Nelson, British Columbia

[pokerfan]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nelson,_British_Columbia

It quite cosmopolitan... During the Vietnam War, many American draft dodgers settled in Nelson and the surrounding area. This influx of liberal, mostly educated young people had a significant impact on the area's cultural and political demographics. Nelson is also noted for its impressive collection of restored heritage buildings from its glory days in a regional silver rush.

Nelson has earned a reputation as a cultural centre. The downtown area is packed with good restaurants, cafes, coffee houses, local shops, small art galleries, the restored Capitol Theatre and impromptu theatre venues. The city is about forty-five minutes away from the site of the annual Shambhala Music Festival, an internationally known artistic music festival held in August at the Salmo River Ranch. It is also home to the Whitewater Ski Resort, the Nelson Brewing Company (a regional microbrewery), and the restored Capitol Theatre (a regional hub for the performing arts).

Nelson is also an alternative lifestyles hot spot noted for its profitable (albeit unlawful) marijuana production, with The Guardian reporting that "Nelson was able to make the transition from a typical rural lumber town into a thriving arts and mountain sports hotbed, due in part to the wealth generated by marijuana growers. If one were to have spent the last three years in this idyllic mountain hamlet, the economic crisis would have been barely noticeable." Hemp clothes and cannabis-related products are sold in local stores.

[applegrove]

1. Oh yeah. I've heard about Nelson. Aside from the beauty it is also known

for a tiny crime rate (if you exclude pot)...because everyone is so 'relaxed' nobody hurts anybody else or tries to steal their sh**! LOL!

[pokerfan]

3. It's pretty much my jumping-off point

for all sorts of outdoor activities: downhill skiing, skinny-skiing, backbacking, mountaineering, canoeing, etc.

And then there's also Ainsworth Hot Springs about 30 minutes to the north. There's been many a day I've soaked my tired muscles there after a day of skiing:

[catabryna]

2. Fantastic...

Aren't the Northern Rockies gorgeous? Ahhhh... This needs to be a future travel destination. Canada would never take me as a permanent resident.

[pokerfan]

4. I wouldn't mind retiring there if I could swing it

I love the Canuck Rockies and the Icefields Parkway in particular: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Icefields_Parkway

Even climbed Athabasca a couple of times:

[catabryna]

7. Can't retire in Canada...

but, I have many years ahead of me to plan for retirement in Whitefish, MT. :hi:

[likesmountains 52]

5. Love Nelson...go every few years to hike and enjoy the town.

[pokerfan]

6. Then you've probably been here...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kokanee_Glacier_Provincial_Park



Also the name of the regional beer:

[Flaxbee]

8. ok, that just looks idyllic. What's the cost of living?

:hi:

And what are the winters like? :D

[pokerfan]

9. Not as steep as say, Vancouver

It's a four season climate. Winters average about seven or eight... feet of snow per season so it helps if you like winter sports, like shoveling.