oscar14

Hi
My husband has been lucky enough to have been offered 2 jobs, one in Lloydminster Alberta and one in Peace River Alberta. I've googled and checked wiki etc but I would be really grateful if anyone could offer personal experiences of either place, just general info on what it's like to live there, shopping and sightseeing etc.
I know Lloydminster is fairly industrialised but don't know that much about Peace River apart from the scenery looks stunning.
Thanks for any help you can give.

christmasoompa

Just FYI, I've just amended your thread title so that people in those areas will notice it and respond. Having a vague thread title means people are a lot less likely to see your question, so HTH.

plasticcanuck

Lloydminster sits astride the border of Alberta and Saskatchewan so you have the benefits/downsides of both Provinces. Lloydminster is 4x population of PR but both are small cities.

Lychee

Can you elaborate on the kind of lifestyle you hope to lead? The kind of things you're interested in? The kind of activities you hope to do on a regular basis? What's shopping and sightseeing and life like? Compared to where? Where are you now? What are you hoping it to be? What are you expecting it to be?

Jericho79

People often complain that Edmonton is too isolated.... and Lloydminster is a further 3 hours from Edmonton.

Whilst it's a (small) City by Canadian standards, it's nothing more than a mid-sized town by UK standards.
It's a fairly modern place, with good facilities (e.g. modern rec centre, and access to big box stores such as Best Buy).
However, it's a very isolated place, as mentioned. Not much going on in the winter, and not much in the summer. Access to the mountains is pretty poor from Lloydminster- you're looking at probably a 7-8 hour drive to Jasper.

Basically, it's a City you move to for work... you dont move there for the quality of life.

Peace River- I've no personal experience of, but again, very isolated, small town.

To answer the original question, I would chose neither, and keep looking for something in a different City.

haggis88

A former colleague of mine moved to Peace River, last I heard he was loving it but the wife and kids weren't so much (nothing for them to do)

Claren

Basically, it's a City you move to for work... you dont move there for the quality of life.

Peace River- I've no personal experience of, but again, very isolated, small town.

To answer the original question, I would chose neither, and keep looking for something in a different City.[/QUOTE]

We moved to Lloydminster, we have a good quality of life.

Anywhere you move will be what you make it, if you think negatively about somewhere, you will hate it, make the most of what is on offer.

I have seen people move to Lloyd and complain there is nothing to do and its a shithole, but then spend all their time sitting in their apartments and expecting everything to come to them!!!!
YOU have to go out and find what YOU want.
Lloydminster is a working town, not a vacation destination (would you go on vacation to Milton Keynes?)

I have been here nearly 2 years now and have loved every minute.

tweed_wearer

Lloydminster is a working town, not a vacation destination (would you go on vacation to Milton Keynes?) [/QUOTE]

I thought that when I lived in Swindon but in canada there is the vast distance to think about.

Completely agree though that a place is what you make of it.

OP, what activities etc to you do, of would you like to do on a regular basis, if it is museums, galleries and European style city breaks then you might be disappointed in both places

oscar14

Thanks for all your replies : lots to think about.
We are both quite outdoor people and enjoy walking, shooting (with a gun club) cinema and a reasonable meal out. We are not looking for the high life, (both the wrong side of 45,) and will be leaving our adult children behind, just somewhere safe and friendly to settle and make a life with a decent work/life balance.

Lychee

Reasonable meal out? If you're simple meat & potatoes kind of people and don't require ethnic cuisine to be happy, you'll likely be satisfied with the restaurant offerings. I noticed that the local Chinese buffet restaurant in Lloydminster (#3 restaurant in Lloydminster according to TripAdvisor reviews) for example, serves roast beef and pizza: Lloydminster, Alberta Restaurants: See 71 restaurants with 542 reviews - TripAdvisor

Be prepared for some culture shock. It is not England. People do not eat the same way as they do in the UK.

heydon1983

If your are the outdoor type Peace River might be just for you its about a 35-40 min drive north of Grande Prairie which itself is city sized and has all the big shops you would need for a day of shopping.
Peace River its a small place i would say village size according to UK standards but there is plenty of out door things that you would like to do there and the scenery as you come north from gp to it is fantastic.
Northern British Columbia is about an hrs driver west of it and the scenery there for walking, hiking, fishing is like the lake district fantastic.
I have never been to Lloydminister so cant give you an opinion on it but I go through peace river a lot.
Goggle Grande Prairie and see what you think.
Good Luck either way.

MillieF

Eating out....or even discussing food, is a very different situation here.....I cannot for the life of me understand why anyone would pay for anyone to make them 'dinner' here! Lunch is doable, as long as we are heavy on the carbohydrates...dinner..

I think that in Vancouver and Toronto this is basically better? I believe that you can actually get some decent food there without the adventure?

I spoke to my brother-in-law tonight, he's in Peace River...he's not big into food conversation either

Lychee

It's like night and day. There is a passionate food
culture in both cities. I hope you get to experience it one day, Millie!

dbd33

Toronto's strength is food. You can get the food of almost any nation prepared by a native of that nation. It's a good place for eating.

But, to be fair, it's ugly and it's cold most of the time (and the pollution is horrible so going outside isn't attractive) and a lot of people live there, inevitably a good number of them cook. You are not going to have the same dining opportunities in some hick town of just a million people.

tweed_wearer

I thought that the food in Vancouver was superb.