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Community, trails, sports make Red Deer a great place to raise a family

To be quite honest, raising a kid in Red Deer wasn’t my original plan.
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To be quite honest, raising a kid in Red Deer wasn’t my original plan.

My wife and I were born and raised in Ontario. We met in Red Deer and had always talked about moving back to raise our family near their grandparents.

But something changed. We found Red Deer had a lot to offer young families and now, eight months into this life-changing event, it has been a great experience.

One of the earliest memories I have with my daughter Norah was partaking in my favourite Red Deer pastime – walking the trail system. My daughter was born in January, in the dead of winter. That didn’t deter us. If she is going to grow up in Alberta, she has to get used to the cold. Near our house we have access to many trails.

This winter, they were extensively plowed by a very kind neighbour with a quad and a snowplow making it easy for us to get out of the house and go for a walk.

Since then, the trails and easy access to nature are an important part of our daily life.

Trails are the easy out when describing what you appreciate about Red Deer. It seems everyone loves the trails, and with good reason. The commitment to preserve green spaces and public trails has served the city’s residents well.

In Red Deer, we have a community. A community where we meet friends at Three Mile Bend randomly when we go to let the dog run around, where we go to the Saturday market and there are people we can meet with and chat.

Or the trip downtown to enjoy the Ross Street Patio on a warm summer afternoon, listening to someone tap away on the piano or one of the many artists who perform during the summer, brings out the best of Red Deer.

As she grows up, I know we’ll take advantage of some of the activities and sports offered in the city. She’s already no stranger to some of the local curling rinks and ball diamonds to watch her dad play. But places like the Kerry Wood Nature Centre and the Red Deer Museum and Art Gallery offer educational and fun activities that pique my interest and, hopefully, my daughter’s as she grows up.

But also important is the city’s easy access to what Alberta has to offer. From our trip up Tunnel Mountain, with an infant strapped to my chest, in Banff to a day at the Calgary Zoo, having all these fun activities within driving distance makes Red Deer’s location ideal.

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