Guess pot holes were not a category and the main reason PG missed on being number 190.

Red Deer looks good if the NDP get in!

Don’t let the door hit ya!

Kelowna at 144? OMG, I can just imagine the hand wringing and head scratching down there now!

Fort St. John?

out of the top ten I haven,t been in two, Brandon MB is the only place I would consider on the same level as PG and Quesnel, but that,s my opinion

Only because Grande Prairie is close

Hey, PG was 156 overall, but rated 150th with culture …. LOL

53rd for doctors per 1,000 pop

64th for discretionary income

#1 in culture? Vancouver

As if it really matters.
metalman.

I probably could have posted this comment on several stories over the past few weeks. Way back in the day when I moved to PG to attend CNC(the 80’s), the joke I used to hear about PG was “What’s the difference between Prince George and Yogurt”?… Yogurt has an active culture…cue the canned laughter…
Fortunately, this is no longer the Prince George of the 80’s

I moved back to PG just over three years ago. I realize that there is a LOT of room for improvement, but I happen to be a big fan of Prince George and I believe that we have a lot to be proud of.

I am fairly new to the Opinion 250 community. I generally enjoy reading opinion 250 and I typically enjoy reading the comments more than the stories. I have noticed, however, that lately the tone on this site has become extremely negative. I know this site is basically the equivalent of a well informed sewing circle but the “bitch” portion of the “stitch and bitch” is really starting to get carried away. It starts with the tone and angle of the stories and carries over with the comments.

I have lived in many locations in BC including Smithers, Vancouver, Victoria, Kamloops and Kelowna and I prefer the opportunities and lifestyle I have here in Prince George.

Based on the tone of the stories and comments I have been reading on this site of late, I appear to be in the minority.

Constructive criticism is one thing, but maybe we can turn down the volume of the negativity a few decibels moving forward.

Zack: “Constructive criticism is one thing, but maybe we can turn down the volume of the negativity a few decibels moving forward. “

I hate to be negative after such a sunny post, but nothing has changed on the site the last five or so years I’ve been reading it, I don’t anticipate that it will in the future.

Opinions are like pot holes. Every street has got some. Or sumthin’ like that.

That high? or that low? Must be some crazy people out there who love potholes. Think it’s bad now? Just wait, it really hasn’t started yet. Might be able to bring the old classic out by September.

Its all relative.

I have to admit. As much as I like PG, these potholes are absolutely unbelieveable…

These rankings are absolutely ridiculous.

Squamish, Port Alberni and Campbell River are all beautiful places that I would gladly live.

Ottawa, Winnipeg and Edmonton in the top 10??? Have these people ever been to these places??

I have lived in places accross this great country as a serviceman in postings liked Shilo Manitoba, Winnipeg Manitoba, Pettyewawa Ontario, Calgary Alberta, Guagetown Newbrunswick,and Dielinghoffen West Germany. I must say that I have enjoyed them all, but if i were asked which one was my favorite it would be Prince George.

I have lived in places accross this great country as a serviceman in postings liked Shilo Manitoba, Winnipeg Manitoba, Pettyewawa Ontario, Calgary Alberta, Guagetown Newbrunswick,and Dielinghoffen West Germany. I must say that I have enjoyed them all, but if i were asked which one was my favorite it would be Prince George.

The following is a list of the criteria against which each city was measured.

The numbers are Prince George’s rankings with higher numbers being worse.

The number in brackets is the ranking for Elliot Lake, a mining town in northern Ontario between Sudbury and Sault Ste. Marie.

Walk/bike to work – 124 (7)
Affordable housing -122 (8)
Household ioncome – 85 (188)
Discretionary income -64 (113)
New cars -171 (84)
Pop growth -125 (164)
Low crime – 176 (112)
Doctors/1,000 – 53 (178)
Weather – 107 (117)
Jobless rate – 106 (182)

Overall ranking – 156 (87)

Elliot Lake, Ontario – a uranium mining community that used to have a population of over 16,000 in 1981 and now has a population of around 11,000.
Oddly enough, with uranium ore being mined, there is a high rate of lung cancer and silicosis among uranium miners. Who would have thought that, eh?

So this is the city that one is supposed to move to from Prince George in order to get a better lifestyle.

Does Money Sense ever do a test of their methodology? What do you think? I think I have a bit of an idea, not quite sure yet though … LOL

Well, my 25 minute commute this morning was done on cruise control and covered 36k. When I lived in Vancouver, that same 25 minutes got me from 49th and main to downtown, with twenty traffic lights. In PG I commutted from my house on 5 acres, in Vancouver it’s my 800 ft condo.

Last weekend I managed to get in 25 runs on little Tabor mountain. At Grouse, lucky if I got 10 runs, of which I had to be careful not to get hit, or hit, other skiers on the crowded runs.

Yesterday, took a 5 k detour on the way home and x-country skied at Ottway – can’t X-country ski in Vancouver at all.

This summer, will do road biking, mountain biking, motorcycle riding, hiking, fishing.

I think the rankings have to relate to what you like to do and what’s important to you. If you like restaurants, theatre, shopping,and never ending rain, PG is probably not the place to be. However, if you’ve made peace with winter and love the outdoors, Vancouver isn’t much fun.

Hey … but they can walk or bike to work, have afforable housing since the population dropped by about a third, can drive lots of new cars, and even take advantage of that eastern low crime rate.

Never mind the low income, the few doctors, and the high jobless rate and the dropping population that is worse than Prince George’s, and even the weather that is worse than PG’s.

I think your comment, Zack Tucker, about the negativity is somewhat warranted. I wouldn’t doubt that there are many posters to this site who sigh at times over the level of vitriolic output. However, I think the perhaps “negative” stories and comments on them are the result of passionate reaction to the events of the day and of the times. People react to the provincial government breaking the law of the land in dealing with teachers. They react to democractic rights being trampled on the federal government. They certainly react to what’s happening in their own back yard, to local politicians saying one thing during an election campaign and doing another once elected. They react to a segment of the communti receiving preferrential treatment over the rest of us. People tend to get very passionate and a times speak from the heart before thinking things out and commenting constructively. I think what might be more concerning though is when the day comes that we are no longer legally entitled to speak out and worse yet, when no one bothers to speak.

oops…. misread the table …..

Elliot Lake is actually only at 143 …. nevertheless, a better ranking than PG.

Must be because PG fails miserably on the cultural side … 150 versus Elliot Lake = 87

Must have some great parties …. ;-)

Well put, One Democrat.

We used to have speaker’s corners. But how many of us would speak out in such a location?

Letters to the editor provide limited space and are filtered. So also just for special occasions.

I think McLuhan’s notion that the “medium is the message” holds true here. What has happened as a result of the internet is that the “suggestion” box has been changed from a box that accepts input from everyone, but they are viewed by whomever.

Here we can put in comments/suggestions, but they get read by everyone and can themselves be responded to.

Even talk shows do not have such immediacy.

Yes, very un-Canadian, isn’t it? Or is it?

Sorry, lost some letters in cyber space. Anyone have an “L”?

This should come as no surprise to anyone with a shred of objectivity.

“Well, my 25 minute commute this morning was done on cruise control and covered 36k. When I lived in Vancouver, that same 25 minutes got me from 49th and main to downtown, with twenty traffic lights. In PG I commutted from my house on 5 acres, in Vancouver it’s my 800 ft condo. Last weekend I managed to get in 25 runs on little Tabor mountain. At Grouse, lucky if I got 10 runs, of which I had to be careful not to get hit, or hit, other skiers on the crowded runs. Yesterday, took a 5 k detour on the way home and x-country skied at Ottway – can’t X-country ski in Vancouver at all. This summer, will do road biking, mountain biking, motorcycle riding, hiking, fishing”

Okay, I’ll play :)

My 20 minute commute this morning covered about 20KM and took me into downtown Ottawa from the suburb where I live. My house is a little larger than the one I had in PG, but the neighbourhood is MUCH more developed with nearby parks, sidewalks, trail networks and amenities.

I don’t downhill ski, but there are many options nearby. If you want to go a little bit further out, there is Mont Tremblant and many larger hills in upstate New York, Vermont and New Hampshire. Cross country skiing, mountain biking, hiking, snowshoeing cross country running opportunities are absolutely ridiculous and available in my immediate neighbourhood and beyond. The Ottawa greenbelt is incredible as is Gatineau Park across the river. Hundreds of KM’s of trails of all difficulties that take you through very different topography and scenery. If you want to go on pavement, then you have the entire canal to explore, the parkway along the river, etc. In short, I’ve never been to another city that has so many urban and natural trail networks in my life. Road biking same thing. Heck, they close off certain roads just for bike traffic in the summer, LOL.

I’ve also been known to handle a fly rod or two, or three or four, LOL, and moving out here I had real fears that I wouldn’t have those opportunities. Forget about that! Without a word of a lie, there are more high quality fisheries within two hours of Ottawa than there are within two hours of PG. You have all of the blue ribbon trout streams of Upstate New York and Vermont, the Brookie water over in Quebec, the Ottawa River is incredible, Lake Ontario and some of the best Steelhead water in the Great Lakes is closer to me that the drive to Stuart Lake from PG, the crystal blue waters of Lake Huron are about 4-5 hours away, etc. I haven’t even begun to tackle the warm water species. This place is a fisherman’s paradise if there ever was one!!!!!!

So you have all of these superb outdoors activities within easy reach, in addition to the big city culture and amenities. Affordable housing? Check. Low crime? Check. Clean air? Check. A true 4 seasons? Check.

So yes, I can easily see what Ottawa rates so high in these types of rankings. That doesn’t mean I think that the scoring systems are perfect.

I think a big problem when it comes to stuff like this is perceptions. People need to get out and experience different places and not rely on a magazine to tell them. Ontario is not all about concrete jungles and gridlock traffic and BC is not all about the inner harbour of Victoria. I think we would all appreciate the country and each other a little more if we got out and experienced this great country of ours in person.

Okay NMG – it’s on now :)

Thanks – my big city experience is Vancouver so Ottawa sounds pretty good except: your ski hills suck compared to ours. Anyone I’ve talked to who skied your area says there’s reliance on manmade snow, icy conditions, crowding – whereas we often have crystaline powder, soft snow, short life lineups, other than that, I think you won the argument.

That could very well be ski50. Like I said, I really know nothing about skiing, but I do plan to take it up this coming winter. I think most of the hills REALLY close to Ottawa would be considered small and that the serious skiing would be on Mont Trembant which is under 2 hours away and then the hills in New York, Vermont and New Hampshire.

We visited Tremblant in the summer and the village was quite nice. The mountains out that way are much older than the rockies so they don’t have that jagged and often very steep appearance, but they are still quite impressive in a different way. Lake Placid is actually only a few hours away as well and I think you can do the bobsledding and all sorts of other stuff there as well. Many of the resorts across the border REALLY focus on all sorts of activities for winter and summer fun.