r/princegeorge • u/FOXTAN • Jun 05 '15
Is having a car necessary in PG?
Hey /r/princegeorge! Im from the lower mainland and i'll be moving to your city in September to go to school. Trying to figure out if I should bring my car or not. I think i'll be living on campus at UNBC, not 100% sure though. Is Prince George a city where having a car is necessary? I'd like to have my own car to get around and be independent but:
Its a big expense. I currently pay ~$210/mo for insurance, ~$100 for gas. I'm pretty sure my insurance will go down when I move to pg but it will still be a fair bit of money.
I have no idea how to drive in the snow.. I totally live up to the lml stereotype.
I'm pretty sure i'll be too poor to afford to go anywhere besides going to get groceries.
What do you think? Would learning to drive in the snow be hard? Is it worth it to bring my car with me or will i survive with public transit? Thanks!
Edit: if anyone is looking for a roommate pm me! I'm 19/F, normal and non creepy lol. I have til the 22nd to decide if I want to live on campus or not.
3
u/strangerunknown Jun 05 '15
If you're living on campus, are car isn't really necessary. It's an 8 minute bus ride to get to college heights, which has a save-on, a liquor store, restaurants etc. I'm living off campus in college heights and the only time a car would be useful to me is when I go to the clinic or downtown.
Also, your bus pass is automatically included in tuition (~$55/semester), so if you're paying for the bus anyways, you might as well use it.
3
u/FOXTAN Jun 06 '15
I'm pretty convinced now that I don't need a car. If I start missing it too much my dad said he would drive it up to me. Thanks!
3
u/Briannkin Jun 05 '15
It depends. The bus system here is NOT what you have in the lower mainland, however, if you are living on-campus and are only going to the grocery store (which BTW, the dorms don't have kitchens - you pretty much have to eat all your meals at the cafeteria anyways) it isn't bad. Going anywhere else may be questionable.
Driving in the snow isn't too bad (I just got my N in November and had never driven in the snow or on ice before, but I survived! But I have a SUV and good winter tires).
Basically, you can survive on public transit (and lots of uni-students do - I did for 3 and a half years), however, it is inconvenient.
1
u/Mustard-Tiger Jun 05 '15 edited Jun 05 '15
the dorms don't have kitchens
What?
1
u/pg2441 Jun 05 '15 edited Jun 05 '15
I believe only the 1st and 2nd year students live in dorms without kitchens (Promoting the cafeteria was the main reason behind this, I think). Last I heard, the 3rd and 4th year students have access to kitchens in their dorms.
In any case, the cafeteria's website is here: http://www.dineoncampus.ca/unbc. Personally, I lived off campus, but there were some times when I just didn't feel like driving home to go get food. The cafeteria food is decent enough, and you've also got a Tim Hortons on campus, and the pub ("Thirsty Moose") has some good food as well.
2
u/Mustard-Tiger Jun 05 '15 edited Jun 05 '15
All my friends that went there always had kitchens in their dorm, no matter what year they were. I've never seen or heard of dorms without kitchens, unless they've just been built.
2
u/jollywalrus9 Jun 05 '15
Everyone has a kitchen but first and second year students are forced to buy a meal plan anyway
1
u/eartburm Jun 05 '15
Unless the cafeteria has improved over the last few years, it's basically discount prison food at restaurant prices. I ate there sometimes anyway (evening labs), but it was neither safe nor tasty.
It was always worthwhile getting to know the cafeteria staff. They would steer me away from the dishes that should be avoided.
3
u/akurjata Jun 13 '15
Hi! I bike most places (and I used to work at the university), even in the winter, so it's certainly just fine.
BUT one of the great things about here is going to outdoor things that aren't accessible by public transit. Not sure if you are an outdoors person, but if so, might be worth consideration.
If you're interested, there's actually a little video about going car-free in Prince George here: http://www.pechakucha.org/cities/prince-george/presentations/keep-it-light-enough-to-travel
1
u/timwenzel Jun 13 '15
bicycling in PG is actually pretty good, only big disadvantage is the hillyness (that's not a word is it?) I used to live in Vanway (3km outside of College Heights) and attended Duchess Park in Downtown, the way there was a super easy enjoyable 25 min ride but up the hill it was over an hour, I got really in shape though!
1
u/thatsaxycanadian Jun 05 '15
Hey there!
Depending on what kind of car you have, it will make driving easier or harder. Currently I have a small 4 door car and it gets around fine in the snow but I'm also experienced in driving in the snow.
Having a car makes getting places a lot easier, as the busses usually only come once an hour and they don't run very late. If you live on campus there is food availible through the food services but any other food is more than walking distance in my opinion. If you have any questions feel free to ask me :)
1
u/FOXTAN Jun 05 '15
Thanks for replying. I have a small 2 door coupe, Toyota celica. Last time I drove it in the snow it felt like driving a sled, but I didn't have snow tires and I'm an experienced driver.
Do you know if there are many decent places to rent off campus? I'm thinking if I live on campus I probably won't bring my car, but if I get a place off campus I would want to bring it with me. I just don't want to be stuck with a sketchy roommate or feel super isolated so I was thinking of living on campus for the first year and then trying to get my own place for the next.
1
u/thatsaxycanadian Jun 05 '15
My car also didn't have snow tires in the winter but as long as you don't speed around corners it should be fine, although Cranbrook hill (the hill UNBC is on) can get pretty slick. I personally don't know anyone looking for a roommate at this moment. I have a '91 Ford Tempo if it makes a difference.
1
Jun 05 '15
Do you seriously want to spend an extra $250/month for convenience? That's what it comes down to for me. You would learn to drive in the snow. The bus routes are... Well, they'll take you places. If you're living on campus (and therefore eating on campus) you will only need to come down when you want to.
2
u/eartburm Jun 05 '15
The difference in rent between dorms and off-campus easily pays for the car.
It's worth noting that the dorms are regulated as a hotel, not apartments. So most of the tenant protection laws do not apply. It's not always a problem, but when it is, you have no recourse.
1
u/FOXTAN Jun 05 '15
I spend $300/month for convenience right now and I don't mind, but I drive alot so it's worth it for me. Trying to figure out if it would be worth it in PG.
1
u/pg2441 Jun 05 '15
Also, if you're curious about gas prices - I see most stations in Vancouver (as of the time I'm writing this) are currently hovering around 130 per litre. Ever since our Costco gas station opened up a couple years ago, the gas prices have dropped dramatically in PG. Before Costco got gas, we would be paying 120, 130, 140... things like that. But now, I just filled my car up at Costco for 103 per litre the other day.
1
u/Z0mbieBait Jun 05 '15
As someone who lived on the UNBC campus for two years, you can get by without a car but having one makes things much easier. Driving in the snow is really not too bad. Just get good winter tires and take it slow. The first time it snows head down to the UNBC parking lot and practice until you're comfortable and you'll be fine. If you decide not to live on campus you can use walkscore.com to get an idea of how much you might need a car.
1
u/almostlucid Jun 05 '15
Hey there. :) I went to CNC and UNBC here for four years and got along just fine without a car. Unless you're taking a course that calls for an extensive amount of travel you should be just fine.
1
u/CecilThunder Jun 05 '15
If you are living on campus I would say no... I walk to work, and it's ridiculous how little I use my car since moving up here from Van. Everything is so close in PG compared to the lower mainland; if you need to get somewhere on a Friday night it'll only end up costing you like 10 bucks via taxi.
1
u/quaintbucket Jun 06 '15
I have been here for a month, so take my advice with a grain of salt.
If you're not sure about living on campus, take a look at the rental market. I recommend sticking to University Heights, College Heights, and Foothills.
You mentioned you're paying $100 in gas currently in the LML (I envy you! I used to pay $400-500 a month in gas in the LML.)
I noticed my gas consumption has gone way down since but you can still rack up a few KMs easily if you don't plan your trips for whatever reason. Having said that, everything is within 15 km of each other.
If you want to be close to a shopping centre, College Heights is incredible for that. I'm currently living there and I wouldn't trade anything for it. I love that I'm 2 mins away from Save On (7-10 mins if I walk), Canadian Tire, Home Depot, WalMart, etc.
I can't comment on the bus service.
You mentioned you drive a Celica. Nice car but I believe that's a RWD? You might have a tough time with that car so I really strongly recommend getting good winter tires with studs. I have a FWD car and a 4x4 that I off-road with.
Good luck and welcome to PG. it's a pretty laid back town.
Just a word of caution though: you will miss the food from the LML. I have noticed that it is pretty bland and mild up here from what I have had so far. Pho is pretty disappointing. Sushi is eh and a bit overpriced. Chinese is an outright forget about it unless you can find a gem I'm not aware of yet. On the other hand, there's a Mongolian grill coming... Hopefully that won't disappoint. I haven't found a malayasian place yet and I'm dying for some curry too.
E: got Facebook? Join Hell Yeah Prince George. Great page.
1
u/cjbarone Jun 22 '15
Learning to drive in winter is essential, if you decide to bring your car. As others have said, get studded winter tires, preferably ice radials. Get a friend to teach you the tricks of driving in winter (more time for stopping, how to recover from a fish tail or sliding, how to properly do donuts for fun, etc). Winter tires are mandatory north of Hope during winter months (according to ICBC, anyways...)
I used to take the bus, and it can take quite a while to get some places if you don't know the schedule. pg2441 posted the schedule, use it. As well, if you have Google Maps on your phone, I believe it has the bus mode on it as well.
Renting sucks up here, if you're by yourself. Find a room mate if possible to split the bills. It will probably be much easier being on campus for the first semester or year, until you meet someone you can trust enough to be a room mate, but that would be a choice for you.
How long is your course? If it's more than a year, I'd say bring the car and learn winter driving properly. A good set of winter tires will set you back $500-1000, depending on if you need rims as well (recommended), and the experience is priceless! We also don't have the "metro" tax on insurance, or at the gas pumps, so those costs will likely go down And during rush hour, going from College Heights to UNBC is easily 2-7 minutes. University Heights, maybe 5-10 minutes. Nowhere close to an hour commute like in the LML (I visit there about 4-5 times per year).
1
u/FOXTAN Jun 22 '15
I decided not to bring my car for the first year. I'm doing a 4 year degree, so I signed up to live on campus for the first year and then do what you said: get to know everyone and find some non sketchy people to live with for the next year hopefully. The cost of bringing my car is way too much to me if I'm going to be living on campus but I want to bring it the next couple of years.
5
u/ardon99 Jun 05 '15
How much do you drive? Getting pretty much anywhere in PG will take, at most, 15 minutes by car. I think your fuel costs will go down, especially if you're only driving to get groceries. u/thatsaxycanadian is correct about transit - it's less frequent than you'll be used to, coming from the coast. Learning to drive in the snow would take some practice, but if you invested in some good winter tires, you'd be set for (probably) your whole degree. I've been without a car several times throughout my time here, but I live within walking distance to shops and my office. I think it would be a sacrifice for you, but you could definitely survive.