“You’re moving where?” Introducing Prince George, Canada.

We are, as you know, attempting to move to a city called Prince George. Where? Prince what? Isn’t that a royal kid?

I’m guessing that, like me until last October, you hadn’t heard of Prince George in British Columbia, Canada. If things had worked out as planned, we would be there by now and I would be writing a blog to introduce you to my new city.

For a perspective of someone who has been there – and had to returned thanks to coronavirus – check out First impressions of life in Northern BC, Canada, in 3 photos.

But from my perspective, for now, let me share what I have learnt about Prince George from my research. Where is it? What is there to do there? Why the ridiculous name? Read on to find out…

Location

Prince George is located in the centre of Canada’s westernmost province: British Columbia. In Canadian terms, it’s near Vancouver – just a casual eight hour drive away! So about as near as Brighton is to Edinburgh!

Population

Prince George is a mid-sized city, home to around 80,000 people. To put that in perspective for us Brits, that’s a similar population to Bath, which has about 89,000 inhabitants.

History of Prince George

Can you guess how Prince George got it’s name? Yep, that’s right, despite being located on the traditional territory of the Lheidli T’enneh Nation, Prince George is named after King George III. That’s the mad one, or, to quote Horrible Histories, the one who was as “batty as a bonkers kangaro-oooo”. In 1807 a fur trading post was established in the region, agriculture slowly developed and once the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway joined the party, a city was inevitable.

Perks of Prince George

Here’s a little taster of some of the things Prince George has to offer, which really excite me. In the city there are over one hundred parks, there is also ancient forests with hundreds of kilometres of trails to hike and cycle. The world famous Jasper and Banff national parks are near enough for a weekend trip, but I’m really excited about the mountains near Prince George, such as the wonderfully named Teapot Mountain.

Spending weekends ‘at the lake’ is a norm, people often spend their Saturdays Paddle Boarding or Kayaking before hiding their food in a bear barrel and hunkering down in the tent.

The big draw for many: the snow. Which means that learning to Ski is a must if I’m going to make peace with the Canadian winter. Each year they also flood fields, let them freeze and hey presto you’ve got an ice skating rink!

And a final perk to prove (to my cold-loathing self) that winter rewards people: the elusive Northern Lights pays a visit to dance above the night sky between mid-September and mid-March. Finally, just encase, all this outdoorsy stuff gets a bit tiring (as if!) Prince George has a winery and a craft beer distillery.

Check out this video for more on what PG has to offer…