In early
April 2013 the Reader’s Digest released a list of the Top 42 Canadian Cities to raise a family in based on these
categories: Transit, Median Age, Infant Mortality, Maternity Leave, Daycare,
Cost of Food, Mom Groups, Intimate Partner Violence, Child & Youth victims
of crimes, Libraries, and Park Space. Of course Kimberley was not on the list
because it only looked at provincial capitals and centres with more than 80,000
people. The top five communities were: Windsor, Calgary, Guelph, Ottawa and
Sherbrooke. So with all due respect to these concrete urban centres let’s take
a look at why Kimberley is the best city to raise a family.
Kimberley, BC
Population: 6,652
Median Age: 46.3. This
number is getting lower as young families are moving in, plus there were five
kindergarten classes this school year.
Infant Mortality: 4.9 per 1000 live births in the East
Kootenay’s. According to Statistics
Canada, this is on par with Canada, but just slightly higher than the BC
rate of 4.2.
Daycare: There are several great daycare facilities in
Kimberley, from First Steps and Second Steps daycare, to Pre-K programs
at the Independent School & Gymnastics, to aftercare programs offered at
schools, plus several at home providers.
Education: There are two elementary schools, one middle
school, one high school, and a not-for-profit school (grades K-9). There are
great teachers and support workers at each of the schools. The
College of the Rockies has a satellite campus providing continuing
education courses. Plus there are transition programs from Pre-K/Daycare into
Kindergarten such as Ready, Set, Learn.
Mom Groups: For such a small community there are a lot of
mom support groups. My favourite is Strong Start that offers free supper to
families with children under five on Wednesday’s. There are other programs
called Baby Goose, Bellies to Babies, Alphabet Soup, Nobody’s Perfect Parenting
and Roots of Empathy. Go to cbal.org/Kimberley to learn more about these
groups.
Transit: There may not be a scheduled BC Transit service, but there is an
affordable door to door bus service. There are also plenty of friendly
neighbours who could give you a ride. My neighbour has always been able to find
lifts up to the ski hill and around town when their car was unavailable.
Cost of Food: Compared to larger urban centres the overall
price of a food basket is more expensive. But pay attention to the flyers,
there are some great deals in there. Also, if you have a child under the age of
five you qualify for the monthly Salvation Army Good Food Basket that has about
a value of $40 in groceries but only costs $10.
Crime: Every community has crime; it would be a lie
to say a community is crime free. But in all seriousness, it is more likely
that my neighbour’s three-year old son breaks in to play with toys than any
other kind of crime. Kimberley has a great RCMP detachment that provides weekly
updates.
Park Space: All of Kimberley is a park. There are a couple
of designated park spaces for play structures. But when you consider the Rails
to Trails, the Lions Trails, the Marysville Falls and the Kimberley Nature
Park; there are many outdoor locations for hiking, biking, swimming, running,
walking and playing!
Libraries: There is one public library for every 6,652nd
person in Kimberley. In Toronto the
ratio is one public library to every 26,684th person. Windsor is one to 21,089. Ottawa is one to
25,982. Guelph is one to 28,219. And in Calgary there is one for every 60,945th
person.
Hospital: Kimberley does not have a hospital, but the
East Kootenay Regional Hospital is only a quick 20 minutes away and received a
rating of ‘B’ on CBC’s Rate My Hospital.
There is a Health Centre, which I have learned can stabilize severe peanut
allergy reactions.
Family Doctors: When my family moved here we were able to get
a family doctor on our first visit to the clinic despite still having out of
province medical cards. This is completely different from experiences we had in
different cities where we relied on walk-in clinics.
Health: In the January 2013 Health Profile of the East
Kootenay’s it found that there is a higher perceived quality of health, and
mental health than the average of BC. The perceived life stress is lower than
the average of BC. This is probably correlated to the active outdoor lifestyle
and the laid back personality.
Kimberley
is the best city in Canada to raise a family, but let’s keep it our little
secret.
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This was originally published in GO Kimberley, Summer 2013
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This was originally published in GO Kimberley, Summer 2013
