The subreddit dedicated to the discussion of the province of Saskatchewan.
Hello everyone, I'm looking to move to the city. What are some of the things you can tell me about the city only locals would know?
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You are going to get a lot of comments about the crime rate. I was born and raised in downtown PA, so I’ve seen a lot of shit. I’m now living in Regina for the past few years. But here are my tips/advice.
Crime is high but a majority of it is gang related, or related to drugs and alcohol. You can avoid it this pretty easily by not involving yourself in stuff. It something seems sketchy, it probably is. Walk a different way, ignore it, and if you are concerned about yours or someone else’s safety call the police. It’s a small city they get to places quickly. Be aware of your surroundings.
Make sure you lock doors to your house and car. Depending on the area you are in don’t keep anything that may be valuable in your yard. If you don’t have a garage keep your car clean. If you do have a garage still keep your car clean.
Neighborhoods vary and often sections within neighborhoods vary. West flat has the worst reputation, then midtown and downtown.
Walmart is honestly a pretty trashy place. If you need groceries and aren’t worried about price the coop, Safeway and save on foods are nicer and well stocked.
The lakes nearby are incredible, candle, Emma, Prince Albert National park are all great.
Downtown and the riverbank should be avoided after dark
Agree with this 98%. Harolds Family Foods also has a great bakery. Being close to the lakes is great. I've lived in BC, AB, SK and MB - but seem to find myself coming back here and it's not as bad as people make it out to be. Lived here for 14 out of my 41 yrs and never had more than a nuisance of people asking for change.
I miss their dino nuggets...
1-4 is basically any city in Sask. #5 is 100% correct.
Also, I’ve had some of the funniest/best times chatting with drunks on the riverbank while enjoying the 28km rotary trail.
Like any city. It is what you make it.
Especially #1. People keep saying how Saskatoon is going downhill (like whenever the police share a news release) but it's mostly gang stuff.
1-4 is basically any city. They all have their issues. I grew up in Ontario and now live near Prince Albert. It doesn't really seem any worse than lots of towns I've lived in. Som parts are shitty some are nice. The area around it is hard to beat
I disagree with you on point #4 - the Walmarts in Saskatoon are badly organized, but they're far from trashy
That's true. Those walmarts are pretty good
Sure but 1-4 is considerably worse in PA than most cities.
I live in pa. Little Red is amazing. The most beautiful municipal park I’ve ever seen. We had some really great restaurants but many of them didn’t survive Covid. Spice trail and Bison Cafe are still kicking and are fantastic. Don’t listen to the haters. People have gone through my car and stolen my bike when I lived in Saskatoon too.
That new play ground looks amazing! Going to be a nice stop when we are heading to the cabin with the kids.
Is Princess Cafe still around??
Yes
Same owners?
I think they are new owners. I was told they refurbished the dining area took out the ripped benches and recovered them. I do know the lady who answers the phone is very nice. The food is awesome in my opinion and you won't get faster hotter delivery
They just opened OPA!
Little Red River Park has amazing summer/winter trails. Winter has 35kms of groomed x-county ski trails. Summer is great for biking and hiking through the forest.
Rotary trail within/around Pa is 28km of paved pathway, amazing in the summer for biking/walking.
Pa has 35 parks/playground in town and 9 of those have recently built splash parks.
Alfred Jenkins Field House offers the only universally accessible playground in Saskatchewan. And at 17,000 sq/ft one of the largest in Canada. They also just opened at 7,000 sq/ft outdoor gym/ninja warrior course last summer.
2 news rinks and an aquatic Center will be opening fall 2024.
we have the best barn to watch a hockey game in Sask, and the lounge stays open after the game 😂😂
This sounds good and there any theme parks in the Pa or nearby?
Provincial parks? Tons.
National Park? Yes!
Theme parks? 🤔 Is 'Boreal Forest' a theme?
West Edmonton mall lol.
Nope! The fair does come around yearly though, as pricy as it is. The food there in the stands is really good because it’s all local!
I lived and worked in Prince Albert for about 3 years. Moved there for work. My job was awesome and the people at my job were awesome. My time in PA though was very rough though.
House broken into
Vehicle stolen.
Next vehicle broken into a week after getting it
Same vehicle vandalized (along with every other vehicle in the back alley).
Returned to my apartment after a night shift to find needles, spoons and lighters at the top of the staircase right outside my apartment.
Hostage situation with swat teams just down the street from my house.
Movie theater we were in watching a movie had a couple people come in and bear mace the front couple front rows.
There were more incidents but I think you get the idea.
I moved multiple times in town and the crime happened everywhere.
I will say the size of PA and the layout were great and easy to find your way around.
Good shopping and not too far from Saskatoon for more.
Great parks (watch for needles though, I always did a walk through to find any before letting my kids play in them).
Close to some great provincial parks and golf courses if you're into that.
Enjoyed the large variety of restaurants.
Edit: fixed some grammar and spelling.
A commute from your doorstep to the lake is the same as a commute from work to home in Stoon/Regina.
20 mins gets you door to beach.
There are 100,000 lakes in Saskatchewan, you should be able to get to one in 20 minutes from anywhere
Lol not nice lakes though like up north. I can’t get from my four step in Regina to any lake in 20 mins other then wascana “lake”
Close Regina beach is 30 min.
If you’ve ever seen a map you’d know that’s not true
Sorry, it’s 100,000 lakes and rivers. I stand corrected
Stay far away from Walmart and downtown after dark.
Rough ass city lol alcoholism is rampant, crime is rampant, city leadership is absolutely abysmal. This city feels like it has no future.
I go there probably 10 times a year and every time I see something messed up or have to deal with shitty people. I know a lot of people who have moved there and got out as soon as they could. It’s easily the roughest city in Saskatchewan
cost of living is low, proximity to lakes and nature is high
there are some good restaurants if you know where to look (sushi house, bistro filipino...)
it can also live up to its reputation: ive had a light bulb stolen, people rifle through my car because i forgot to lock the doors and probably (definitely) someone wander through my yard at night but took nothing
but you can also largely ignore it most of the time, area depending that you live in. live a boring life and nothing exciting or bad happens, get some friends and hang out at their places or at the pricier restaurants (OJs or Mr Mikes) and it's like life elsewhere, until you venture off those paths hahah
Don't go unless it's temporarily for school or a very good $$$ job.
People keep saying there is crime everywhere like that makes it ok. Moose Jaw and Swift Current are places you can go anywhere at anytime with little to no fear. Even North Battleford isn’t that bad but Prince Albert is a town you have to make sure you are home before dark.
North Battleford has a higher crime rate than PA last couple years.
But ya MJ and Swift are current. All comes down to the type of people that live in those places.
Is there much of a dating scene for a guy in his 20's?
Wrap it I'm from there and a lot of people call it p.aids
Plenty of single moms if you don’t mind dating single moms lol.
Where do you find them?
It’s honestly not as bad as people say, everywhere has sketchy areas. Just have some common sense and you’ll be fine. Saying all this as someone who has lived here 25 years
I grew up in PA and best thing I can say is don’t. Just don’t, the north is amazing however PA is awful. Move to one of the small towns near PA if you have to be in that area but I would avoid Prince Albert at all cost.
If I had to move back to PA, I would 1000% do this instead. Shell, birch, whatever...just don't live in PA directly.
Good luck finding a job you like in birch hills.
Don’t go outside at night.
If you are going to be working in PA, you are better off to get a place in one of the bedroom communities - Birch Hills, St Louis, Meath Park, Spruce Home, Christopher Lake, Shellbrook. Sure, you will have to commute, but the after hours quiet and lack of fear of your possessions getting stolen is worth it. Also lower property taxes.
There are trashy losers that are blackout drunk by the river at the end of Central every day. Also needle users, don't walk in long grass with sandals lol. Definitely don't be anywhere close to downtown after dark, you have high odds to get mugged, yelled at or propositioned for sex.
There are lots of meth zombies around town. Especially at Walmart. They seem to go to bed around 9am, and are back up around 2pm. Avoid eye contact and don't make any kind of a scene with them, completely unpredictable. A guy got stabbed outside of Superstore not too long ago because he stepped in when a pan handler was being overly aggressive with another customer.
There are three prisons, and due to issues of transportation its easier for the inmates family to move to PA to visit regularly.... so the transient population is high. What that means is there are a lot of services being required of the city, and property tax is quite high. Alcohol related issues are one of the primary reasons PACP get called out. Lots of drunk losers in this town. Also lots of drugs go through PA, it's the gateway to all the drug flow for the reserves to the north. Lots of gang activity as well.
The plus sides are that it has top notch natural spaces north of the river. Lots of wildlife, trails, clean lakes, parks within 1 hour of the city. The bad side to that is a lot of trails very close to the city are used for liaisons with prostitutes or for dumping garbage. I used to go Kristi Lake trail, east of Redwing by Mark's Nine to walk my dog, usually pretty clean and taken care of. Also, the people are very friendly in PA if you are "normal" and not a drugged out loser. I was surprised how friendly people were when I first came here, and I realized it was because I wasn't being "problematic" (read: sober, polite, friendly). I'm sure there is whole separate discussion to be had on why there are so many "problematic" people, but that's the reality in PA
For some reason PA has loose laws regarding drunks and addicts loitering around the shopping areas and restaurants 24/7 harassing anyone, even cars waiting in the Tim Horton drive through aren’t immune from harassment. Unfortunately PA police are severely understaffed and underfunded by the provincial government. The high school I went to in PA in the late 90s now has metal detectors and 2 full time police officers in the school at all times. That’s pretty bad for a city that size.
Why should it be up to the province to fund a city’s police force? That municipal government stuff, not provincial. If you are talking about the rcmp then that’s different
The problem is people come from the surrounding north, utilize the services in pa (hospitals, EMTs, police, shelters) stay in the city for weeks, cause trouble, but are not counted in the census because they are not residents.
Thus, PA doesn't get the amount funding to appropriately handle the drifters coming from other communities, utilizing very expensive services and leaving a path of destruction behind them.
Show me where it says your claim about the provincial government not at all responsible for funding city police in their province! I’ll wait….
Where did I say the province is not at all responsible? I asked why should it be up to the province to fund municipal police. Not that they are not at all responsible. The province does give city’s some money but when compared to the amount the city council budgets it’s pennys
That’s not even remotely true about the police being underfunded. They get 25% of the municipal budget which is more than most centers (~18-20%). Were you not here when they changed their police fleet to Chargers?
I think what you mean is that social and community services are underfunded. Almost no supports put into prevention. It’s all reactionary cause the economy, unfortunately, is heavily built on policing and incarceration.
That 25% of the municipal budget is high only because the provincial government doesn't give them enough in the first place, but they have enough for Moe's special police force, the S.S. (Saskparty Sheriffs)
I wouldn't move back to P.A. unless it was for a damn good paying job. The rest of my family lives there and always talks about how bad crime has gotten in the last 10 years with very few changes by the city police and mayor.
No. The police have more than enough funding. There are police literally everywhere here and a massive police force. Drive 3 blocks and you’ll run across police.
Mayor is always trying to tackle crime via the police. Is more or less allergic to funding social supports. As one example, the City decided to place massive fences around the Margo Fournier Centre (then used as temporary warming shelter) because organizations providing social supports are understood by some on council as adding to crime rather than prevention. Building is now PAGC Urban Services. Council won’t let them use it as an overnight shelter because it’s attached to the heritage centre that white seniors go to to play cribbage and they’ll be scared. Solution is no homeless shelter and we’ll add police. https://panow.com/2021/08/18/city-takes-down-embarrassing-fences-surrounding-margo-fournier-centre-and-gazebo/
That's P.A. for ya, stubbornly conservative ideology is why things are getting worse year after year.
Stepping stones is a homeless shelter as is the ywca.
This is completely inaccurate
Source?
Well PA does not have its own special criminal code compared to the rest of Canada, so people engaged in harassment or other criminal offences can be charged exactly as they would in other cities. There are also several municipal bylaws as well including solicitation, defecation/spitting/urination, public smoking, fighting, etc. I have also been approached by the homeless population and asked for cigarettes or change but have never had an issue when I have responded politely and said no. Usually I get a “okay god bless you”. There are no high schools with metal detectors and full time police staff. All school doors are locked and you have to buzz for entry (as you should, no one should just be able to wander into a school).
I do agree that PAPS are struggling with staffing and recruitment. They are a very busy department. However, as a tax payer, I have paid a special levy for the last 3 years to increase their funding and I know they are receiving grants from several provincial and federal agencies so I don’t think their issues are specific to funding.
In a broader sense, I was born and raised here, moved away and moved back for work. I have walked all over the city. I use all of the parks and amenities, even in midtown, west flat and the river bank. I work and shop downtown. I have never been shot, stabbed or beat up. I go out after dark to restaurants and lounges. I walk my dog at night in the dark. No one bothers me. PA has problems like all other places, ours are just more apparent. If people want to find trouble they will. If you’re not bothering anybody, people don’t bother you.
Not true. I wasn’t bothering anyone but yet because I was wearing a red hoodie/bunnyhug a person threatened to “fuck” me up.
I think the only place I would recommend not walking at night is Kinsman Park lmao
Paci?
Be ready to see and be accosted by bums everywhere you go. They are a plague on this city.
1: mentally prepare yourself, you most likely will get stabbed
2: don't own anything worth stealing
3: understand that most of the population is tied to the prison system one way or another
4: reconsider moving there, it's just not worth it compared to other places in the province
Where would you recommend in the province? I'm looking to spend at max 100k so I have money to fix up the house?
You will get stabbed if you might your own business?
Drake, lanegan and jansen area is good and because of the mine expanding the property values should go up with the increase in demand. There's even a few businesses for sale in the areas
That the reported crime rate would actually be higher and bump North Battleford down a spot, but they purposely don’t report small crime ‘correctly’ to keep their stats low.
Don't stop at the bottom of the hill. Learned that my first time driving through... Both ways...
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I've been there once and within five minutes a homeless guy tried to sell me a pair of shoes he had clearly just stolen. I haven't been back.
Enough said
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