In my last blog, I referred to a recent report from the Real Estate Investment Network (REIN) which ranked Surrey in the top 10 cities in British Columbia. That’s a major endorsement for Surrey when it comes to deciding where you want to invest in a home and raise a family! And when a city gets known for something like that, its reputation escalates as everyone gets even more excited about what they’ve got.
You can be certain that purchasing a home in Surrey is truly an investment, and an exceptionally good one. My wife and I are raising our family here and we couldn’t be happier. I had to dedicate my entire last blog to the multitude of events here just for youth. In this post I will try to balance the scale a bit in favour in why Surrey is great place for adults too; and of course having a great choice of things to do together with your children is also one of the biggest rewards!
Let’s begin with a theme that is the hallmark of living everywhere in British Columbia – the great outdoors! Surrey has preserved some of the most beautiful areas for parks – and the City’s Parks Board has developed breathtakingly beautiful parks. In fact, there are so many parks in Surrey I would have to publish a book to mention them all. The City of Surrey’s website says there are 200 parks here, but if you count all the greenbelts and nature areas, there are over 600 sites according to British Columbia tourism ministry. I have gone to a tourist website, Trip Advisor Canada, and the British Columbia’s Tourism website to narrow the list to 10 of their top picks (just to be impartial). I’ve started in South Surrey and picked some great parks and nature preserves moving northwards.
There are beautiful parks with unique programs in every one of Surrey’s neighbourhoods.
i) Crescent Beach
This spectacularly beautiful area is the perfect place for a walk along the ocean or taking in a sunset on the western horizon.
ii) Redwood Park on 20th Avenue
This beautiful forest has lots of trails for exploring, and the park has lots of fun things for kids too, like a playground keeping with the Redwood theme of the park, and “fairy houses” along the main trail.
iii) Blackie Spit Park at 3135 McBride Ave
This area is also on the ocean coast and is a great place to walk with kids, or you can walk your dog on leash. For the more adventurous, it’s also a great place to launch a kayak and a paddle the coast line.
iv) Urban Safari Rescue Society at 1395 176 St.
Even if you don’t like lizards, spiders, snakes, turtles, and all sorts of bugs, then I’ll bet your kids do! This place isn’t exactly a park, but for nature it’s a great place to learn about all those interesting creatures that children are curious about.
v) Unwin Park in the Newton Area
Large 36-acre community park with a host of different activities for the whole family. Check out the baseball diamonds, batting cage, cricket fields, soccer fields, lacrosse boxes, and even a basketball court.
vi) Green Timbers Urban Forest at 4600 Block of 100th Ave.
My family loves this place. It’s a tranquil and quiet park off the Fraser Highway near King George Boulevard. You can go biking or for lovely walk along a beautiful pond. There is lots to do here for adults or children.
viii) Bear Creek Park at 13759 88th Ave.
A great place to entertain young children. There is the Bear Creek miniature train, a waterpark and outdoor pool to cool down in the summer or you can play mini-golf or hike along the trials.
ix) Fleetwood Park in the Fleetwood area
This is a perfect place for picnics and play areas (including a spray park) to scenic gardens and nature trails.
x) Guildford Height Park
This is a 16-acre park near Guildford town centre, two blocks east of the Guildford Mall. Its games court and multi-use grass field is perfect for a game of pick-up soccer of frisbee.
Now, let’s take depart from the great outdoors and take a quick look at what Surrey offers for arts and cultural activities. There is already an abundant appreciation of the cultural activities that make for a vibrant community life in Surrey. Here are just a few examples of the kind of investments the City has made to ensure a enhanced cultural and artistic community is appreciated and enjoyed.
The Surrey Arts Centre at 13750 88 Ave. is like a one-stop shop for visual and performing arts. It is the arts hub for the Surrey Art Galley and the Surrey Civic Theatre’s Main Stage and Studio Stage Theatre. Here you can discover contemporary art through changing exhibitions, permanent artworks, and free events like tours, talks and art-making opportunities. Or you can watch actors, dancers and musicians perform on stage. You can even explore your own creativity through the many art and performing arts classes offered here. In the Newton area, the Arts Council of Surrey has turned the old Firehall into its new headquarters. Named the Surrey Cultural Centre, it is a thriving centre advancing arts appreciation in the heart of the Newton in Surrey. This is just a small sample of what has already started in Surrey’s cultural life. The City is committed to developing its arts and cultural communities. In 2011, Surrey adopted a broad framework – The Surrey Cultural Plan — to enhance the City’s ability to effectively mobilize the resources and talent available within the community towards a sustainable, dynamic, and socially cohesive city with an enviable quality of life. These are just a few of the factors that contribute to Surrey’s making the top 10 list in the REIN report.
You can see that choosing Surrey as place to raise your family is indeed smart investment in the future!
Thanks for reading!
Sibo Zhang, REALTOR®
*image via www.surrey.ca