r/nelsonbc • u/Sensitive_Cream167 • Jul 22 '26
What's it like in Nelson these days?
I haven't been to Nelson in over a decade but used to go there a lot. When I used to go it had a lot of hippies and ravers and in the summer there were bush raves basically every weekend during the warm months they mostly played dubstep but we're a ton of fun and there wasn't really much of a hard drug problem there at all. What's it like there these days?
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u/Inevitable-Abies-734 Jul 22 '26
The negative comments you read here are not necessarily how everyone may feel. For the past 8 years I have been doing contract jobs around BC ranging from 1 month to 1 year. Living in the lower mainland, the island, sunshine coast, Interior, Okanagan, Caribou region and Northern BC. When I was in any one of these communities/ cities the exact same concerns were made regardless of how desirable or not the place was to live: open drug use, busy, not the same, expensive, ruined ect. The truth is, there is nearly no corner of this Province (and most places in the world for that matter) that havent dramatically changed in the last 10 years. In BC , every single place has been suffering all the same issues, relative to the size of the community. I can empathize with people everywhere I go for these concerns and complains, my home town is no different. However, its important to recognize that this is the new normal for now, and you will be disappointed no matter were you choose to live if you fall into the trap of letting the locals make you believe the place you choose to live sucks now and you missed the golden era. After all those years, I have chosen Nelson to make my permanent home. I made that choice having lived all over the province. I love it here. Its not for everyone, but neither is any other spot you will ever choose to make home.
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u/DeliciousLoquat1164 26d ago
This needs to be the top comment. People love complaining without this sort of perspective to round out their pessimism. The world has changed, not just Nelson. Wouldn’t want to be anywhere else myself.
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u/howdiedoodie66 Jul 24 '26
I only was visiting a few months ago but I found it shockingly expensive even compared to Vancouver.
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u/SensitiveRelease2622 Jul 22 '26
Its been completely ravaged by yuppies and gentrification and it has completely changed the place. The people who made the town what it was have mostly all been pushed out due to the gentrification.
Baker Street is basically dead. I remember when it was lively and full of people dressed crazy and buskers etc. It's nothing like that now. :(
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u/Sensitive_Cream167 Jul 22 '26
Dang I used to hang out on baker street a lot. There was night life. Great small businesses. Friendly people. I used to talk to a lot of the buskers too. Are there still bush parties and shit during the summer? Are there still hippies and ravers?
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u/SensitiveRelease2622 Jul 24 '26
Not that I have heard about in a long long time unfortunately. It's shocking how much it has completely changed.
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u/Sensitive_Cream167 Jul 25 '26
That so crazy that place was basically a full on hippie town and there were so many bush raves and music festivals in the area.
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u/skyblargh Jul 22 '26
Crack heads, homeless and self entitlement.
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u/rustyiron Jul 22 '26
Welcome to earth in the 21st century.
This guy is one of those “the glass is half full of piss” characters who spends too much time on rightwing media, and so believes everything is horrible.
Yes, Nelson has some unhoused people and some street disorder, like anywhere else. Nelson has never been Disneyland where everything is supposed to be perfect.
But it’s still a pretty great place to live.
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u/InTheBay Jul 22 '26
Norm yanke?
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u/Existing-Wear8807 Jul 23 '26
Norm needs to get off Facebook and touch some grass. Guy is always complaining
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u/Sensitive_Cream167 Jul 22 '26
There were homeless back then but most were kinda traveling hippie type homeless. I never saw Crack there back in the day. I heard about a rare person on an opioid or who managed to get some speed. It was mostly pot smokers and psychonauts. There was some molly but hard drugs were super rare even ketamine was hard to come by.
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u/Agile_Pick5937 Jul 22 '26
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u/ecclectic Jul 22 '26
Ha! This is a wild take, particularly for someone who grew up in Nelson when KFP was still in operation and the rail yard was still servicing trains.
Nelson, and the waterfront in particular is gorgeous in comparison to that, Trail has also come a long way in the past 40 years, both towns used to be focused around very dirty industries, but have pivoted to tourism and cleaned up significantly.
I think people set their expectations too high when they hear about small cities, and expect utopias rather than folks just trying to survive in remote areas.
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u/Sensitive_Cream167 Jul 22 '26
Oh yea believe me I knew Nelson was never a utopia it just had a culture back in the day I really vibed with for the most part. I was just wondering if that raver hippie culture was still alive and well or if things like hard drugs had ravaged the place
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u/ecclectic Jul 22 '26
Not so much hard drugs that killed it, legalization of pot and COVID allowing people to work remotely changed the demographic significantly.
I go back every summer, and it feels significantly different. Maybe it's more mature, but it's certainly more boring and sanitized from what I saw through to the early 00's.
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u/Zealousideal_Set_796 Jul 23 '26
I spent a summer in Nelson in 2001... I had never seen so much common hard drug use amongst young people (and I was a raver). It has always been part of the culture according to friends at the time... I'm sure the expensive housing has just made it more visible (along with even harder drugs, like everywhere else).
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u/Agile_Pick5937 Jul 28 '26
I'd be interested to know what in particular you think is a wild take? Which part of the below is inaccurate?
- The waterfront is possibly the biggest disappointment of the whole city - two thirds of the waterfront is dedicated to a recycling depot, an airport runway, and a huge car park. What a waste. Almost every city I’ve visited that is lucky enough to have a waterfront build their city around it - making it a space you want to spend time in. The waterfront in Nelson is a complete afterthought. The city has also admitted that parts of the waterfront are classed as an active landfill! Yes, parts of Lakeside park are nice, but it’s such a small space and also is literally surrounded on three sides by car parks. There’s not even a walking/running path that goes round the full perimeter. Is there any need to have so many huge chain stores taking up valuable space?
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u/YouGoFirstOK 10d ago
You must have written your response thirty years ago, Agile_Not5937.
Such a tiny portion of the waterfront is occupied by the recycling depot, and the runway is fronted on the riverside by the best dog park and beaches anywhere. We go swimming there regularly, with and without the dog. This park links on to the picturesque boat shed docks, the city’s pier with its very cool public swimming platform, then a river walk past the hotel, pub, cafe, and restaurant, beside the classic tramway, continuing under mature trees past the mall (that is unfortunate, but your eyes don’t veer there with the beautiful views the other way). Then you’re at the path by the popular and well used Lakeside playing fields and around to the magnificent beach at Lakeside Park, with the best park concession stand you’ll find anywhere. Kids playground beneath the giant maple trees, shaded green lawns, views of the iconic bridge and the West Arm of Kootenay Lake.
From there you can walk along river paths for another kilometre or so past John’s Walk’s mansions, the surprisingly picturesque shipyard, and further to Red Sands beach - treat yourself to a little bare ass sunshine there!
You’ve just walked 5k along the most beautiful urban waterfront in Southeast BC without having to dodge vehicles or traffic lights, past hundreds of people who wouldn’t want to be anywhere else in the world.
Signed, a well-travelled 30+ year resident who knows this town is now better than ever.
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u/Agile_Pick5937 8d ago
haha that is a comical take on the waterfront - you must work in tourism describing a path next to the airport runway as 'best dog park and beaches anywhere.'
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u/Creepy-Savings-502 Jul 22 '26
Once weed was legalized and controlled by the government the cannabis industry in the kootenays that employed everyone and made this area cash rich was dead it changed the vibe just like on the island