Friendly Squamish

Discover Discover how friendly how friendly Squamish is Squamish is

BY EDITOR JENNIFER THUNCHER

When I first moved to Squamish in about 2014, the friendliness of Squamish made me nearly fall off my bike.

No kidding.

I had come from the Lower Mainland, and there, folks didn’t wave at strangers or say hello unless greeting direct neighbours.

During my first week in Squamish, I got on my bike after work one summer night and decided to investigate more of my new home.

A few metres into the ride, a woman smiled and waved.

Odd, I thought, she must think I am someone else.

I smiled and nodded and kept going.

Then as I approached a fellow working on the landscaping of a commercial property, he stood up and gave me a wave, hose in hand, water following the wave and his wide smile.

I was so shocked that I lost my balance and nearly fell off my cruiser.

Six people waved at me on that ride.

No word of a lie.

None knew me.

I learned quickly:that is just a thing people do here.

Weeks later, I complimented a woman on her bike basket as she was locking up beside me near the drug store.

She proceeded to take the basket off her bike and hand it to me.

I don’t think I closed my mouth long enough to thank her.

Who does that? A Squamish resident that is who.

The theme of this edition of Discover Squamish is “Friendly Squamish,” and for good reason, as these examples show.

This is not to say we don’t have our tiffs or grumps here; our social media pages are a dumpster fire of grievances and arguments like anywhere else, but we indeed are a friendly place.

We are growing, and there are accompanying pains that pull at the friendly threads of our comfy winter sweater of kindness. And the pandemic made many of us feel isolated.

It diminished our sense of community.

But we are coming back from that now.

Whether it is finding ways to enjoy a meal, the great outdoors or overcoming a housing crunch, we try to do it by drawing others in and doing it together.

We hope you find our town and the pages of this magazine welcoming.

We are glad you are here.

Let’s be friends.