Strawberry

That is Nelson, B.C, not Nelson Burnley (for all you Lancashire Folk!!!)

What is Nelson like as a town, is it fairly busy or is it quite a remote town?

Thanks as usual for any replies.

M

triumphguy

It's quite a pretty smallish town. Right on a decent sized lake with good fishing - including land-locked salmon. It was originally settled by British "Remittance Men" and so has lots of British style, brick buildings.

It's a bit of an artsy town, so has lits of mini music and art festivals. It's fairly busy in summer, 'cos lots of tourists come. There's a few motorbike rallies (BMW and Triumph among them - I was there in July).

It's a beautiful area.

Aviator

Pretty, but very remote from major centres.

MrsDV

I've only been there as a visitor in the summer but thought it was just lovely. A very good looking small town (in comparison to other Canadian small towns I've seen) with a nice laid back (almost hippy) feel. The surrounding area is absolutely beautiful. We were there early August and it seemed fairly quiet.

JonboyE

I agree with everything said above It has an attractive town centre and is in an incredible setting. In the summer there can be a lot of backpackers about. Nelson is a regional centre for the West Kootenay district so there are the stores and services and amenities that you need. Despite this is does have the artsy and hippy feel the other posters have mentioned.

If you are thinking of running a vacation business this is a good location. If you hanker after city life you are a long way from a big city: 7-8 hours drive to either Calgary or Vancouver. However, Nelson has name recognition and is accessible enough for vacationers.

Strawberry

Ooooh my OH would be thrilled with that....he is a motorbike person through and through....

Strawberry

Yes, cheers, its quite a long way off to say the least, but whilst we don't hanker after city life, we do have four nippers (one will be 18 by then probably!!!!) so would like to be near to good schooling and amenities.

I will put Nelson on my list of places to check out over next couple of years...

We originally was thinking purely Okanagan, but the Kootenays also could well be a possibility.

Once again, all your replies are invaluable.

Mel

Aviator

It is a long way from major medical facilities should the need arise.

triumphguy

It's right up his alley then: some of THE BEST motorbike roads in western Canada go round Kootenay lake - that's why there's so many meet-ups and rallies there!

Checkout:

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x78...ew-denver_auto

triumphguy

But they'll fly you to the nearest big centre if need be. A guy on the Triumph "Raid" recently rode into a tree - he had a diabetic incident - they flew him to Spokane for major surgery. He's fine now.

charlsar

we have visited Nelson twice now, during the winter and early spring. We think it is a lovely town, quiet in the winter though. As everyone has said it is surrrounded by stunning countryside and the ski resort up the road is fab. The town itself is very quaint and the locals are lovely and friendly. It has a real laid back feel. We really want to get to live there one day. if you ever need info on places to stay there, give us a shout. We stayed in a lovely house there, right in the town.

Strawberry

Thank you all once again for your input, this site is tremendously helpful.

lmartin999

You can fly into Castlegar from Vancouver or Calgary - about an hour from either. From there Nelson is a pleasant short drive. I used to teach some courses in Castlegar and found the area pleasant for a few days. The nickname for Castlegar was Cancelgar as weather would often close the airport. The rule was if you could see the mountain the plane could get in. These places are small though so you have to really love the outdoors. Avoid Trail.
A lot of Americans who fled to Canada to avoid Vietnam ended up in Nelson which I think has much to do with its laid back hippy feel etc. It also once had quite a fascinating private university, Notre Dame University College.

Strawberry

Hi,

Sorry, Avoid Trail????? - is this a place nearby??

Cheers

Aviator

It is a smelter town and there is a burning aroma all the time. Not nice.