It’s all the buzz….St. Albert has topped MoneySense’s annual Best Places to live ranking.
“Who says size matters? If you’re looking for the best place in Canada to live, perhaps it’s time to think small. Really small. It’s easy to think residing in a modest-sized town means giving up access to all the services and amenities you need or desire, but that doesn’t have to be the case. Satellite communities around major centres are evolving to deliver small-town flare with big-city conveniences. In that way, many of these communities aren’t just great places to live: they’re Canada’s best-kept secrets. Take St. Albert, a community of just 64,000 on the edge of Edmonton that few Canadians have likely ever heard of. They have now, because St. Albert tops MoneySense’s annual Best Places to Live ranking.
The surge of the west is a prominent trend in our ranking. Nearly half the top 20 cities on our list are west of Winnipeg. It’s no fluke. Consider what’s happening in cities like Calgary, which comes in second overall (and was last year’s number one). In addition to offering plenty of opportunities to land high-paying jobs, the city is rapidly expanding its transit system and growing its cultural scene. The tilt westward doesn’t come without some casualties in the east. Orillia and Owen Sound in Ontario are two prime examples. Growth in these cities is stagnant and the job outlook is dim compared to the rest of the country.”
In case you were wondering how they go about reaching these rankings here are some facts from MoneySense:
“In total, we consider 34 different factors before arriving at our winner. To do this, we collect reams of hard data on each city from Environics Analytics and other partners. Then we tease out factors that make a community a truly great place, thereby creating a level playing field. The result is a completely unbiased look at the biggest 201 cities in Canada. ”
“So exactly how does St. Albert, a small city on the fringe of Edmonton, beat out every other city in Canada? Take your pick. Unemployment sits at just above 4%, incomes are among the highest in the country, crime rates are steadily falling, and while its winters can be skin-splittingly cold (averaging 28 days a year with a minimum temperature below -20˚C), there’s plenty of sun all year round.
“The numbers, though, don’t begin to describe the appeal St. Albert holds, especially for young families. At a time when some cities seem to be going to war with kids looking to play a little shinny on the street, St. Albert stands out as a place where cars don’t always come first. Street hockey is encouraged and if you want to close the street for a neighbourhood party, go right ahead. Give the city 10 days’ notice and they’ll barricade the street—the city’s Neighbourhood Watch and Citizen’s Patrol teams will even bring the food.”
So there you have it! St. Albert ranks 1st in the Best Places to Live in Canada.
MoneySense Magazine, by Mark Brown ,March 12th, 2014, From the April 2014 issue of the magazine
About Don Cholak
