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I'm not the original poster but I popped in here because the title caught my eye. When really young my parents and I drove up to ND to see a second cousin of my Dad's and they left me with some friends and went to Regina to see people. My parents are Black Sea Germans that came here in '52 so I'm assuming it was to see people from the old country (this was probably....65).
I spent a couple of years in Omaha and got the education that the prairie areas really are different (I found it hard, or harsh or something despite its unique beauty). Is Regina prairie?
I don't want to hijack the thread but I'd be interested in any first hand descriptions.
I'm not the original poster but I popped in here because the title caught my eye. When really young my parents and I drove up to ND to see a second cousin of my Dad's and they left me with some friends and went to Regina to see people. My parents are Black Sea Germans that came here in '52 so I'm assuming it was to see people from the old country (this was probably....65).
I spent a couple of years in Omaha and got the education that the prairie areas really are different (I found it hard, or harsh or something despite its unique beauty). Is Regina prairie?
I don't want to hijack the thread but I'd be interested in any first hand descriptions.
Well, I'll do the best I can. I lived there for about 8 years.
Yes, Regina is on the prairies.
It's one of the few cities not built around water. It has a creek running through it, but it is small and tended to go dry before they dammed it. Apparently over the dam is a bridge with the largest bridge:water ratio in the world.
It has a sort of weathered dilapidated feel to it. I can't really describe it, rather it feels like a large version of a small prairie town.
On the west edge of the city is the RCMP barracks, where all cadets do their basic training.
That's all I can think of at the moment. If you have specific questions, I can try to answer them.
And as it happens, I'm black sea german as well. There are some in Regina, but they tended to settle further west (at least the earliest ones), mostly north of Swift Current.
my husband has just been offered a job in Regina, were from England. what can i expect from the education system their, my boys have really struggled in England, and me and my husband feel the education system has let our boys down here. what can i expect, also were told the rentals are hard to come by, is their a reason for this, if theirs any other information you can give id be very appreciated, is it a big town? would it matter where we reneted? where are the best places to live? sorry for the amount of questions, my husbands coming over in about 6 weeks then we'll follow before christmas. oh what about pests we have a bull dog too...x thanks guys
my husband has just been offered a job in Regina, were from England. what can i expect from the education system their, my boys have really struggled in England, and me and my husband feel the education system has let our boys down here. what can i expect, also were told the rentals are hard to come by, is their a reason for this, if theirs any other information you can give id be very appreciated, is it a big town? would it matter where we reneted? where are the best places to live? sorry for the amount of questions, my husbands coming over in about 6 weeks then we'll follow before christmas. oh what about pests we have a bull dog too...x thanks guys
The city's population is about 190,000.
I haven't lived there in quite a long time, but last I heard the rental vacancy rate was something like 0.5% - so very low. Not sure if anything's been done to change that. Saskatchewan is a booming province and while Regina isn't growing at the pace that Saskatoon is, it's still growing rapidly. Several years ago housing prices rose very sharply, very quickly (in some areas as much as 2-3 times original value). Seeing that, a lot of apartment owners started selling off rental units as condominiums. So, residents were left with a rising demand for rentals coupled with a shrinking supply. Some landlords will welcome pets, others won't.
As for where you rent - it can matter a lot. There are some less than desirable areas in the city. I'd attempt to stay south of Sask Drive. If you're looking to the north side, try to be as far north as possible. the area directly north of the tracks is not very good. The area around the General Hospital was somewhat undesirable when I lived there, though it was beginning to gentrify.
I can't really compare the educational system to anything. I did some post-secondary schooling in Regina, but no elementary or secondary.
I haven't lived there in quite a long time, but last I heard the rental vacancy rate was something like 0.5% - so very low. Not sure if anything's been done to change that. Saskatchewan is a booming province and while Regina isn't growing at the pace that Saskatoon is, it's still growing rapidly. Several years ago housing prices rose very sharply, very quickly (in some areas as much as 2-3 times original value). Seeing that, a lot of apartment owners started selling off rental units as condominiums. So, residents were left with a rising demand for rentals coupled with a shrinking supply. Some landlords will welcome pets, others won't.
As for where you rent - it can matter a lot. There are some less than desirable areas in the city. I'd attempt to stay south of Sask Drive. If you're looking to the north side, try to be as far north as possible. the area directly north of the tracks is not very good. The area around the General Hospital was somewhat undesirable when I lived there, though it was beginning to gentrify.
I can't really compare the educational system to anything. I did some post-secondary schooling in Regina, but no elementary or secondary.
thankyou so much for that, you've helped alot, so you think its a good place to bring up 3 young boys? the cost of living is terrible, quite shocking compared to England, not sure if we can sustain a good level of living, any other information maybe from someone who actually lives in regina would be great, thanks for the info iv had. xxxx
I live in Moose Jaw 45 minutes away from Regina. Regina is going through an incredible growth spurt and it is becoming more of a modern looking city. There are certainly areas you will find are seedy but there are also a large number of nice neighbourhoods and lots of new ones being built. At my workplace there are a number of Brits who haven't regretted moving here at all. The youngest one feels her children will have more opportunities in Canada and so she is very pleased.
Many a child that went through schooling on the prairies has done quite well. My son is a geologist, his best friend is now an optometrist (just finished his last year in Ontario), another went to Univ. of Toronto and is now overseas finishing off his university at Oxford (all went to the universities in Saskatchewan first). The universities in Saskatchewan are rated to be very good by profs that I've met that decided to retire here on the prairies (one is from Toronto and another from Vancouver). Both chose Moose Jaw to get away from the rat race (one purchased a small hobby farm nearby).
Our winters are indeed harsh but one can dress for them (and we have the tools to deal with what they leave behind). Bundle up well come winter (and thankfully winter coats have improved a heck of a lot from when my great grandmother moved here from England).
Travelling is much more expensive ... a massive land mass here vs. Europe and the U.K. of course.
(and since others are mentioning their genealogy background mine is Swiss, British, German, Scots and Irish).
Last edited by SnowboundwithCabinFever; 08-04-2013 at 10:33 AM..
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had. xxxx
