is such a useful one in explaining the current state of the housing market in Canada, I am including it below in its entirety. As an agent from Regina, I am proud of where our city stands.

Clair

Best deals in real estate

by Don Sutton, MoneySense
Wednesday, June 16, 2010provided by

Where do you want to live? Where can you afford to live? Every major Canadian city scoured for bargains!

It's a crazy time for real estate in Canada. Prices are sky-high, people are feeling pressured into selling into a hot market and buyers fear purchasing an overpriced home only to see the bubble burst.

But MoneySense magazine has come to the rescue and crunched the numbers to identify the best real estate deals in the best cities.

Using hard data on 35 major housing markets, the magazine has awarded a letter grade based on how reasonable the house prices are, whether home prices are likely to rise and how prosperous the local economy is. Surprisingly, none of the winning cities are Canada's largest, but instead reflect medium-sized cities with affordable house prices that have the ability to grow strongly with local economic conditions.

More at MoneySense:

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The best deals in real estate in Canada are to be found in Moncton and Regina, both of whom received an A-, while Fredericton, St. John's, Ottawa, Gatineau, Winnipeg, Guelph and Saint John all received a B+.

The criteria for the study was strict and comprehensive. MoneySense compared average rents to average home prices, which gives a great indicator of how valuable a home is. Next it compared local wages as to average home prices to see how long it would take for a family to purchase a home. The magazine also evaluated how quickly homes sold and prices increased over the years.

Last, the economic environment of the city was also analyzed. The magazine looked at how fast a community grew, what the unemployment rate was and what kind of discretionary income the citizens had.

This method avoided identifying cheap real estate in communities where prices were unlikely to increase due to a poor local economy or widespread unemployment.

The analysis gives a comprehensive overview of where to get the best real estate deals in Canada. The study is also useful for identifying which real estate markets to avoid. For example, Abbotsford and Montreal both only rated Cs.

MoneySense's study also identified overpriced markets. For instance, Kelowna, B.C., scored well in the category of growth potential and has a great local economy. But the average house price makes it hard for the typical family to buy into the market. With this aspect in mind, Kelowna rated a D+ in the value category and a C+ overall.

Windsor, Ont., where house prices are among the best values in Canada, is in the opposite situation. It rated an A for affordability, but since the city is slowly recovering from deep layoffs in the car industry, it only rates a C in the momentum category and a C+ for local economy, giving it a B+ overall.

In concrete terms, what the best cities for real estate like Regina and Moncton have going for them is big-city growth and opportunities without big-city prices. While the affordability and growth value of a home are not always the prime reasons to buy in a particular location, knowing that your home is a sound investment in an economically vibrant city offers great peace of mind.

Top 5 cities:

1. Moncton A-
2. Regina A-
3. Fredericton B+
4. St. John's B+
5. Ottawa B+

See the complete rated list of cities

See the slideshow

Summers here in Regina are a time to "live it up" get out and enjoy nature and the beautiful summer nights that Saskatchewan always delivers. Downtown Regina in the summer is the place to be, to see and to be seen. It's time to give old man winter the heave-ho and get outside, get downtown and enjoy the city.

Each year Regina hosts "hot" events such as the Regina Folk Festival, Buffalo Days, the Scarth Street Summer Concert Series and the Cinema Under the Stars Series. You'll find all these events and much more right here in downtown Regina.

There's so much going on that you might want to subscribe to "The Downtowner." It's a free bi-weekly electronic newsletter highlighting upcoming events, attractions and specials here in Regina.

One of the largest draws each summer is the Summer Concert Series where thousands will migrate to downtown Regina to enjoy the music and happenings. On Friday, June 18^th the Kick-off Event for JazzFest Regina 2010 will feature The Sask-Cuban Project to get things rolling for the summer. Can't wait to get out and enjoy downtown Regina with some of the best music in Canada.

Looking at how alive and vibrant the downtown area is, I feel blessed to live here. It shows the reflection of what a healthy and vibrant city Regina is. Here we enjoy a strong sense of community with something to do for all ages and interests. It's really a great place to live.

Clair Whittington of Exit Realty Fusion is ready to help you explore your real estate options in or around Regina. "Serving you with my knowledge of real estate is what I do best in the lovely village of Grand Coulee or any of Regina's surrounding communities. Contact me today."

Grand Coulee is a village located about 10 minutes west of Regina, Saskatchewan. It is a small friendly village where everyone knows everyone. Because of its close proximity to the growing city of Regina, it has become a coveted residential haven for those looking to escape the urban scene.

Grand Coulee has it's own elementary school for Kindergarten through eighth grade; the high school students are bused into Regina. In addition to the school, Grand Coulee also has its own village church, The United Church, which holds regular Sunday services.

The local Recreation Board plays an important role within Grand Coulee promoting health and well being. It sponsors baseball, soccer, art classes, firearm safety, boat safety, gym nights, and fitness classes to enhance the lifestyle of local residents.

The village has recently been approved for two major grants including one from Recreational Infrastructure Canada Program (RInC) which is to be used for construction of a new recreation facility. The provincial government has confirmed their contribution of $750,000.

Grand Coulee will need to raise the additional $500,000-$750,000 in needed funds. Currently the village is selling raffle tickets to help with the construction costs. Click to see raffle ticket details.

This village really promotes quality of life, future growth and community development. The government is interested in supporting both social and environmental well being. And every year in Grand Coulee everyone gets out and enjoys "The Hoe Down".

Clair Wittington of Exit Realty Fusion is ready to help you explore your real estate options in Grand Coulee. "Serving you with my knowledge of real estate is what I do best in the lovely village of Grand Coulee or any of Regina's surrounding communities. Contact me by email or visit my website today."