Saskatoon News March 21, 2013

Despite The Weather Saskatoon Has Moved Up To #5 Best Places To Live

The first day of spring was yesterday. We were welcomed into spring with more snow and wind and white out conditions across Saskatchewan. Cars were being abandoned in the City of Saskatoon. Some highways were closed due to drifting snow and reduced visibility. Travel is still not recommended on many of the highways. Regina has received almost double the snow this year than they did the year before and this is breaking records. Not the kind we want to break!

Despite the cold and long winter that we have been experiencing in Saskatchewan, Saskatoon has moved up in the ranks for mid-sized cities in Canada and we are now the #5 best places to live in Canada for smaller cities. Out of the 200 largest cities in Canada we are ranked 12th. In the Saskatoon Star Phoenix article we see that in overall rankings for large cities, Calgary took the number 1 spot from Ottawa. Following Calgary, Ottawa is #2, then Edmonton, London, Winnipeg, Halifax, Toronto, Mississauga, Quebec City and Vancouver pulling into last. Calgary jumped from #14 last year to #1 this year which is likely due to high incomes and an abundance of jobs fuelled by the boom in the energy sector again. A friend of mine, who was a REALTOR in Saskatoon, is now an agent in Calgary and she has confirmed that sales are up and their economy is stronger.

For mid-sized cities Burlington, Ontario took top spot followed by Oakville, Saanich, Lethbridge, Saskatoon, Regina, Kingston, Vaughan, Richmond Hill and Levis. I have to admit, I haven’t even heard of Levis! Well, the jeans yes, but not the city?! Must be french but I can’t get an accent on my e.

Calgary is really impressing this year as it is also the #1 best place to raise kids. I think that my friends who live there and have to drive their kids around the city for sport may have something to say about that but overall it is ranked #1. Best place to retire? Victoria and Saanich in 2nd. With the amount of snow we have gotten in the prairies and the storms out east this does not surprise me.

So what is hurting our rankings in Saskatoon? Crime stats for one as we had one of the higher per-capita crime rates among the top rated cities but it is important to look at the type of crime to be fair. Much of our crime in Saskatoon is in certain neighbourhoods and a lot of crime is of the domestic nature. We did score very well when it came to the number of doctors in Saskatoon which I can support.

I have helped several doctors buy houses for sale in Saskatoon this year with another new Saskatoon home buyer coming back to Canada. He is also in the medical field. We will have a couple of days for the house hunting trip in Saskatoon. As I work with a lot of home buyers relocating to Saskatoon I am very organized when their trip comes as we are often on limited time.

If you are relocating to Saskatoon and need an experienced and trusted Saskatoon REALTOR get in touch with me for all of your home buying needs. I work with great mortgage brokers, home inspectors, lawyers and any other type of profession you are looking for.

Kari Calder
Saskatoon Real Estate Agent
Century 21 Fusion
kari@saskatoonrealestate.net