Canada's Best Towns/Cities

[macker]

Recently read an article in Outside magazine about America's best towns/cities which included : Boston, Ann Arbor, Washington, D.C., Bozeman, Greenville, Carbondale, San Diego, Honolulu, Fort Collins, Minneapolis/Saint Paul, San Anselmo, Chicago, Waitsfield, Little Rock, Oklahoma City, Spokane and the winner by an avalanche Park City. I was there most recently last fall and after years of going back to PC I totally agree with its place at the top.

The metrics that they are using is to find the best place to be healthy with ample trailheads, nearby adventure, great farmers markets and a competitive gear-shop scene. It was a crowd sourced contest with 21,000 votes online.


Who would you have down for Canada? I would imagine that Alberta and BC towns/cities would be prominent on a list like this.

[valo403]

I assume they all have lakes

[Regulator75]

The top city in Canada changes every year, just like the neighbourhoods in Calgary.

[macker]

Originally Posted by valo403

I assume they all have lakes

Based on that I would scratch Spokane from the list and replace it with Coeur d'Alene. I never considered Spokane in this way but Coeur d'Alene or Boise are surprisingly off the list. Lake Tahoe is not on the list? Also Auburn, California is another town I would have expected to see.


The towns/cities year after year should be fairly consistent by these metrics with established trail systems and mountains/lakes aren't easily moved.

[Kybosh]

It's getting more and more busy, but I love me some Canmore for all the criteria you mentioned. Lots of cool BC towns as well.

If I could get a decent job somewhere in or near Boulder, CO I would go there in a second.

[macker]

Originally Posted by Kybosh

It's getting more and more busy, but I love me some Canmore for all the criteria you mentioned. Lots of cool BC towns as well.

If I could get a decent job somewhere in or near Boulder, CO I would go there in a second.

Colorado likely has the most towns that knocked each other out of the voting with Boulder, Durango, Fruita, Colorado Springs, Fort Collins etc.. The article hints that some of the reason is the access to trails isn't as easy from some of the Co towns which can be argued.


I would have down :
-Whistler
-Canmore
-Kelowna
-Vernon
-Fernie
-Golden
-Calgary
-Vancouver
-Rossland
-Revelstoke

Obviously completely western bias.

[Hatter]

Dildo, NFLD. Obviously.

[evman150]

OP is talking about two different things here. Thread title says "best towns"; OP talks about "best place to be healthy". Totally different things IMO.

But then again, I've never hiked, never been to a farmers market, and I had to google what a "gear shop" was.

[Northendzone]

Originally Posted by Hatter

Dildo, NFLD. Obviously.

Grindrod, BC says wassup!!!


My list would look something like, canmore, lake Louise, golden, Vernon, kelowna, cour d'elene, whitefish or San diego

[GreenLantern]

Actually I am going to hijack this thread a little.. if you won a trip for two anywhere in Canada where would you go?

Assuming you love craft beer and live music.

[The Yen Man]

Originally Posted by evman150

OP is talking about two different things here. Thread title says "best towns"; OP talks about "best place to be healthy". Totally different things IMO.

But then again, I've never hiked, never been to a farmers market, and I had to google what a "gear shop" was.

Pretty much this. All things equal, I'd rather live near the ocean than to trails or gear shops. So this would probably be yet another subjective poll, geared towards the demographic that this magazine caters to.

[Shin Pad]

Originally Posted by macker

Colorado likely has the most towns that knocked each other out of the voting with Boulder, Durango, Fruita, Colorado Springs, Fort Collins etc.. The article hints that some of the reason is the access to trails isn't as easy from some of the Co towns which can be argued.


I would have down :
-Whistler
-Canmore
-Kelowna
-Vernon
-Fernie
-Golden
-Calgary
-Vancouver
-Rossland
-Revelstoke

Obviously completely western bias.

I would add Creston, BC to this list - I'm slightly bias, as this is my home town

[macker]

Originally Posted by evman150

OP is talking about two different things here. Thread title says "best towns"; OP talks about "best place to be healthy". Totally different things IMO.

But then again, I've never hiked, never been to a farmers market, and I had to google what a "gear shop" was.

Yep, just used the cover title from Outside. America's Best Towns : 18 Perfect Places to Live. Apply the same to Canada. They are looking at it from the perspective of the hamster cage with the most wheels and toys to keep you moving and as a result make the place more enjoyable/beautiful/livable = best.

Best town is the best place to get outside and be active. Nothing to back it up but I would bet that the life expectancy in these noteworthy towns/cities is higher than somewhere that you are stuck inside with nothing to tempt you to go outside and be active.

[_Q_]

The 5 biggest cities are all awesome in their own way. So top 18 would have to include Vancouver, Calgary, Montreal, Toronto and Ottawa.

I would also include Victoria, Tofino, Kelowna, Canmore, Quebec City and Halifax. The other 7 would probably be some towns/cities that I have never been to or heard of. Edmonton should also stay far away from this list.

[evman150]

Originally Posted by macker

Yep, just used the cover title from Outside. America's Best Towns : 18 Perfect Places to Live. Apply the same to Canada. They are looking at it from the perspective of the hamster cage with the most wheels and toys to keep you moving and as a result make the place more enjoyable/beautiful/livable = best.

Best town is the best place to get outside and be active. Nothing to back it up but I would bet that the life expectancy in these noteworthy towns/cities is higher than somewhere that you are stuck inside with nothing to tempt you to go outside and be active.

I don't think I've ever "gone outside" and "been active" in my life. That to me, is not the mark of a great town/city at all.

I prefer cultural attractions, great restaurants, friendly people, low crime rate, good traffic management, cheap and efficient public transport etc.

[valo403]

Originally Posted by macker

Yep, just used the cover title from Outside. America's Best Towns : 18 Perfect Places to Live. Apply the same to Canada. They are looking at it from the perspective of the hamster cage with the most wheels and toys to keep you moving and as a result make the place more enjoyable/beautiful/livable = best.

Best town is the best place to get outside and be active. Nothing to back it up but I would bet that the life expectancy in these noteworthy towns/cities is higher than somewhere that you are stuck inside with nothing to tempt you to go outside and be active.

They're also making the assumption that outdoor and nature type pursuits are the only possible forms of entertainment, or things that keep you moving. Cities with parks, walking paths and vibrant areas to wander around in could easily meet those same goals.

This list is the best places to live if you are the type of person who would subscribe to outdoors magazine.

[Nyah]

Victoria & Quebec City are my two favourite cities in Canada to visit. Tofino, Canmore & Waterton are high on the list too.

[bc-chris]

Originally Posted by GreenLantern

Actually I am going to hijack this thread a little.. if you won a trip for two anywhere in Canada where would you go?

Assuming you love craft beer and live music.

forget your assumption

i'd go to calgary.... december 10th to be exact!

my second choice would be to go to quebec city or maybe montreal... they look like a really cool places to visit, especially to take pics of 'the old city' stuff. i know we went thru quebec when i was a kid (7 or 8 years old), but my only real memories are not being able to read the signs and the people being very rude to us becuz we couldn't speak french

[macker]

Originally Posted by evman150

I don't think I've ever "gone outside" and "been active" in my life. That to me, is not the mark of a great town/city at all.

I prefer cultural attractions, great restaurants, friendly people, low crime rate, good traffic management, cheap and efficient public transport etc.

So wait for the list of the best towns/cities to knit/play chess/type/read/stay air-conditioned etc. I think you will find all the towns/cities that have been mentioned meet all your requirements for cultural attractions/restaurants/traffic management/public transportation. The big cities mentioned are all on the mercer or economist etc. lists that come out year after year. I get it that you would likely never move or visit somewhere for outdoor pursuits, this list is looking at things from the outside.

Also as mentioned it was crowd sourced so yes it was a targeted audience that would have voted and 21,000 is a very small sample size.

[HockeyIlliterate]

Originally Posted by macker

Recently read an article in Outside magazine about America's best towns/cities which included : Boston, Ann Arbor, Washington, D.C., Bozeman, Greenville, Carbondale, San Diego, Honolulu, Fort Collins, Minneapolis/Saint Paul, San Anselmo, Chicago, Waitsfield, Little Rock, Oklahoma City, Spokane and the winner by an avalanche Park City. I was there most recently last fall and after years of going back to PC I totally agree with its place at the top.

The metrics that they are using is to find the best place to be healthy with ample trailheads, nearby adventure, great farmers markets and a competitive gear-shop scene. It was a crowd sourced contest with 21,000 votes online.

A few random comments:

1) For the most part, the cities chosen are pretty self-selecting. Which is to say, the people who live in the selected cites are often the same kind of people who read Outside, and they live there because their chosen location offers the kind of living experience that the metrics being used look for.

2) That being said, it isn't entirely unheard of for some people to want to live somewhere just because the city was listed on Outside's best city list, and so once a city is on the list for a few years, it becomes self-perpetuating.

3) I don't see how anyone could seriously claim that D.C. and OKC have "nearby adventure" and are great places to be healthy. "Adventure" in D.C. means going out at night and not getting shot. OKC has an incredibly overweight population, and tornado chasing hardly counts as "nearby adventure" opportunities in my book.

4) The real underlying factor in the cities chosen is weather. If you want winter sports, then Bozeman, Park Cities, Fort Collins, Ann Arbor, and Minneapolis/Saint Paul has it. If you want hiking, again, head to Bozeman, Park Cities, and Fort Collins. If you want year-round water sports, go to San Diego and Honolulu. You want a city with decent public transport that will get you to other places, go to Chicago and Boston. Being blessed with good weather is what ultimately gets you the good trailheads, the good farmers markets, the good gear shops. But, of course, Outside can't just say that, since "Cities with Good Weather" articles don't sell a lot of ads.

Regardless, I have to say, Bozeman is a lovely little town and one that I wouldn't mind living in some day. I can certainly see its appeal and good qualities, but having some of the highest real estate costs* anywhere along I-90 from Chicago to Seattle isn't one of them.


* Which are, undoubtedly, due in no small part to the publicity that the town gets from the likes of Outside.