PORT ALBERNI – A friend who is a retired planner living in Victoria recently acknowledged that he is hearing “lots of good things about Port Alberni”. This is huge as it comes after years of him expressing doubt about our future. Another friend who has retired in Parksville after working all over the world has bought an apartment building here. Yet another friend living on the east side of Vancouver Island has also bought property here for investment purposes.
Although many people get that Port Alberni is Vancouver Island’s Most Affordable Community and a place with lots of amenities, folks are also starting to hear about the other reasons why more people are choosing to live, visit and invest here. Here’s a quick read of a few of those reasons.
Jobs: in 2017 the Alberni Valley Employment Centre tallied 2,171 postings for 2,929 positions in Port Alberni, Tofino, Ucluelet and Bamfield and they are on track to better that this year. Several initiatives are in motion that could add a significant numbers of jobs including a proposal for a floating drydock and one for a small log processing centre.
Visiting: Port Alberni is a great place to base oneself from for visits to Tofino, Ucluelet and Bamfield. Accommodations here are more affordable, the weather is generally sunny and hot, and there are a number of good restaurants and shops to go along with the hiking, mountain biking and salt & fresh water activities in the Valley. The community is gearing for three cruise ship visits in 2019 and the tours being developed for that have many people saying “it’s time to offer these to others”. The steam train & McLean Mill visit is one of Vancouver Island’s most heavily booked cruise ship shore excursions.
There are several good opportunities to visit Port Alberni in the next few weeks. These include the Solstice Arts Festival June 15th & 16th, Port Day on June 16th, the Funtastic Slo-Pitch Tournament & Music Festival June 29th to July 2nd and the Race the Train 10K which runs by the Canada Day Parade on July 1st.
For more information about these terrific events and many others please go to alberni.ca/events or call the Alberni Valley Chamber at 250.724.6535.
Pat Deakin is the Economic Development Manager for the City of Port Alberni. He can be reached at 250-720-2527 or Patrick_deakin@portalberni.ca
