The most frequently asked question in this subreddit is some variation of “I’m thinking of moving to Prince George, what is it like/which neighbourhood should I choose/is there anything to do?”

In an effort to cut down on these posts AND provide a helpful bunch of information, I’m starting this thread for tips/tricks/recommendations/warnings.

Here’s the idea: I’m going to put a few links below, as well as some topics that might be useful but I don’t personally have the answers to (such as resources for finding a place to rent).

I’m also going to start a few threads for top-level topics, such as neighbourhoods and best ofs, and people can post their responses there.

You can add your own answers/advice as top-level comments. Please try and search before commenting in order to avoid duplicates, and to make things are easy to search and organize.

About Prince George

Canada Games Plaza

The greater Prince George area has a population of about 86,600 people but, as the largest community for hundreds of kilometers in all directions, it tends to punch above its weight in many respects because you aren't driving into a nearby metro area for an evening's entertainment. It is a government, service and healthcare hub, home to a college and university, and has a diversified enough economy that it isn't wholly dependent on any one or two industries, though forestry remains a vital driver along with mining, oil and gas and energy activity in other northern communities. It is at the confluence of the Fraser and Nechako Rivers and has many outdoor recreation opportunities.

Prince George is built on the unceded territory of the Lheidli T'enneh First Nation, who are frequently partners with the city on major initiatives, including the building of the University of Northern British Columbia and hosting of the 2015 Canada Winter Games.

Learn more on the Prince George, British Columbia Wikipedia page, the city's official website and Statistics Canada.

Moving to Prince George

Downtown Prince George/City of Prince George

Move Up Prince George is an official city resource aimed at helping people considering the move to Prince George. Some of its resources include:

• A career and classes search
• A list of major employers
• A neighbourhoods guide
• A neighbourhoods map
• A recreation guide
• A list of healthcare amenities
• A blog written by locals sharing their tips and tricks

Utilities

• BC Hydro (electricity)
• FortisBC (gas heating)
• Phone/Internet/Cable thread

Existing Moving To/Rental Threads:

• Official neighbourhoods/Where to Live/Not Live thread
• Official Rental Tips Thread
• Official finding a job/work thread
• Previous "moving to Prince George" discussions 1,2,3,4 or the full search.

Education

• UNBC (University of Northern British Columbia)
• CNC (College of New Caledonia)
• School District 57

Healthcare:

• Northern Health
• University Hospital of Northern British Columbia
• Prince George Division of Family Practice (for finding a family doctor)
• Blue Pine Primary Care Clinic (for people without family doctors)
• Prince George Urgent and Primary Care Centre (after-hours walk-in clinic)
• Salveo Medical Clinic (walk-in clinic)
• BC Cancer Agency for the North

Things to Do

Pidherny Bike Trails/Tourism PG

Tourism Prince George is pretty comprehensive. It is organized as follows:

• Arts & Culture
• Entertainment
• Family Fun
• Parts & Trails
• Shopping
• Outdoor Recreation
• Indoor Recreation
• Tours
• Rental Companies
• Celebrate PG (festivals)
• Fishing
• Mountain Biking
• Restaurant Guide
• Accommodation Guide

Restaurants

There’s a fairly robust restaurant scene. A couple of good resources:

• Tourism PG Restaurant Guide
• Prince Gastronome (a blog attempting to review every local restaurant in the city)

Events

• Tourism PG Event Calendar
• MyPGNow Community Calendar
• CKPG Funchaser
• Facebook
• EventBrite

Transportation

Like most mid-sized Canadian communities that boomed in the mid-20th century, Prince George is a fairly car-centric city. But with the arrival of more and more post-secondary students, people are able to get around without their own wheels. Here is a previous discussion about cars and transit in the city.

Getting Around

u/InfiNorth's Transit Map of Northern B.C.

There are two taxi companies: Prince George Taxi and Emerald Taxi. Both have online booking and apps

• There is one bus system run by B.C. Transit. You can find schedules online, but it’s probably simplest to use the Google Transit system. Its Twitter is @pgtransit.
• There are currently no official ride-hailing services operating in Prince George, but I’ll try to update when that changes.

Getting To/From

• For leaving town, there are two long-distance bus options. If you are headed north, east or west it is the provincially-run BC Bus North. If you’re headed south, it’s Adventure Charters
• Northern Health operates a bus service for patients and for people traveling with patients
• We have an international airport with multiple daily flights to Vancouver as well as regular flights to Calgary, Edmonton, Victoria, Kelowna and multiple communities around the north
• ViaRail operates passenger trains to/from Prince Rupert and Jasper
• User u/InfiNorth has created a subway-style map of Northern B.C. public transit options

Community Groups

Mr. PG is a lumberjack and an ally

Sports and Recreation:

• Clubs and Organizations Directory
• Volunteer PG

LGBTQ+:

• Prince George Pride
• Northern Pride

Religious:

• Church/Mosque/Temple/Gurdwara directory

Indigenous:

• Lheidli T'enneh First Nation
• Carrier Sekani Family Services
• Prince George Native Friendship Centre
• Prince George Metis Community Association

Cultural Associations:

• The Multicultural Heritage Society is an umbrella organization whose members include:
  • BC Muslim Association Prince George
  • Chinese Benevolent Association
  • Columbia / Peru Association
  • Greek Orthodox Community of PG
  • Guru Gobind Singh Temple Association
  • Latino Canadian Association
  • Prince George African Heritage Society
  • Prince George Chee Kong Tong Society
  • Prince George Filipino/Canadian Association
  • Prince George Italian Club
  • Yalenka Ukrainian Cultural Society
• Immigrant and Muticultural Services Society
• WelcomePG (resource guide for immigrants/foreign workers)

Local Government

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This is actually our coat of arms

• City of Prince George: website, facebook, twitter, instagram
• Regional District: website, facebook, twitter
• Lheidli T'enneh First Nation
• Provincial: MLAs Shirley Bond and Mike Morris
• Federal: MPs Todd Doherty and Bob Zimmer

Media & News

• CBC Radio Prince George: facebook, livestream/on-demand, podcast
• Prince George Citizen: website, facebook
• CKPG News: website, facebook
• My Prince George Now: website, facebook
• Prince George Matters: website, facebook
• PG Daily News: website, facebook
• CFUR Radio: website, facebook
• CFIS Radio: website, facebook

Air Quality

Back in the day, Prince George was a much more mill-based city than it is now, but the reputation of a certain odour… lingers. You can still smell the industrial activity in certain parts of town and under certain circumstances, but there have been dramatic improvements in industry standards in recent decades. If you’d like to learn more you can read up at the Prince George Air Quality Improvement Roundtable or jump to the official thread discussing it.

Other online communities:

There are plenty of Prince George-centric Facebook groups. Some of the most popular include:

• Hell Yeah Prince George
• Proudly PG
• Questions and Answers PG

In order to differentiate from the young royal on Twitter and Instagram, common hashtags are:

• #cityofPG
• #princegeorgebc
• #takeonPG

Other helpful links stolen from r/Vancouver):

• Medical Services Plan (MSP)
• PharmaCare
• ICBC (vehicle insurance)
• Provincial Government
• Residential Tenancy Branch
• Citizenship and Immigration