New Westminster, BC has been home since 1996. Arriving in the summer after 15 years in the Middle East, we had bags and no clear idea of what to expect in Vancouver. We accidentally parked ourselves in a hotel in the very worst part of the Downtown Eastside of that city. Then, with the help of a real-estate rental listing, we boarded a SkyTrain and soon become ensconced in downtown New West.
I am so thankful for that choice. In 1996 this part of our city was neglected and unkempt. We'd more likey see drug dealers than residents when walking Columbia Street. In the ensuing years a lot of development has taken place. Boarded up store fronts have been replaced with new condo developments.
I just returned from a walk although I only went a mile or so. I passed the Plaza 88 development with the soaring three towers and ongoing construction on the retail part of the site. I thought how convenient living here is. Access to downtown Vancouver via the SkyTrain takes less than a half hour. I can walk across the street to an existing icon of old-fashioned department stores, the Army & Navy. There are coffee shops, bars, restaurants, a supermarket, and a kaboodle of existing retail. This summer lots of new shops open near the IGA and by next summer there'll be a 10-cinema complex and accompanying businesses surrounding the New Westminster SkyTrain station. Soon the river front park will be extended to the area right in front of our end of town.
I'm glad we bought into this area so long ago. I love not having to get into the truck simply to pick up vegetables, socks, or a Subway (tm) sandwich. People were meant to live within walking distance of a majority of their needs.
