I've lived in Squamish for 25 years, I've raised my kids here, and I honestly don't think there are many people who would seriously consider moving to Squamish who wouldn't absolutely love living here.

That's obviously a personal opinion. There is no single best place to live because everybody wants something different. If what you want is downtown city life—the shows, the bars, the restaurants, the constant activity and that feeling that everything is moving at a hundred miles an hour—then Squamish probably isn't going to give you what you're looking for. At the other extreme, if your dream is to live in a tiny rural community of 500 people or own a large cattle ranch, Squamish isn't that either. And if your number-one requirement is to walk out your front door onto a warm sandy beach, you're probably looking in the wrong part of the world.

But those are really questions about what type of place you want to live in. If Squamish is already on your radar because you want the mountains, outdoor recreation, a relaxed atmosphere, a strong community and relatively easy access to a major city, then I genuinely struggle to think of many places that offer a better combination.

In my opinion, Squamish is one of the best places you could possibly choose to live in Canada.

Squamish Sits in a Pretty Unusual Middle Ground

One of the things I think makes Squamish work so well is that it isn't at either extreme.

You're not living in the middle of a major city, but you're also not isolated in a tiny rural community. Vancouver is close enough that you can go into the city when you need something Squamish doesn't have, and Whistler is in the other direction. At the same time, you can finish work and be mountain biking, hiking, climbing, paddling or simply walking beside the river incredibly quickly.

That's a fairly unusual combination.

You can have a quieter and more relaxed daily life without completely disconnecting yourself from a major urban centre. You can live surrounded by mountains and trails without necessarily giving up all of the conveniences that come with living in a growing community.

And I think that balance is one of the biggest reasons people move here and stay.

You Don't Have to Be an Extreme Athlete to Enjoy Living Here

Squamish obviously has a reputation for outdoor sports, and deservedly so. Mountain biking, climbing, hiking, trail running, paddling, skiing and a huge range of other activities are a major part of the community.

But I don't think you have to be an extreme athlete to appreciate what that gives you.

Maybe you don't want to ride difficult mountain-bike trails. You might simply want to take the dog for a walk beside the river. Maybe you don't climb. You might just enjoy having mountains outside your window. Maybe your idea of enjoying the outdoors is sitting on a patio, going for a relatively easy hike or taking your paddleboard out when the weather is good.

The important thing is that the outdoors aren't something you have to make a major event out of here. They're simply part of daily life.

That's very different from living somewhere where enjoying the outdoors means planning a weekend, loading up the car and driving for an hour or two before you can even start the activity.

In Squamish, for a lot of people, the playground is basically outside the front door.

The Community Is a Huge Part of It

The physical setting gets most of the attention when people first discover Squamish, but I think the community becomes one of the reasons people end up loving it.

People talk to each other. You get to know people through your kids, sports, trails, schools, neighbourhoods, local businesses and community events. There's a friendliness here that has always been a big part of my experience living in Squamish.

The town has obviously changed enormously over the 25 years I've lived here. The population has grown, there has been a huge amount of development, and Squamish isn't the small community it was when I first arrived. But I still think it has retained an important part of that community feeling.

When my kids were growing up here, there was a sense of freedom that I really valued as a parent. They grew up in a community where I felt comfortable with them being out and about, knowing their friends and neighbours and having some independence. My experience was that Squamish felt incredibly safe and comfortable as a place to raise a family.

I wouldn't pretend that nothing has changed or that Squamish has no problems. Every growing community has issues to deal with, and people's individual experiences will obviously differ. But after raising my family here and living here for a quarter of a century, the sense of community remains one of the things I value most.

Sometimes the Lifestyle Is Worth More Than the House

Housing is expensive in Squamish. There's no point pretending otherwise.

But I think there's an interesting decision people make when they're comparing Squamish with other places. Sometimes you might choose to buy a slightly smaller home, accept fewer features or spend your housing budget differently because of what you get outside the property.

Maybe the house doesn't have every amenity you originally imagined. Maybe instead of maximizing square footage, you choose a townhouse that's close to the trails. Maybe you accept a smaller yard because the surrounding environment gives you access to more outdoor space than you could ever own yourself.

That's a very personal calculation, and it won't make sense for everybody. But I think it's a mistake to compare homes solely on the basis of how much house you get for your money.

You're not only buying the house. You're choosing where you're going to spend your life.

If giving up a little bit of square footage means you finish work and can be on your bike ten minutes later, maybe that's a fantastic trade. If living in Squamish means your weekends become more active, your kids spend more time outside and you genuinely enjoy where you live, what is that worth to you?

For a lot of the people who move here, I think it's worth quite a lot.

Who Probably Shouldn't Move to Squamish?

There are definitely people for whom Squamish doesn't make sense, but I think the reasons are usually fairly obvious.

If your life revolves around city entertainment and you want dozens of restaurants, bars, concerts, shows and major events within walking distance every night, you may find Squamish too quiet. Vancouver is accessible, but you're obviously not going to live the same lifestyle as somebody with an apartment downtown.

The same applies to work. If you need to be in downtown Vancouver five days a week and you hate driving, living in Squamish may not make sense. Some people are comfortable making that commute and others aren't. That's something you need to be realistic about before you move.

At the other extreme, somebody looking for a genuinely rural lifestyle may find Squamish too developed. If you want hundreds of acres, agricultural land and almost no neighbours, there are better places in British Columbia for that.

There are also some services and amenities you won't find at the same scale as Vancouver. We've talked before about specialized healthcare, certain levels of competitive sports or arts training, shopping and other services where you may occasionally need to travel.

Those are real trade-offs. The question is whether they're important to the way you actually live.

And Yes, It Rains

If I could change one thing about Squamish, I might ask for a little less rain.

We live on the West Coast, and Squamish can certainly be wet. If your ideal climate is endless sunshine, there are better choices.

But there's another side to that. The rain is part of why everything is so green. It's part of the landscape that makes this area what it is. You have forests, rivers, mountains and an environment that supports an enormous amount of the recreation people come here to enjoy.

Would I take a few more sunny days? Absolutely.

Would I trade Squamish for somewhere else because of the rain? No.

After 25 Years, Would I Choose Squamish Again?

Absolutely.

I've raised my family here. I've watched the community grow and change. I've built my career here. I've seen Squamish go from a place that many people drove through on the way to Whistler into a place that people specifically choose as their home.

And if I had to make the decision again, I don't really think there's anywhere else in the world I would have chosen instead.

That doesn't mean Squamish is objectively the best place on Earth, because there's no such thing. It means that for the things I value—community, the outdoors, a more relaxed pace of life, access to the mountains and proximity to Vancouver—I've found it very difficult to beat.

So if you're considering moving to Squamish, I wouldn't spend too much time asking whether everybody loves living here. Ask whether the things Squamish does exceptionally well are the things that matter to you.

Do you want to be outside more? Do you want a little less of the constant rush of the city? Do you want to know your community? Do you want the mountains and trails to become part of normal life rather than somewhere you visit on weekends? And are you comfortable with the trade-offs that come with living in a smaller community?

If the answer to those questions is yes, then I think there's a very good chance you'll understand why so many of us came to Squamish and never really wanted to leave.

After 25 years here, I still think it's one of the best places you could possibly choose to live.