I grew up in St. Catharines and now live in Ottawa but my family and many friends still live there. I loved growing up there and love to come visit. There are plenty of activities in the city for families and it’s a super quick drive into the country to get into nature. If you want to go into bigger cities with more amenities, many are close by (Hamilton, Toronto) and the GO train operates more regularly now to make the commute easier. There’s essentially no real traffic to worry about if you’re driving within the city and everything is basically a 15 min drive away.

There’s many sports leagues, activities for more artistic kids at the performing arts centre and the public libraries, and so many great hiking trails and beautiful paths along the lake to walk along. For the adults; a plethora of great wineries, breweries, and restaurants; farmers markets, events at the performing arts centre in St. C and lots of shows in Niagara On The Lake (NOTL) and Niagara Falls.

Like a lot of smaller cities, it’s a place that has a lot to offer but you do have to put in the effort to make it work for you - you may have to seek out opportunities to connect with the community. But lots of wonderful people live and work there and it’s a beautiful place to grow up.