People & Places
Winnipeg: Gateway to the west
Located roughly in the geographic heart of North America, Winnipeg has something to suit all tastes says David Fuller
Upon finishing the filming for the 2003 movie One Last Dance in Winnipeg, American actor Patrick Swayze was asked how he, and his wife Lisa Niemi who directed the film, had found living in the prairie city during their time on the project. "We absolutely loved Winnipeg. The people were wonderful and the architecture is wonderful," was Swayze's enthusiastic reply.
While I appreciate that an endorsement from Patrick Swayze is highly unlikely to have that much influence on your final decision regarding where exactly you should settle in Canada, the capital of Manitoba is certainly worth at least considering as a possible new home. Winnipeg, referred to by many as 'the gateway to Western Canada, is a lively city which caters for its almost 710,000 residents no matter what kind of lifestyle they desire.
Wining and dining
Fancy ditching the cooking for the night and spoiling yourself with a meal out? Winnipeg boasts more than 1,300 eateries, ranging from award-winning restaurants to small homestyle cafés.
Almost every culinary style you can possibly imagine is provided for in the city, with restaurants offering Chinese, Indian and American dishes sitting happily alongside places that offer, shall we say, less traditional cuisines such as Danish, Korean and Salvadorean.
Meanwhile, those of you who yearn for a little reminder of British tastes from time to time will be pleased to know that there are a number of 'British'-style pubs located in the city, many of which come complete with pool table, dart board, bar snacks and, of course, familiar beer brands.
No matter what kind of meal takes your fancy one guarantee is that you will be able to enjoy your food without inhaling unwanted smoke from other diners. Since October 2004 smoking has been prohibited in all public places in the city, including restaurants, drinking establishments, malls and sport stadiums.
Shopping
Should you wish to go out and splash some cash every now and again then you should find Winnipeg's shopping facilities to your liking. The city has a large variety of retail outlets which would easily satisfy that most demanding of shopper: A wife or girlfriend of one of the England football team.
There are three big shopping malls located in the city – Garden City, Grant Park Shopping Centre and Polo Park Shopping Centre. Of these the Polo Park centre is the biggest, boasting over 200 shops, a cinema and a bowling alley.
Away from the malls, Winnipeg has a number of popular shopping districts such as Academy Road, Craydon Avenue and The Exchange District, all of which boast well-known department stores. The Forks market, located at the confluence of the city's Red and Assiniboine Rivers in the downtown area, is also popular with shoppers, offering fresh and specialty food stalls and over 50 shops all housed in an old stable.
There are also a plethora of handcraft and arts stores dotted throughout the city, which specialise in Native American goods such as moccasins, mukluks, jackets and jewellery.
Entertainment
Winnipeg is particularly well known for its arts and culture scene. The Royal Winnipeg Ballet (Canada's oldest ballet company), the Winnipeg Art Gallery (the sixth largest art gallery in the country) and the Manitoba Theatre Centre (the oldest English language theatre company in Canada) are all popular institutions in the city.
But you don't have to be a culture vulture in order to get the best out of living in Manitoba. The city is home to a number of comedy clubs, live music venues, cinemas – including an imax theatre – and, as previously discussed, a large number of pubs and restaurants.
Sports fans will also find themselves well catered for there. The city is home to three professional sport franchises – Canadian football team the Winnipeg Bluebombers,
American Hockey League team the Manitoba Moose, and minor league baseball team the Winnipeg Goldeneyes. There is also a horse race track which holds regular meetings.
Families looking for a fun day out in the city also have a great selection of things to do. The Assiniboine Park Zoo is sure to keep young ones entertained, as is one of the city's many amusement parks. Alternatively, for a more educational way to spend a day you could take a wander through the Manitoba Museum – the biggest in the province.
Festival lovers will no doubt be glad to know that Winnipeg plays host to a few annual festivals, the most known of which is Folklorama – the largest and longest-running multicultural festival in the world, with over 50 pavilions showcasing the traditions and customs of Winnipeg's more than 60 ethnic communities.
Additional information
If all this seems to be so far so good then this may just make things even better: Winnipeg has one of the cheapest costs of living of any major Canadian city, and the third-lowest average house prices of any provincial capital.
Add to the mix the fact that Winnipeg enjoys an average of 2,372 hours of sunshine per year and 2,727 hours of clear skies and the city's appeal is further enhanced. Even the fact that average winter temperatures in the city are fairly cold at -12.9ºC is offset by the fact the summer temperatures average 25.4oC. No wonder Swayze found Winnipeg to be so much to his liking!
For more Winnipeg lifestyle information:
Destination Winnipeg
Read articles about other Candian cities:
A trip to Saskatoon
Calgary: A city of opportunity
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