The People of Nanaimo

Come One, Come All!

The First Nation's Snuneymuxw people were prescient to name Nanaimo "The Gathering Place". Today people come from the rest of Canada and around the world to join those lucky enough to have grown up on this Island. Retirees and outdoorspeople (often the same people) flock here, but so do students, artists and business people. Young people, old people, people just starting out and people just starting anew.

Friends

One of our favourite things about Nanaimo is the fact that people become friends here because of similar interests, not because of similar incomes or similar professional status. Compared to the towering mountains or vast ocean, we're all about the same stature here, but wow, do we bring our own individual strengths to this dynamic mix!

For Example . . .

Several years ago, Bruce Barnard of Australia and Angie Gottenburg of Canada were on a trip around the world together when they discovered Nanaimo. They fell in love with it, stayed and transformed a downtown heritage building into the unique Painted Turtle Guesthouse, a charming combination of boutique hotel/family-friendly hostel. They host new visitors from various destinations around the world, many of whom also come to love Nanaimo, relocate here, and you can see how the pattern continues.