Regina Saskatchewan As a Newcomer

When I was offered a job in Regina, Saskatchewan, I knew my acceptance meant that I would be moving to a smaller city in a Prairie province I knew nothing about as a newcomer to Canada. Well, almost nothing. When I started interviewing for the job, I dug into Google and headed to YouTube hoping for recent insight into what the city was in a more recent note.

Between the YouTube and Quora comments, I might have said ‘Oh hell no’ if I didn’t believe in taking things with a grain of salt.

Descriptions ranged from awful to boring and ‘dead’. While I believed it was smaller and quieter than a bigger city, based on my own preferences, I was willing to bet it wasn’t truly as spiritless as the comments suggested. Mainly because when I first got my Ontario apartment, the online comments repeatedly said it was a run-down city swarmed with ‘crackheads’. Yet, I saw no such thing and ran into only one suspicious person at the train station on a late night trip back from Downtown, Toronto.

Still, I considered whether I might like to stay for a while, job or no job. Moving twice in a year is a lot, so even if I did end up moving again, I wanted to have an idea of what I was getting myself into.

The Descriptions Online Aren’t Encouraging

As far as Youtube videos, there were some, but not nearly enough to give me a true indication of life there. Still, literature citing the city as one with a growing and the increasingly younger population was interesting enough to give it a shot. It seemed, like a place I might just like and be content to raise my family, even if it is a little far out and carries the promise of a brutal winter. When I hopped on Google earth and scrolled down the streets, it looked okay though some residential communities looked old and others with new developments looked barren around them.

Still, I packed my bags and hopped on a three-hour and 20 minutes flight to Regina. A bit nervous, and praying I would like it, I resolved to be open to it, knowing that if I didn’t work out, it would at least be an experience, and I have options.

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I had a mini heart attack when all I saw were brown, open lands with very large farm during descent. But that soon gave way to the cityscape.

Still, I packed my bags and hopped on a three hour and 20 minutes flight to Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada

3 Things I Like About Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada

Regina is one the capital of Saskatchewan and the second largest city in the province after Saskatoon. It’s located in the south central region snd has a growing population just over 249,000 as of 2021.

If you like big city living, this is not the city for you. For small city living, however, it’s a good choice. I find it perfect for family life.

1. It’s a Beautiful City

Regina is beautiful. Sure, there are section of the city where the infrastructure is dated, but the greenery is captivating and the air is fresh. It doesn’t feel congested, traffic is almost non-existent, and it’s quiet. Not in a ‘there’s nothing to do way’ (well, it’s kind of like that too), but in a ‘me ears can nyam grass’ kind of way.

There’s a lot of new buildings going up and housing is relatively affordable compared to other provinces.

2. It’s More Diverse Than I Expected

When I decided to move north, I wasn’t thinking this Regina, Saskatchewan would be anything like the cultural mosaic one can see in Toronto. In fact, I expected the exact opposite. Happy to be wrong. There is easily a visible mix of diversity, from what I can tell, as a result of immigrants choosing to settle here. It’s no Toronto, but it will do.

Bonus points for Regina on that front.

3. It’s More Developed Than It Looks Online

When I was apartment hunting, I hopped onto maps and explored the area where my apartment is. On the map were the apartment buildings and vast stretches of bare land. However, when I got here, that wasn’t the case. While the buildings are obviously recent builds, the community is much more developed, so it appeared the images were a few years behind, which I am happy about.

Score three for Regina.

I might like quiet, but I still need modern. Besides, it’s nice that there is hardly ever any traffic buildup and with the way things are building up around here, I’d say the next few years are going to see even more development. The jury is still out on winter though. I guess that is the true test.

Have you ever been to Regina or any other prairie province? Share some advice in the comments.

Xo, Shandean

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