The latest from our Heart and Soul
With its friendly people, scenic university campus and abundantly treed riverbank, Saskatoon is a city inspiring enormous loyalty from its residents. And it’s not just the people already living here who appreciate its charms – if you pay attention to real estate news at all you’ll have noticed that in the past few years house values rose sharply, and while much of the most heated activity has levelled off, house prices continue to rise and the population continues to expand as more and more people choose Saskatoon as their home.
What was once a quiet prairie community is now a rapidly growing city to watch.
Though not born here, I have always considered Saskatoon my hometown. I moved here with family as a young child, grew up here and as an adult have moved away twice, but twice I have moved back finding the combination of family, community and scenery too tempting to resist. Today I live within ten minutes of my childhood home and the house my husband and I lived in when we were first married.
If you are visiting this city, you’ll find a warm welcome from people proud to show off their favourite restaurants, shopping spots and green spaces. If you are lucky enough to live here, you’ll be the one inviting family and friends to accompany you to your favourite places to shop, eat and hang out. You’ll be the one planning the days spent shopping, visiting, the evenings hitting restaurants or favourite spots to meet for a cocktail. We’re a social bunch and are always happy to take our topnotch hospitality out on the town.
Saskatoon families want to enjoy all of the above and more. Funny, it turns out that how we live and thrive in the cities we call home is just as complicated as anything else in parenting. We are the ones who want to not only know the best lunch spot, but the best playgrounds. We want excellent coffee, served just how we like it, but also want the option of a to-go cup so we can wander our beautiful riverfront downtown or hit a park with our kids. We want night spots but family friendly restaurants. We want upscale shops for our girls’ night out shoes, but practical shopping for kids’ rubber boots.
We want safe, entertaining places for our kids to play but we also want amenities that appeal to us when we are lucky enough to find a sitter and treat ourselves to a night out. We want stores that provide the latest in everything from toys to clothes to home decor. We want safe, well-kept neighbourhoods in which to raise our kids but to be able to find a night life when the opportunity arises. We love our established streets with character homes that loom three stories tall, but also love our new neighbourhoods. We like open spaces, but treasure our treed parks and wild lands.
We want it all, the best one small but exploding jewel of a city can offer…and here on the EverythingMom Saskatoon city page, we’re going to discover it all together.
Photo credit: D'Arcy Norman
