The Kootenays have always been innovative. One only needs to take a quick look around to understand this wild and magical region is home to people creating their own work, inventing new jobs and living out their dreams.
Tech workers hike alongside hippies and the cannabis growers paddle alongside the politicians. It’s an awesome place where people are happily co-existing in the most creative of ways.
WORK, LIFE & PLAY
Some are thriving on living a life where nature trumps salary, some are living a life where their 9 to 5 fuels their backcountry adventures and some are building their chosen careers while living a balanced lifestyle in a safe and affordable place for their children. Some just love craft beer, and that’s acceptable too. It’s a place where work, life and play can truly exist in perfect
balance.
Our region is made up of many communities…from pockets of people living off the grid to larger centres like Cranbrook (nearly 20,000 people) and Nelson (nearly 11,000 people). Each community and its residents have their own unique feel, personality and eccentriticties….it is the Kootenays after all.
A VIBRANT FUTURE FOR THE KOOTENAYS
Businesses, entrepreneurs and tech workers have noticed. They’re choosing to build startups where they can live comfortably and maybe afford to raise a family. They’re choosing a place where they can work remotely and enjoy the lifestyle and outdoor adventure opportunities that exist here. They’re choosing a place where coworking spaces and fab labs are on the rise.
They’re choosing to invest millions of dollars in a region ripe with potential and innovation. What was our curse is now our blessing. Our rugged geography means eclectic small towns are oozing the innovative spirit. No matter which aspect of our three mountain ranges you are on, the digital economy is on the rise in the Kootenays and it knows no physical bounds. Accessing a global market from this beautiful place is strengthening our local economies and creating vibrant healthy communities.
From craft beers to murals, from flowing rivers to glacier-fed lakes, from grizzly bears to moose, from peaks to thriving streets…the Kootenay region is truly one of the last frontiers…a secret locals keep close. And a discovery visitors cherish.
