Weyburn has a lot going for it as a community, and as a small city on the Prairies — and in fact, Weyburn was named for the second year in a row as the best place to live on the Prairies, in the annual ranking of communities by MoneySense magazine.
There is quite an extensive list of criteria considered in ranking communities, and for Weyburn to come out on top on the Prairies, beating out several towns and larger urban centres like Regina, Saskatoon and Winnipeg, is quite a nice feather in the cap for the “Opportunity City”.
Weyburn is also ranked No. 1 as the best place on the Prairies to raise a family, which is something that families are already aware of here, and places well in the ranking as a community to retire in.
In order for Weyburn to place so highly on these two lists, the factors under consideration include everything from the weather to the crime rate, the level of affordability to live here, access to health care and day care, property taxes, the local economy and population growth.
They even looked at lesser factors, such as how many people walk or bike to work, or how many people in the community are employed in the arts or recreation areas.
At the national level, Weyburn slipped in their rating, going from the fifth best place in all of Canada last year to 33rd place this year — but considering there were 415 communities ranked in this survey, including all of the major urban cities, our compact little city in southeast Saskatchewan still came out pretty well.
Part and parcel in the factors that go into a community are the people who live here, who volunteer for service organizations, community events and for fundraisers to help people out, such as the recent fundraiser for the Akins family to help their daughter Ensley, facing chemotherapy treatments for bone cancer.
This event showed support from many friends, family and co-workers, and was truly a community-wide effort to support the family, and this is just one of many examples of the community spirit that helps to make Weyburn the best place to live.
There are also the many activities and events that go on in the community, such as a whole list of programs that go on throughout the summer for youth of all ages to take part in, and for the community as a whole, the Weyburn Wheat Festival is coming up on Friday and Saturday, Aug. 10 and 11, just as one example of the fine quality of life that is possible here. — Greg Nikkel
