THEBACHA/FORT SMITH
Some people may think - and others will actually say - that there are not a lot of things to do in the North, especially in smaller communities.

Long-time Fort Smith resident Rick James says living in a small Northern town is full of opportunities to be active, including with astronomy. - Paul Bickford/NNSL photo

Rick James of Fort Smith is definitely not one of them.

James, who came to the North about 18 years ago from his hometown of Edmonton, said he was not particularly active in the city.

"I think there's a lot more opportunity and impetus to do so in the North," he said.

The 46-year-old suspects one reason may be there is not a strong camaraderie among residents in a city such as Edmonton.

"You didn't go and bang on your neighbour's door and say, 'Hi,'" he said. "I suppose I did that a little bit, but not near as much as I do now."

Plus, he pointed out it seems a Northern town is a great big neighbourhood, where everyone is welcoming to everyone else.

Overall, he has enjoyed life in the North.

"It's far more fulfilling than I would have ever imagined," he said. "I can't imagine ever raising my kids in Edmonton, having grown up there myself. I just can't envision it."

In Fort Smith, he has become involved in numerous activities - kayaking, photography, snowmobiling, stargazing, exploring Wood Buffalo National Park, and more.

His family and a group of friends even bought a cabin a few years ago to spend more time in the bush.

James fully believes that life in the North is what a person makes of it.

"When people come here and say there's nothing to do with your kids unless you're in figure skating, I used to get angry and try and talk sense into them, but I think those kind of people just have attitudes that you can't help them to see a broader scope of your world is what you make of it, and you've really got to do that," he said. "There are lots of opportunities for those who want to see them."

James said there are only a few things he misses about living in a larger centre in the south, mentioning live theatre and concerts.

"But we do without them," he said. "Obviously, I don't miss it enough to have moved, yet."

James and his wife and their two children have lived in Fort Smith for about 15 years.

Just after graduating together from college in Edmonton, the couple first moved north to Taloyoak and spent three years in that Nunavut community.

James recalled that his wife got a job offer to be an accountant in Taloyoak, and just afterwards he got a job offer from a company in Florida.

Faced with a choice between the coast of the Arctic Ocean and Florida, they chose the North, partly because they were concerned about gun violence in Florida.

Now in Fort Smith, James is a geomatics engineering technologist, which involves earth measurement, and telecommutes with a company in Edmonton, while his wife works with the GNWT.

Aside from living an active life in Fort Smith, James said living in the North also makes it easier to travel and see the world by offering opportunities to make a good living. Plus, he noted housing prices are reasonable in Fort Smith, offering more resources to put toward travel.

In fact, the James family took an around-the-world trip for nine months in 2007-2008. That was after James' wife took advantage of a GNWT deferred-salary program to save for four years, and then be paid during the year she took off.

James said he and his wife took their son and daughter - then aged 10 and 13, respectively - out of school and travelled to about 23 countries.

"It was amazing and absolutely the trip of a lifetime," he said.

James said his family was only able to take such a trip because they lived in the North.