The isolation of Nelson is part of its charm and part of its curse. To really bring in the type of dynamic businesses it deserves, the village needs access to a modern regional airport, supplemented by regular and reliable public and/or private service (air and/or land) to the largest and nearest international airport at Spokane. Aspen, Telluride, Taos, Port Townsend, and similar small towns have been able to prosper by staying linked to the outside world via modern transportation alternatives.

As a historian who wrote two books on the City of Nelson, I have some perspectives to add. Firstly, what has made Nelson succeed where others fail has historically been its ability to adapt creatively. (Lesson One) What many don't know about Nelson's history is that the city and outlying area once had an orchard industry that easily rivalled the Okanagan. This was promoted largely in response to the collapse of silver and other mineral markets that had helped establish Nelson in the first place. When orchards were overrun with blights and pests and began to wane, the lumber industry stepped in. When the mill closed during the early 1980s, an effort was made to capitalize on the city's rich educational sector, through the David Thompson University Centre and a school for visiting Japanese students. DTUC however was the victim of political payback by the Socreds, who choked off funding. And, as former Mayor Gerald Rotering has pointed out, it was the restoration of heritage Baker Street that attracted 2 major film productions during the '80s. Lesson Two: For at least the past 20 years Nelsonites have realized the resource sector is neither sustainable nor desirable as an employment base. Yet a city with one of the most beautiful waterfronts in Western Canada allows a garbage transfer station and industrial warehousing on its lakefront (as if it were the 19th, not the 2st century), when this could be transformed into a vibrant recreational centre with small artisans' shops and cafes. City council has consistently lacked imagination in this regard. Expand the municipal boundaries if you have to so the industrial businesses can be moved to a more discreet location yet still provide tax revenue. And finally, Lesson Three, on the wonderful arts scene in Nelson. Artists have always been--and continue to be--treated as second class citizens here, despite significant contributions to local culture and economy. Nelson business owners are happy to reap the benefits during ArtWalk or Streetfest or other events that bring customers in droves into their restaurants, shops and hotels, yet complain bitterly about any proposal to use tax income to fund arts infrastructure of any kind. This hypocrisy has been an open sore on the city since the '70s. Even when money was spent on an economic impact study to prove what we all knew already about how much money the arts infuse into local economy, business owners still gripe against giving up money to the arts. Any business person worth their RRSP ought to know: no investment, no return. Give a little, get a little.

Nice two-part story. Will send to relatives back East. May I add that another reason many families move to Nelson, which I find interesting, is because of the Waldorf School. Half the families there, I have heard, moved to Nelson for that school--including our family.

Well done Bill. I don't think Nelson can sustain itself on its entrepreneurial energy alone. What will be interesting in the next 5 or 10 years or so is if employers start to discover Nelson as a place to get well-qualified labour at below market prices. For example, the genetics company you mentioned finds it easy to get well-qualified biologists at lower-than-big city wages, and, more importantly, to hold on to them (virtually no turnover). Thomas Power, a prominent economist from the University of Montana, states that communities that have such labour distortions (lots of qualified people, or, the ability to attract such qualified people because the quality of life is high) should do well in attracting employers over time. Perhaps it's just a matter of measuring & articulating these facts in a targetted way - i.e. an abundance of geologists, teachers, biologists, etc. - & Nelson will be attracting potential employers to supplement its impressive entrepreneurial set. I, for one, plan to take advantage of the abundance of Nelson talent through the Centre for Innovative & Entrepreneurial Leadership (CIEL) www.theCIEL.com by bringing in contracts from outside the area to Nelson. It remains to be seen whether others take advantage of this current 'market anomaly'. It won't last forever.

and i had the chance to move to nelson in 1987 with a govt job in my pocket BEFORE the real estate boom! well, i stayed in vancouver, and now live in kelowna. interestingly, just this weekend i was up at big white ski resort with a couple of journalists and long time observors of the BC scene, comparing what has gone down in the province in the past 25 years. well, what's gone down are high paying union jobs, the level of government services to remote areas, the access by locals to government land. in fact (and no lefties, these guys) - everyone agreed that wealth was distributed far more equitably in the 'old days' than it is, now. the thing nelson does not have that, say, kelowna does is a little something called 'critical mass.' kelowna is much like nelson - certainly not as artsy, but lots of people here for lifestyle reasons. they've cashed out after years in toronto, seattle, or vancouver, and are now here with buckets of cash and lots of time. at the end of the day, they are a lot more likely to succeed in whatever business endeavour they provide than someone slugging it out with a Ph.D and getting sporadic work in his/her own field. kelowna's airport is now the tenth busiest in canada, and adding more flights each week. however, if you were laid off from either Telus or Western Star Trucking, chances are you'll have to work three jobs to ever make that wage up again.

I like Art Joyce's comments and recommendations for Nelson's lakefront. Whistler was granted several hundred acres to its borders by the BC Liberals recently. Perhaps the Liberal MLA for the area could put that in his pre-election Santa bag for the city of Nelson.

plg, I think you are simply out of luck on your wish. As you should already realize with the reduced medical facilities in Nelson, Trail is the favoured place in the West Kooteneys as far as pork-barrelling, oops, I mean gifts from Santa's bag of Liberal goodies.

I love Nelson and would love to live in town.Gordys made a mess.But how would you like the lower mainland madness...but income and expenses are making your town a option.Dogeat dog!!!Be happy you really have a good thing.