A life full of favourite things

Susan Stewart, who moved to Castlegar six years ago, couldn’t talk fast enough when I asked her why she loves her new home

1 of 2Susan Stewart is a tourism counsellor at the Castlegar & District Chamber of Commerce. — Photo courtesy Susan Stewart

2 of 2Susan Stewart has had some good times fishing near Castlegar, B.C. — Photo courtesy Susan Stewart

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At a rough calculation, if your commute to and from work in the city is an hour long, twice a day, you spend the equivalent of about 13 work weeks in traffic—just for work—in just one year. In the Kootenays, an adventure playground with endless recreational and social opportunities, a person can do a lot of fine living in an extra hour or two every day.

A Zen life

Susan Stewart, who moved to Castlegar six years ago from Sooke on Vancouver Island, said she loves Castlegar and will never leave it. She loves the beauty and the general pace of life in the West Kootenay.

“To me,” Stewart said, “it’s the best of all worlds. I love to garden and fish and camp, and I’ve got it all here in just the most gorgeous mountain setting.”

Stewart said that it took her a while to adjust to the different pace of life that people enjoy in Castlegar. It’s not that they’re not busy, it’s that they are busy with their favourite things—things that city dwellers would be doing if they weren’t stuck in traffic.

“People have more time here,” Stewart said, “so they are more patient and more generous. They spend time doing stuff with their kids, (and) they volunteer a lot, because they have time. And they’re happier because of it.”

Stewart believes that there’s something special about Kootenay people.

“Even though most of us came here from somewhere else, we all turn into Kootenay people,” she said. “I think it’s because we realize how lucky we are. We appreciate this lifestyle and it makes us happy.”

Spreading the word

Stewart works as a tourism counsellor at the Castlegar & District Chamber of Commerce.

“I lucked into this wonderful job in tourism—I absolutely adore it,” she said.

She added that the visitor centre is extremely busy and that Tourism British Columbia has done an excellent job of heightening the profile of B.C.

“It’s incredible,” Stewart said. “We have people who Google us from all over the world interested in coming here, and once they’re here, they love it. We supply our visitors with stamped, self-addressed postcards so they can send them back to us, and we get lots of great feedback about the things they have enjoyed.”