Down a windy forest lane, seconds away from the lapping ocean waves, sits a sturdy yellow house awash in greenery.
“Before I even got to the end of the driveway, I was smitten,” said Donna Mars. She moved to Powell River on a whim four years ago, leaving behind her hectic life in the Lower Mainland for a peaceful, rural lifestyle. “When we bought the property, we didn’t even go into the house,” she said. When she saw the nearness of the woods and the beach, she was sold.
Though she loves it now, Mars never thought she would end up in Powell River. When her husband, a former Okeover resident, first suggested they retired there, she said she was a bit apprehensive.
“I was thinking, ‘Powell River, icky mill town, no thank you,’” she said, laughing. “But then we got here and it just felt like home.” Mars retired 10 years early from her job as an obstetrical nurse in Surrey in order for her and her husband to move to the community right away.
As a self-styled city girl, Mars had a little trouble adjusting to rural life. Septics and wells, which are always at risk of bursting or overflowing, have been a challenge. “They make me nervous. I wonder if the septic will keep up, and if it doesn’t what on earth will I do?”
Helping her along in the adjustment, which she calls more of a “learning curve,” is the interconnectedness of the community. She explained that whenever the couple needed renovations or repairs done on their property, which includes a 100-year-old forestry building-turned-house, someone would say, “I know a guy.”
“Three years later, I felt I truly belonged to [the community] when a friend enquired about buying something and I could say, ‘I know a guy,’” she said.
Though everybody knowing everybody isn’t always considered a plus, Mars loves it.
“In Vancouver, I felt like I was living in Stepfordville. It’s just so anonymous,” she explained. “Here, it seems like everybody you meet has room for another person in their world. It’s quite wonderful.”
This friendliness has stunned Mars since day one. “When I moved here initially, every person without exception that I met who found out I was new in town said, ‘Welcome to Powell River,’” she said. “It was shocking.”
Though she lived in Surrey for over a decade, Mars has no desire for city life anymore. “I went to a girlfriend’s party a couple weeks ago, and I flew down in the morning and flew back in the afternoon because I didn’t want to be in the city,” she said.
Like many Powell River residents, Mars has grown to appreciate the simple pleasures a slower-paced life offers. “I love being able to go and walk in the woods without having to get in your car to do it, [or] being able to take your dog to the beach and let him run and swim and play without anybody telling you to put a leash on him,” she said.
“It’s life as it’s supposed to be lived, but don’t tell anybody because then they’ll all come here.”
If readers have a story they would like to share about their experience of being welcomed to Powell River, please contact Kierra Jones at [email protected].
